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The Temporal Unfolding of Event Construction while Thinking Aloud: Role of Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex.

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Title: The Temporal Unfolding of Event Construction while Thinking Aloud: Role of Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex.
Authors: Cantarella, Giovanni (AUTHOR), Pisani, Angelo (AUTHOR), Stendardi, Debora (AUTHOR), Cetraro, Matteo (AUTHOR), Pasquini, Emma (AUTHOR), Ciaramelli, Elisa (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. May2026, Vol. 38 Issue 5, p983-999. 17p.
Subjects: Semantic memory, Prefrontal cortex, Brain damage, Episodic memory, Recollection (Psychology), Protocol analysis (Cognition), Cognitive ability
Abstract: Mental time travel (MTT), the ability to mentally project backward and forward in time, relies on navigating a hierarchical organization of mental representations, ranging from higher-level (semantic) to lower-level (episodic) knowledge structures. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) is thought to initiate the activation of personal semantic information during MTT, but its precise role in the temporal dynamics of MTT remains unclear. In the present study, patients with focal vMPFC lesions, brain-damaged controls, and healthy participants completed a personal semantic interview followed by an MTT task in which they were instructed to remember past events and imagine future events while "thinking aloud," namely, uttering every information that came to their mind while constructing events. vMPFC patients showed degraded personal semantic information in the personal semantic interview compared with the control groups. In the MTT task, they generated more repeated events and fewer specific events than the control groups. Moreover, they exhibited atypical, "backward" transitions from lower-level (e.g., extended and repeated events) to higher-level (e.g., personal semantics) knowledge structures, indicative of an alteration of retrieval dynamics following vMPFC damage. These findings confirm that vMPFC damage impairs personal semantic memory and alters the retrieval dynamics of event construction, hindering access to specific events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience is the property of MIT Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: The Temporal Unfolding of Event Construction while Thinking Aloud: Role of Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cantarella%2C+Giovanni%22">Cantarella, Giovanni</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pisani%2C+Angelo%22">Pisani, Angelo</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stendardi%2C+Debora%22">Stendardi, Debora</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cetraro%2C+Matteo%22">Cetraro, Matteo</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pasquini%2C+Emma%22">Pasquini, Emma</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ciaramelli%2C+Elisa%22">Ciaramelli, Elisa</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Cognitive+Neuroscience%22">Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 38 Issue 5, p983-999. 17p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Semantic+memory%22">Semantic memory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prefrontal+cortex%22">Prefrontal cortex</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Brain+damage%22">Brain damage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Episodic+memory%22">Episodic memory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Recollection+%28Psychology%29%22">Recollection (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Protocol+analysis+%28Cognition%29%22">Protocol analysis (Cognition)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+ability%22">Cognitive ability</searchLink>
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  Data: Mental time travel (MTT), the ability to mentally project backward and forward in time, relies on navigating a hierarchical organization of mental representations, ranging from higher-level (semantic) to lower-level (episodic) knowledge structures. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) is thought to initiate the activation of personal semantic information during MTT, but its precise role in the temporal dynamics of MTT remains unclear. In the present study, patients with focal vMPFC lesions, brain-damaged controls, and healthy participants completed a personal semantic interview followed by an MTT task in which they were instructed to remember past events and imagine future events while "thinking aloud," namely, uttering every information that came to their mind while constructing events. vMPFC patients showed degraded personal semantic information in the personal semantic interview compared with the control groups. In the MTT task, they generated more repeated events and fewer specific events than the control groups. Moreover, they exhibited atypical, "backward" transitions from lower-level (e.g., extended and repeated events) to higher-level (e.g., personal semantics) knowledge structures, indicative of an alteration of retrieval dynamics following vMPFC damage. These findings confirm that vMPFC damage impairs personal semantic memory and alters the retrieval dynamics of event construction, hindering access to specific events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience is the property of MIT Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1162/JOCN.a.2422
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      – SubjectFull: Brain damage
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      – SubjectFull: Cognitive ability
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      – TitleFull: The Temporal Unfolding of Event Construction while Thinking Aloud: Role of Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex.
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              Text: May2026
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              Y: 2026
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