Legal and Criminological Psychology最新文献

{"title":"Alternative “truths” of repressed memories: Views of judges of the Israeli supreme court","authors":"Israel Nachson","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.12275","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12275","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Memory of childhood sexual abuse: Forgotten and recovered</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Three cases of allegations of childhood sexual abuse committed by fathers on their daughters have been brought to the attention of the Israeli Supreme Court. The prosecution was based on recovered memories of traumatic experiences that had been completely forgotten by the plaintiffs for many years.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Amnesia accounted for in terms of repression</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The expert witness for the prosecution accounted for the long amnesia in terms of unconscious repression of the traumatic memories.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 <h3> Recovered memory: Veridical or false?</h3> \u0000 <p>The repression hypothesis has encountered severe theoretical and methodological criticisms which have cast doubt on the very existence of this mechanism.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Proposal for a solution of the dilemma</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This controversy, which has far-reaching legal implications, may be reconciled by adopting the notion of multiple “truths”, and by accepting recovered memory allegations only when corroborated by external evidence.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"76-84"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/lcrp.12275","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Two hits or two misses? A critical comment on a combined psychological and biological origin of dissociative amnesia and repressed memory","authors":"Henry Otgaar,&nbsp;Mark L. Howe,&nbsp;Lawrence Patihis,&nbsp;Ivan Mangiulli,&nbsp;Olivier Dodier,&nbsp;Rafaële Huntjens,&nbsp;Elisa Krackow,&nbsp;Marko Jelicic,&nbsp;Steven Jay Lynn","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.4_12272","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.4_12272","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Convertino et al. (<span>2025</span>) and Nachson (<span>2025</span>) both stated that biological substrates can be correlated to behaviour. Additionally, Convertino et al. noted that correlation does not imply causation. This issue concerning causation is imperative. Neuroscientific research cannot conclude whether detected neurological substrates have a causal link with dissociative amnesia/repressed memory (e.g. Taïb et al., <span>2023</span>).</p><p>Nonetheless, Markowitsch and Staniloiu (<span>2025</span>) claimed that organic brain damage is not in opposition to dissociative amnesia. They proposed the two-hit hypothesis referring to ‘an additive or synergistic interaction between psychological and physical incidents’ (Staniloiu &amp; Markowitsch, <span>2014</span>, p. 231) to explain certain dissociative amnesia cases. According to them, ‘physical incidents provide psychological or biological grounds for the development and maintenance of dissociative amnesia’ (Staniloiu &amp; Markowitsch, <span>2014</span>, p. 232). By this view, being hit on the head during a robbery (biological cause) could lead to psychological trauma and combined produce dissociative amnesia.</p><p>We are sceptical that the two-hit hypothesis is a sound hypothesis. First, this hypothesis means that whatever the antecedent (physical, psychological), traumatic memory loss can almost always be labelled dissociative amnesia. This renders the concept of dissociative amnesia/repressed memory overgeneral and unfalsifiable. Second, the two-hit hypothesis does not delineate under which conditions such interactions can occur nor what mechanism is involved. Thus, it is not a hypothesis but merely a description of factors potentially underlying traumatic memory loss (Roberts et al., <span>2013</span>). Proposing that two hits cause traumatic memory loss, while there is no causation, is a miss in this field.</p><p><b>Henry Otgaar:</b> Conceptualization; formal analysis; methodology; project administration; visualization; writing – original draft; writing – review and editing. <b>Mark L. Howe:</b> Writing – original draft; writing – review and editing. <b>Lawrence Patihis:</b> Writing – original draft; writing – review and editing. <b>Ivan Mangiulli:</b> Formal analysis; writing – original draft; writing – review and editing. <b>Olivier Dodier:</b> Writing – review and editing. <b>Rafaële Huntjens:</b> Formal analysis; writing – review and editing. <b>Elisa Krackow:</b> Formal analysis; writing – review and editing. <b>Marko Jelicic:</b> Writing – review and editing. <b>Steven Jay Lynn:</b> Writing – review and editing.</p>","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"52-53"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/lcrp.4_12272","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reflections on British False Memory Society cases, middle ground, and inferring internal mental processes","authors":"Lawrence Patihis,&nbsp;Kevin Felstead","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.3_12274","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.3_12274","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Nachson's commentary (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) reveals that although Israel has some differences in dealing with recovered memory cases, there are some similar concerns. On the one hand, Israel deals with such cases with professional judges, and not juries as is usually done in the UK. Nachson notes that these professional judges can be affected by the emotional testimony of the accusers, as opposed to the less emotional accused. This may be a similar dynamic in the UK, but just with jurors. Nachson also relays the fascinating example from an Isreali court case in which an expert witness for the prosecution elevated the memory evidence to such a degree that it trumped other considerations. As we reflect on our data in light of Nachson's comments, it occurs to us that we should point out that out of the total 2364 cases shown in our Table 1 (Patihis &amp; Felstead, &lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) only 227 were found guilty in a court of law, which is 10% of cases. In other words, the legal system may work well in most cases, though the number found guilty out of those in which police pursue a case was 27%. We appreciate Nachson's (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) concurrence on objective truth in cases, which clarifies his meaning Nachson (&lt;span&gt;2025-a&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Krackow et al.'s (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) commentary mentions that to reduce wrongful convictions as false memory stories go out of fashion in the media, that regular reminders of the problem be communicated to the public. This is a good idea that could be extended to legal professionals as well. Their second suggestion of false memory societies recording eating disorders, self-harm, and therapy use, are excellent and insightful of the qualitative pattern we have seen in the cases in the caseload files. Almost all cases involved therapy, though we did not quantify that in our data. Krackow et al.'s final suggestion is perhaps the unarticulated conclusion of our data: that practitioners should avoid using memory recovery or enhancement techniques.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To round out our commentaries, we return to a central point we made in the discussion of Patihis and Felstead (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;). The idea of a middle ground can be useful in the sense that a group of well trained scientists might hash out questions of prevalence of a problem in society, size of effects, point out each other's confirmation biases, and so on. Nevertheless, the idea of a middle ground can be a little relativistic about whether there is an objective truth to approximate to.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this regards, we think those promoting dissociative amnesia as a mental process are not being scientific, and that is as true as Freud in the 1890s, or an esteemed psychiatrist today at an elite university. A solid approach to science involves great caution in assuming invisible internal mental processes that are a step too far beyond a measurable behavior. The behaviorists were fruitful in scientific discovery, and the cognitive psychologists subsequently were admirably cautio","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"74-75"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/lcrp.3_12274","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The weight of evidence regarding the nature of traumatic memories: A comment on Mazzoni et al.","authors":"Ivan Mangiulli,&nbsp;Marko Jelicic,&nbsp;Mark L. Howe,&nbsp;Lawrence Patihis,&nbsp;Olivier Dodier,&nbsp;Rafaële Huntjens,&nbsp;Elisa Krackow,&nbsp;Steven Jay Lynn,&nbsp;Henry Otgaar","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.1_12273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.1_12273","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;The ongoing debate about the nature of traumatic memories has engaged numerous scholars, each providing evidence either for or against special properties that distinguish such memories from other emotional memories. Mazzoni et al. (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) offered a balanced and comprehensive perspective concerning the topic of traumatic memories. On the one hand, they pointed out that numerous clinical observations, and supposedly the results of some neurobiological studies, have shown that traumatic memories often lack verbal content and are accompanied by intense bodily sensations, making them special in this regard (Brewin, &lt;span&gt;2016&lt;/span&gt;; Solms, &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;; Van der Kolk, &lt;span&gt;1998&lt;/span&gt;). These observations have led to interpretations of these findings as representing dissociative amnesia or repressed memories. On the other hand, researchers (McNally, &lt;span&gt;2007&lt;/span&gt;; Merckelbach &amp; Patihis, &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;) have contended that scientific data do not consistently support the special nature of traumatic memories or the frequent occurrence of amnesia for a given event (Mangiulli et al., &lt;span&gt;2022&lt;/span&gt;; McNally, &lt;span&gt;2003&lt;/span&gt;; Otgaar et al., &lt;span&gt;2019&lt;/span&gt;). Instead, the lack of clear evidence supporting dissociation from (or repression of) traumatic memories contrasts with substantial data suggesting that negative and stressful experiences enhance, rather than impair, memory (Shields et al., &lt;span&gt;2017&lt;/span&gt;). Even if differences in characteristics exist between traumatic and non-traumatic memories, it does not necessarily implicate dissociation or repression as a cause or consequence.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Overall, there is much to appreciate in Mazzoni et al. (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;). Their paper took a middle ground in the debate, considering evidence from opposing perspectives, and assessing merits and flaws in relation to both sides. Yet even with this open-minded approach, it is crucial to stress that not all evidence carries equal weight. For instance, a primary source of evidence for which traumatic memories are deemed so special is derived from neuro-related data. This body of research substantiates that traumatic memories may possess specific neurobiological and neuropsychological underpinnings, suggesting qualitative distinctions in the encoding, consolidation and retrieval processes compared with other memories (e.g. ordinary experiences), thereby entailing special mechanisms distinct from general memory function (but see Rubin et al., &lt;span&gt;2008&lt;/span&gt;). As Mazzoni et al. (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) rightly observed—which we expand here—a common mistake in this context involves inferring the involvement of a specific cognitive process, such as memory loss for traumatic events, from the activation of a particular area in the brain. This form of reverse inference, however, lacks deductive validity, embodying the logical fallacy of affirming the consequent. In cognitive neuroscience, it is well established that the presence of specific","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"103-105"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/lcrp.1_12273","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comment on Otgaar et al. ‘The neuroscience of dissociative amnesia and repressed memory: Premature conclusions and unanswered questions’","authors":"Israel Nachson","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.3_12272","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.3_12272","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Like Markowitsch and Staniloiu (this issue), Otgaar et al. do not directly deal with issues associated with the concept of recovered memories. Their paper consists of a critical review of neuroimaging studies on dissociative amnesia, or memory repression. A finding of positive correlations between symptoms of dissociative amnesia and specific electrophysiological processes in the brain might have suggested a biological substrate for repression, which is a key concept in debate regarding the validity of recovered memories.</p><p>However, analysis of the data reviewed by the authors shows that the correlations between the functions of given brain areas and dissociative amnesia are both, weak and inconsistent. Furthermore, they are conceivable in terms of malingering, intentional suppression, metamemory beliefs, organic amnesia, and the like—without invoking the concept of repression. Many studies also suffer from methodological shortcomings, including misdiagnosis of dissociative amnesia. The authors therefore conclude that ‘conceptual and methodological issues strongly limit the interpretation of neuroscientific investigations of dissociative amnesia and repressed memory… [they] tell us little about whether traumatic memories can be unconsciously blocked… [and therefore] none of the proposed biomarkers are sufficiently reliable for diagnosis in clinics or legal arenas’. Consequently, they suggest that the term ‘dissociative amnesia’ be replaced by ‘amnesia of uncertain etiology’.</p><p>Since biological correlates of dissociative amnesia are discussed in two papers, the present one and the one written by Markowitsch and Staniloiu, it seems desirable to compare the two. Clearly, they lead to opposite views concerning the validity of the concept of repression. Since the two reviews are based on differential data bases, they do not factually contradict each other. Nonetheless, the implications of their reviews are contradictory in the sense that according to Markowitsch and Staniloiu the psychological concepts of repression and recovery of traumatic memories have a solid biological underpinning, whereas according to Otgaar et al. no biological foundation for these concepts has been found. Thus, Markowitsch and Staniloiu, but not Otgaar et al., consider repression biologically feasible.</p><p>Taken together, it is quite possible, of course, that some biological processes (such as those reviewed by the former) are correlated with specific behavioural manifestations, while others (such as those reviewed by the latter) are not. However, this concluding remark sounds more like a mediation between the two groups of reviewers, rather than between those arguing for or against the ‘recovered memory hypothesis’.</p>","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"51-52"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/lcrp.3_12272","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comment on G. Mazzoni et al. ‘Taking the middle stance in the debate on the nature of traumatic memories’","authors":"Hans J. Markowitsch,&nbsp;Angelica Staniloiu","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.2_12273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.2_12273","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"105-107"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"British False Memory Society: Caseload and details by year (1993 onwards)","authors":"Lawrence Patihis,&nbsp;Kevin Felstead","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.12274","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12274","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Purpose</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The British False Memory Society (BFMS) is a registered charity founded in 1993 following an epidemic of false-memory type allegations by adult accusers who claimed to have remembered childhood sexual abuse for which they previously had no cognitive recollection. Many of these accusers had entered counselling after typically suffering from anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. Many came out of therapy with what appeared to be false memories, and the accused sometimes contacted the BFMS for advice. Since its inception, the BFMS has kept a record of all calls to its telephone helpline.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In this article, we document several caseload details by year from 1993 onwards.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In the peak year of 1994, 268 cases were taken up by the BFMS. During recent years in the last 10 years the number of cases taken on by the BFMS oscillated around about 40 each year. The 2010s had just 3% of the total cases leading to a guilty verdict (1990s = 8%; 2000s = 17%). We found the 2000 decade to be the most likely for those accused to be imprisoned, and the most recent years the least.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We conclude that although the numbers have lessened since the 1994 peak, there are still today a number of individuals being affected by allegations stemming from recovered memories.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"54-69"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/lcrp.12274","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can highly arousing traumatic Experiences be repressed?","authors":"Israel Nachson","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.3_12273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.3_12273","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Reading Mazzoni et al.'s paper, I was glad to find out that their and my own paper (Nachson, &lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) are in agreement with each other in terms of both, the issues involved in the concepts of repression and of recovered memory, and their solutions. Although our conceptual perspectives differ from each other—as evident by the differential bibliography lists—the similarity between our analyses is indeed striking, so as to render them complementary.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We similarly delineate the difficulties involved in the very definition of the concept of repression which is not operationally defined, and hence cannot be scientifically validated. Thus, while ‘soft-minded’ clinicians find the concept useful for treating clients who have allegedly recovered memories of childhood sexual abuses, ‘hard-minded’ researchers find it misleading.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The latter also shy away from the notion that a given behaviour may be considered an exception to a rule. Therefore, the special properties assigned to memories of traumatic events (such as resistance to distortion over time) cannot be entertained without solid evidence, and indeed, cognitive scientists tend to reject the notion of a special nature of traumatic memories.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The insistence on a special nature reminds one of other failing attempts to postulate an explanation of a given behaviour in terms of exceptional processes; for example, the original, ‘frustration-aggression hypothesis’ (Dollard et al., &lt;span&gt;1939&lt;/span&gt;), which was based on the notion that, unlike other behavioural responses which are learned, aggression is exceptionally caused by a single factor, namely frustration.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mazzoni et al. make it clear that evidence showing that memory of traumatic experiences is less accessible and less retrievable than that of non-traumatic experiences does not prove that it is repressed, and in-fact, it might even be enhanced rather than impaired. The studies showing detrimental effects of trauma on memory in animals, and those performed on intentional suppression, do not constitute, according to the authors, evidence for repression in humans.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The authors' conclusion that each of the two opposing opinions regarding recovered memories entails a partial truth reminds one of the American Psychological Association's decision to accept both of them as valid (Howard &amp; Tuffin, &lt;span&gt;2002&lt;/span&gt;), and of my discussion on multiple truths (Nachson, &lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As a solution of the on-going debate regarding recovered memories, the authors suggest a ‘middle ground hypothesis’, according to which only traumatic memories of highly arousing, negative experiences might be repressed. However, this suggestion begs the question, since the debate focuses on memories of sexual abuses which are clearly ‘highly arousing, negative experiences’; so we are back on square one.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Finally, I wholeheartedly agree with the authors that further research on recovery of memory is called for, and that the cl","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"107-108"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/lcrp.3_12273","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comments","authors":"Hans J. Markowitsch,&nbsp;Angelica Staniloiu","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.1_12272","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.1_12272","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"46-48"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Are traumatic memories at first extraordinarily bad and then extraordinarily good?","authors":"Lawrence Patihis,&nbsp;Kevin Felstead","doi":"10.1111/lcrp.4_12273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.4_12273","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Mazzoni et al. (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) seek to reach a middle ground in which they cite research purporting that traumatic memory can be special, yet noting the conceptual creep of the concept of trauma, and by suggesting an openness to further research. Mazzoni et al. point out that negative events might enhance memory sometimes (e.g. Berntsen &amp; Rubin, &lt;span&gt;2014&lt;/span&gt;), and might impair memory sometimes (e.g. Roth et al., 2011). We concur that on the one hand a shocking event is likely to be consolidated more strongly than neutral events, and that chronic and prolonged stress can damage the functioning of the hippocampus and impair memory. This is a decent middle ground. We suppose that in these narrow senses traumatic memory can be special. This is nuanced as noted in Mazzoni et al.—for example traumatic memories are sometimes both strongly consolidated but still inaccurate over time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Nevertheless, we add the caveat that by ‘special’ we do not mean dissociated or repressed, we just mean sometimes enhanced by epinephrine or sometimes impaired by stress. Notice that in the controversial concept of dissociative amnesia, the ‘special’ status is making a much bolder claim. It is proposed that there is a period of extraordinarily poor memory (zero in fact), followed by extraordinarily good memory. So good, in fact, that the memories arising out of dissociative amnesia might be so trustworthy to be used in legal cases (of course, we disagree, but this is the claim). It is this combination of terrible memory followed by extraordinary memory, caused by psychogenic mechanisms, that we object to.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There is one concern that if we do not get the terminology exactly correct about DNA methylation studies, that inexactness may spread through the pseudoscientific world of therapies that justify attempting to recover traumatic memories. Mazzoni et al. state that ‘chronic psychosocial stress changes the DNA of a gene in the hippocampus’, and that seems wrong. DNA methylation can suppress gene transcription but it does not change the DNA or the individual genes (see Moore et al., &lt;span&gt;2013&lt;/span&gt;). In effect, the stress in these experiments seem to be affecting the transcription of proteins that the genes would otherwise produce without the stress. Proteins produced by genes in hippocampal neurons (and in connected networks) are needed in both long-term potentiation (see Patihis, &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;) and in dendrite growth (Del Blanco et al., &lt;span&gt;2019&lt;/span&gt;), so it makes sense that chronic stress that blocks transcription would impair memory formation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mazzoni et al. (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) informs us not only of the terrible Bibbiano scandal in Italy—in which many lives were changed by false memories produced by the therapists—but also that the problems may not be over. If it is true that a large majority of clinicians have received education in the Bessel van der Kolk approach, there may be many false accusations in the future in Italy. Van d","PeriodicalId":18022,"journal":{"name":"Legal and Criminological Psychology","volume":"30 S1","pages":"109-110"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/lcrp.4_12273","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143836417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}