Abstract:

Autobiographical memory is basically conceived as the personalized verbal narrative and imagery that gives us a history and a sense of self. From a developmental perspective, our proposal circumscribes it as the result of a complex long-lasting interplay between biology and socialization. To sustain this framework, we relied on adult neurobiological data, cautious not to make too abrupt inferences about developmental processes. Also we considered cross-cultural studies pointing to the fact that the typical European American dyadic interactional pattern, thought to shape autobiographical memory, is but one among many possible alternatives: the specific plasticity of this early age allows multiple cultural influences.

Keywords: autobiographical memory, development, neuroscience, frontal lobes, cross-cultural variations