An examination of the effect of visual stimuli and prompt on narrative
While it is widely accepted that the hippocampus plays a crucial role in both the formation and retrieval of memories and future thinking, recent research suggests that it may also contribute to language construction and supplemental narrative capacities. In looking at amnesic with narrative construction deficits and future thinking impairments, a fundamental question evolved regarding the source of the deficiencies.
The question arose regarding whether these implications were a solely a result of
impaired memory or if it was due to a broader impairment of cognitive functioning
beyond memory
Previous research in amnesic populations had used a variety of stimuli and methods,
making it difficult to compare across studies. Our goal is to investigate individual
variability in narrative responses across different levels of visual stimuli (rich versus
poor) and narrative prompts (description versus story), in order to demonstrate the
importance of stimuli and prompt selection.
By understanding individual differences in narrative practices, we can begin to explore variations in memory variables as a result of differences in language production.
