Modulating factors of the episodic–semantic continuum in autobiographical memory

The distinction between episodic and semantic memory has long been central to theories of autobiographical recall, yet accumulating evidence suggests that this boundary is empirically less clear-cut. Autobiographical remembering is increasingly understood as a constructive process in which episodic and semantic components are dynamically integrated rather than retrieved in isolation. In this review, we adopt the theoretical stance that the relative weighting of episodic and semantic information during recall is flexibly modulated by multiple factors, including age, task demands, temporal distance, emotional salience, and communicative goals. We synthesize findings demonstrating how these factors bias recall toward more episodic or more semantic representations and examine how they interact with one another and with situational context. By outlining these modulating influences, the review aims to better understand the mechanics of the episodic-semantic continuum during autobiographical recall and to clarify implications for how autobiographical memory is studied and interpreted across contexts.