Memory In Autism
Theory and Evidence

A fascinating compilation of research into memory in autism and its effect on people's lives.

Jill Boucher (Edited by), Dermot Bowler (Edited by)

9780521862882, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 5 June 2008

384 pages
23.4 x 15.8 x 2.8 cm, 0.73 kg

Review of the hardback: 'As a resource for the investigator of memory in autism, or even cognition more generally, Memory in Autism is an indispensable tool.' Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

Many people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are remarkably proficient at remembering how things look and sound, even years after an event. They are also good at rote learning and establishing habits and routines. Some even have encyclopaedic memories. However, all individuals with ASD have difficulty in recalling personal memories and reliving experiences, and less able people may have additional difficulty in memorising facts. This book assembles research on memory in autism to examine why this happens and the effects it has on people's lives. The contributors utilise advances in the understanding of normal memory systems and their breakdown as frameworks for analysing the neuropsychology and neurobiology of memory in autism. The unique patterning of memory functions across the spectrum illuminates difficulties with sense of self, emotion processing, mental time travel, language and learning, providing a window into the nature and causes of autism itself.

Foreword
Preface Peter Hobson and Beate Hermelin
Part I. Introduction: 1. Concepts and theories of memory John M. Gardiner
Part II. The Neurobiology of Memory in Autism: 2. Temporal lobe structures and memory in nonhuman primates: implications for autism Jocelyne Bachevalier
3. Acquired memory disorders in adults: implications for autism Andrew Mayes and Jill Boucher
4. A comparison of memory profiles in relation to neuropathology in autism, developmental amnesia and children born prematurely Claire H. Salmond, Anna-Lynne R. Adlam, David G. Gadian and Faraneh Vargha-Khadem
5. Possible parallels between memory and emotion processing in autism: a neuropsychological perspective Yifat Faran and Dorit Ben Shalom
6. Dysfunction and hyperfunction of the hippocampus in autism? G. Robert Delong
Part III. The Psychology of Memory in Autism: 7. Memory within a complex information processing model of autism Diane L. Williams, Nancy J. Minshew and Gerald Goldstein
8. Episodic memory, semantic memory and self-awareness in high-functioning autism Motomi Toichi
9. Episodic memory and autonoetic consciousness in autistic spectrum disorders: the roles of self awareness, representational abilities and temporal cognition Sophie Lind and Dermot Bowler
10. Impairments in social memory in autism? Evidence from behaviour and neuroimaging Sara Jane Webb
11. Memory characteristics in individuals with savant skills Linda Pring
12. Working memory and immediate memory in autism spectrum disorders Marie Poirier and Jonathan S. Martin
13. Rehearsal and directed forgetting in adults with Asperger syndrome Brenda J. Smith and John M. Gardiner
14. Memory, language and intellectual ability in low-functioning autism Jill Boucher, Andrew Mayes and Sally Bigham
Part IV. Overview: 15. Practical implications of memory characteristics in autistic spectrum disorders Rita R. Jordan
16. A different memory: are distinctions drawn from the study of nonautistic memory appropriate to describe memory in autism? Laurent Mottron, Michelle Dawson and Isabelle Soulières
17. Memory in ASD: enduring themes and future prospects Dermot Bowler and Sebastian B. Gaigg.

Subject Areas: Neurosciences [PSAN], Cognition & cognitive psychology [JMR], Physiological & neuro-psychology, biopsychology [JMM]