Episodic Memory and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Non-human Animals: A Methodological Proposal

The traditional conception of episodic memory, as a capacity that enables the conscious and personal re-experience of a past event, has led to methodological difficulties in attributing it to non-linguistic beings. The present work proposes to study the attribution of this capacity in non-human animals based on animal models of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For this purpose, evidence is presented suggesting that flashbacks, a characteristic symptom of PTSD, are a product of the episodic memory system. If that is true, then the ability to remember episodes is required to develop PTSD and having PTSD would be a compelling reason for attributing episodic memories. In this way, the present work opens a new field of research on the problem of episodic memory attribution in animals.