Autobiographical memory (AM) comprises autobiographical episodes (AE) and personal semantics (PS). Self-defining memories (SDMs) represent peculiar memories highly relevant to personality processes and constitute crucial source for the self. To date, no research has compared normal and pathological age-related changes in the AE and PS aspects of AM (including SDMs) and their link with the self. Method: Young adults, older adults, and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were asked to retrieve 10 AEs, 10 PSs, and 10 SDMs based on identical cue-words and to complete a subjective self-concept scale measuring the degree of certainty and the valence of the self. Memory performance was evaluated for specificity and for emotional valence using quantitative scoring based on standard neuropsychological assessments. Results: Compared with young adults, older adults and AD patients demonstrated a deficit in AE; nevertheless, the three groups performed equally for PS. Remarkably, older adults did not differ from young adults for SDMs characterized by high episodicity (SDMe), unlike AD patients. Concerning the self-concept scale, the valence of the self was more positive in healthy subjects than in AD patients, the latter showing higher scores for the degree of certainty. Self-concept measures were correlated with AM scores, especially SDMe, in young and older subjects but not in AD patients. Conclusion: The implication of these findings is discussed to portray the differences between normal aging and AD concerning the link between AM and the self.
