Wearable Cameras Are Useful Tools to Investigate and Remediate Autobiographical Memory Impairment: A Systematic PRISMA Review

Abstract

Autobiographical memory, central in human cognition and every day functioning, enables past experienced events to be remembered. A variety of disorders affecting autobiographical memory are characterized by the difficulty of retrieving specific detailed memories of past personal events. Owing to the impact of autobiographical memory impairment on patients' daily life, it is necessary to better understand these deficits and develop relevant methods to improve autobiographical memory. The primary objective of the present systematic PRISMA review was to give an overview of the first empirical evidence of the potential of wearable cameras in autobiographical memory investigation in remediating autobiographical memory impairments. The peer-reviewed literature published since 2004 on the usefulness of wearable cameras in research protocols was explored in 3 databases (PUBMED, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar). Twenty-eight published studies that used a protocol involving wearable camera, either to explore wearable camera functioning and impact on daily life, or to investigate autobiographical memory processing or remediate autobiographical memory impairment, were included. This review analyzed the potential of wearable cameras for 1) investigating autobiographical memory processes in healthy volunteers without memory impairment and in clinical populations, and 2) remediating autobiographical memory in patients with various kinds of memory disorder. Mechanisms to account for the efficacy of wearable cameras are also discussed. The review concludes by discussing certain limitations inherent to using cameras, and new research perspectives. Finally, ethical issues raised by this new technology are considered.