On the Interaction Between Episodic and Semantic Representations – Constructing a Unified Account of Imagination
Muireann Irish
Abstract
Few topics in cognitive neuroscience can be said to have spurred intense research interest and vigorous debate as much as the neurocognitive architecture of imagination. Despite the tendency to view imagination as a unitary mental faculty, its multifaceted nature implicates a diverse range of underlying processes. Episodic memory has been ascribed a foundational role in furnishing the contents of mental constructions. By contrast, semantic memory has long been overlooked in the discourse, despite converging evidence of its centrality for all forms of inner mentation. Here, I expand upon the idea that the undifferentiated and flexible nature of semantic memory renders it particularly well suited to support imagination in its many guises. The imagined scenario thus reflects the output of a dynamic process that shifts back and forth along an episodic-semantic continuum, the weighting of which hinges largely upon task demands and integrity of the underlying memory system. Accordingly, the aim of this chapter is to move the focus away from the traditional episodic/semantic dichotomy in favour of a unified account in which episodic and semantic processes coalesce in the service of constructive endeavors.