Summary: A novel study demonstrates that briefly perceiving oneself with a childlike version of one’s face can help adults retrieve richer, more detailed childhood memories. Using a virtual “enfacement illusion,” participants viewed a live, altered video of their own face made to resemble how they might have looked as children. This created a transient sense of embodying a younger self, which significantly improved access to early episodic memories compared with a control group who viewed their unaltered adult faces.
The research suggests that changing bodily self-perception can unlock memories that are otherwise difficult to access. These results open new avenues for understanding childhood amnesia and could inform techniques for memory rehabilitation and cognitive research.
Key Facts:
- Bodily self link: Briefly embodying a childlike version of one’s face boosted recall of early autobiographical memories.
- First demonstration: This study provides the first experimental evidence that altering body perception can influence retrieval of remote memories.
- Potential applications: The technique could be refined for people with memory impairments and for research into early childhood memory formation.
Source: Anglia Ruskin University
Overview
Published in the journal Scientific Reports, this study from neuroscientists at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge tested whether temporarily changing how people perceive their own face could affect access to autobiographical memories. Fifty neurologically healthy adult participants took part in an online experiment that used an enfacement illusion to create the sensation that a digitally altered face—appearing younger—was their own reflection.
During the task, participants viewed a live video of their face that had been transformed with an image filter to look more childlike. The face on screen moved in synchrony with the participant’s head movements, strengthening the sense of ownership. A control group saw their unaltered adult faces under the same conditions. After the illusion, all participants completed an autobiographical memory interview, recalling events from both their childhood and the previous year.
Researchers recorded and analyzed the level of episodic detail provided during recall. Episodic autobiographical memories are those that allow a person to mentally re-experience specific past events, including contextual details and sensory impressions. The results showed that participants who embodied the childlike face recalled significantly more episodic details from childhood than those who viewed their adult face. No differences were found for semantic autobiographical memory, which covers general facts about one’s past rather than vivid event-specific recollections.
The authors interpret these findings as evidence that bodily self-representation is encoded as part of event memories. Reintroducing bodily cues that resemble the body present when the memory formed—such as seeing a younger version of oneself—may act as a retrieval cue and facilitate access to memories formed during earlier life stages, potentially even from periods typically affected by childhood amnesia (usually before age three).
Lead and senior authors
Lead author Dr Utkarsh Gupta conducted this work during his PhD at Anglia Ruskin University and is now a Cognitive Neuroscience Research Fellow at the University of North Dakota. He commented that memories are not only records of the external world but also include experiences of our bodies, which are continuously present during events. Temporarily altering the bodily self—by embodying a childlike face—can therefore enhance retrieval of childhood episodic memories.
Senior author Professor Jane Aspell, who leads the Self & Body Lab at ARU, explained that because our childhood memories were formed while we inhabited a different body, inducing aspects of that earlier bodily experience might help people recall those memories. The team suggests that more sophisticated body illusions could be developed to access memories from various life stages and that, in the future, adapted versions of the illusion might support memory recall in clinical populations with impairments.
Key Questions Answered:
A: The enfacement illusion is a virtual experience in which participants view a live video of their own face that has been altered to appear different—here, more childlike—creating the sensation that the modified face is their own reflection.
A: Participants who viewed their childlike faces reported more detailed and vivid childhood episodic memories than those who viewed an unaltered adult face.
A: Because the brain encodes bodily sensations alongside other event details, reintroducing bodily cues that resemble those present when a memory formed—such as seeing a younger self—may serve as an effective retrieval cue for episodic memories.
About this visual neuroscience and memory research news
Author: Jon Green
Source: Anglia Ruskin University
Contact: Jon Green – Anglia Ruskin University
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. “Illusory ownership of one’s younger face facilitates access to childhood episodic autobiographical memories” by Utkarsh Gupta et al., published in Scientific Reports.
Abstract
Illusory ownership of one’s younger face facilitates access to childhood episodic autobiographical memories
Autobiographical memories reflect personal experiences at specific times in life. Every event is experienced while we inhabit our body, which raises the question of whether bodily self-representation is embedded in our memories. This study tested whether a body illusion that induces ownership of a ‘child version’ of one’s face would influence retrieval of childhood autobiographical memories.
Fifty neurologically healthy adults participated in an online enfacement illusion experiment. Feelings of ownership and agency over the face were stronger when visual and motor cues were synchronous compared with asynchronous conditions. Crucially, participants who embodied the childlike face recalled more childhood episodic details than those who embodied the adult face. No effect was observed for autobiographical semantic memory. These findings indicate an interaction between bodily self-representation and autobiographical memory: temporary changes to the bodily self can impact access to episodic memories formed earlier in life.