Genetics and personality affect visual perspective in autobiographical memory Cédric Lemogne a,b,c, * , Loretxu Bergouignan a,d , Claudette Boni b,e , Philip Gorwood b,e,f , Antoine Pélissolo a,d,g , Philippe Fossati a,d,g a CNRS USR 3246, Bâtiment de la Force, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47 Boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France b Paris Descartes University, Paris, France c Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Department of C-L Psychiatry, European Georges Pompidou Hospital, Paris, France d Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris, France e INSERM U675, Centre of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Sainte-Anne Hospital, Paris, France f CMME, Sante-Anne Hospital, Paris, France g Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Department of Psychiatry, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France article info Article history: Received 24 November 2008 Available online xxxx Keywords: Autobiographical memory Depression Gene–environment interaction Memory Personality Perspective Self Serotonin Serotonin transporter Temperament abstract Major depression is associated with a decrease of 1st person (versus 3rd person) visual per- spective in autobiographical memory, even after full remission. This study aimed to exam- ine visual perspective in healthy never-depressed subjects presenting with either genetic or psychological vulnerability for depression. Sixty healthy participants performed the Autobiographical Memory Test with an assessment of visual perspective. Genetic vulnera- bility was defined by the presence of at least one S or L G allele of the polymorphism of the serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR). Psychological vulnerability was defined by high scores of harm avoidance measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory. Life stress exposure, depressive mood, rumination, and familial history of depression were assessed through standardized procedures. Visual perspective for positive memories was independently predicted by both harm avoidance and a gene by environ- ment interaction between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and life stress exposure. Visual perspective and vulnerability for depression may share some biological bases. Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Autobiographical memory (AM) grounds the self by providing coherent narratives organized to elicit a sense of identity across the time (e.g. remembering academic achievements may support the self as knowledgeable) (Conway, 2005). ‘‘Auto- biographical memories can be retrieved from either the 1st person perspective (or ‘field’ perspective), in which individuals see the event through their own eyes, or from the 3rd person perspective (or ‘observer’ perspective), in which individuals see themselves and the event from the perspective of an external observer” (Sutin & Robins, 2008, p.1386). A growing body of research suggests that the visual perspective from which a memory is retrieved may play a role in both emotional regulation and self-related processes (see Sutin & Robins, 2008 for a recent review). Because major depression is associated with both decreased emotional regulation (Beck, 2008) and increased self-focus (i.e. increased attention to the self) (Mor & Winquist, 2002), it offers a unique opportunity to examine the biological and psy- 1053-8100/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2009.04.002 * Corresponding author. Address: CNRS USR 3246, Bâtiment de la Force, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47 Boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris. Fax: +33 1 42 16 12 36. E-mail address: cedric.lemogne@orange.fr (C. Lemogne). Consciousness and Cognition xxx (2009) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Consciousness and Cognition journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/concog ARTICLE IN PRESS Please cite this article in press as: Lemogne, C., et al. Genetics and personality affect visual perspective in autobiographical memory. Con- sciousness and Cognition (2009), doi:10.1016/j.concog.2009.04.002