Damage to the default mode network disrupts autobiographical memory retrieval
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience May 2, 2014 Carissa L. Philippi, Daniel Tranel, Melissa Duff et al. 152 citations
Damage to parts of the brain's default mode network (DMN) impairs autobiographical memory. In 92 patients with focal brain lesions, damage to the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, inferior parietal lobule, or medial temporal lobe led to memory deficits. Semantic and episodic autobiographical memories rely on largely distinct neural regions: semantic deficits followed left medial prefrontal and medial temporal damage, while episodic deficits followed right-sided damage, with overlap only in the right inferior parietal lobule. These results provide neuropsychological evidence that the DMN is necessary for autobiographical memory and clarify its role in self-referential processing.