Neural Correlates of Emotional Memories: A Review of Evidence from Brain Imaging Studies (original) (raw)
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Neural correlates of encoding emotional memories : a review of functional neuroimaging evidence
2008
In recent years, emotion research has gained considerable interest from cognitive neuroscientists, who generally agree that emotion influences virtually all aspects of cognition. The mechanisms underlying the impact of emotion on memory have received particular interest, and have been extensively investigated in both humans and non-humans. Here, we review evidence from brain imaging studies investigating the neural correlates of the memory-enhancing effect of emotion in humans, with a focus on the early stages of memory formation – i.e., encoding and early consolidation. The vast majority of the evidence has resulted from studies on young participants, but evidence from recent studies investigating age-related differences in emotion processing is also available. The extant evidence highlights the role of two main brain regions that have been systematically associated with memory processes: the medial-temporal lobe (MTL) and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The main findings from studies...
Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion
Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2011
Emotional events tend to be better remembered than non-emotional events 1,2 . One goal of cognitive and affective neuroscientists is to understand the neural mechanisms underlying this enhancing effect of emotion on memory. A method that has proven particularly influential in the investigation of the memory-enhancing effect of emotion is the so-called subsequent memory paradigm (SMP). This method was originally used to investigate the neural correlates of non-emotional memories 3 , and more recently we and others also applied it successfully to studies of emotional memory (reviewed in 4, 5-7 ). Here, we describe a protocol that allows investigation of the neural correlates of the memory-enhancing effect of emotion using the SMP in conjunction with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). An important feature of the SMP is that it allows separation of brain activity specifically associated with memory from more general activity associated with perception. Moreover, in the context of investigating the impact of emotional stimuli, SMP allows identification of brain regions whose activity is susceptible to emotional modulation of both general/perceptual and memory-specific processing. This protocol can be used in healthy subjects 8-15 , as well as in clinical patients where there are alterations in the neural correlates of emotion perception and biases in remembering emotional events, such as those suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 16, 17 .
Emerging Directions in Emotional Episodic Memory
Frontiers in psychology, 2017
Building upon the existing literature on emotional memory, the present review examines emerging evidence from brain imaging investigations regarding four research directions: (1) Social Emotional Memory, (2) The Role of Emotion Regulation in the Impact of Emotion on Memory, (3) The Impact of Emotion on Associative or Relational Memory, and (4) The Role of Individual Differences in Emotional Memory. Across these four domains, available evidence demonstrates that emotion- and memory-related medial temporal lobe brain regions (amygdala and hippocampus, respectively), together with prefrontal cortical regions, play a pivotal role during both encoding and retrieval of emotional episodic memories. This evidence sheds light on the neural mechanisms of emotional memories in healthy functioning, and has important implications for understanding clinical conditions that are associated with negative affective biases in encoding and retrieving emotional memories.
Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 2014
The memory-enhancing effect of emotion has been linked to the engagement of emotion- and memory-related medial temporal lobe (MTL) regions (amygdala-AMY; hippocampus-HC; parahippocampus-PHC), during both encoding and retrieval. However, recognition tasks used to investigate the neural correlates of retrieval make it difficult to distinguish MTL engagement linked to retrieval success (RS) from that linked to incidental encoding success (ES) during retrieval. This issue has been investigated for retrieval of non-emotional memories, but not for emotional memory retrieval. To address this, we used event-related functional MRI in conjunction with an emotional distraction and two episodic memory tasks (one testing memory for distracter items and the other testing memory for new/lure items presented in the first memory task). This paradigm allowed for dissociation of MTL activity specifically linked to RS from that linked to both RS and incidental ES during retrieval. There were two novel ...
Retrieving accurate and distorted memories: Neuroimaging evidence for effects of emotion
NeuroImage, 2005
While limbic activity is known to be associated with successful encoding of emotional information, it is less clear whether it is related to successful retrieval. The present fMRI study assessed the effects of emotion on the neural processes engaged during retrieval of accurate compared to distorted memories. Prior to the scan, participants (16 young adults) viewed names of neutral (e.g., frog) and emotional (e.g., snake) objects and formed a mental image of the object named. They were shown photos of half of the objects. During the fMRI scan, participants saw object names and indicated whether or not they had seen the corresponding photo. Memory distortions (misattributions) occurred when participants incorrectly indicated whether or not a photo had been studied. Activity in some regions (e.g., L anterior hippocampus) was related to accurate retrieval (correct attribution-s>misattributions) for emotional and neutral items. However, activity in other regions corresponded with accurate retrieval specifically for emotional items (e.g., in R amygdala/periamygdaloid cortex and L orbitofrontal cortex) or for neutral items (e.g., in lateral inferior prefrontal cortex and R posterior hippocampus). Results indicate that emotional salience modulates the processes engaged during accurate retrieval and that activity in limbic regions corresponds with accurate memory assignment for emotional items. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate a link between limbic engagement at retrieval and accurate memory attribution. D
Of Evidence from Brain Imaging Studies
2012
What are the neural markers of encoding and retrieving emotional events with increased efficacy? In recent years, this question has captured the attention of cognitive neuroscientists who fervently engaged in addressing it using a multitude of approaches. The present review discusses evidence from brain imaging studies investigating the neural correlates of the memory-enhancing effect of emotion in healthy human participants. The available evidence points to two main mechanisms: one direct involving the medial temporal lobe (MTL), and the other indirect involving the prefrontal cortex (PFC), among other brain regions. Recent studies also showed that these mechanisms are sensitive to aspects relevant to social interactions, as well as to personality-, sexand age-related differences. Overall, this evidence provides insights into the brain mechanisms that make emotional memories special, and points to possible alterations that could lead to negative affective biases in encoding and rem...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2005
The memory-enhancing effect of emotion can be powerful and long-lasting. Most studies investigating the neural bases of this phenomenon have focused on encoding and early consolidation processes, and hence little is known regarding the contribution of retrieval processes, particularly after lengthy retention intervals. To address this issue, we used event-related functional MRI to measure neural activity during the retrieval of emotional and neutral pictures after a retention interval of 1 yr. Retrieval activity for emotional and neutral pictures was separately analyzed for successfully (hits) vs. unsuccessfully (misses) retrieved items and for responses based on recollection vs. familiarity. Recognition performance was better for emotional than for neutral pictures, and this effect was found only for recollection-based responses. Successful retrieval of emotional pictures elicited greater activity than successful retrieval of neutral pictures in the amygdala, entorhinal cortex, and...
Dissociable Temporal Lobe Activations during Emotional Episodic Memory Retrieval
NeuroImage, 2000
The richness of human recollective experience is, in part, related to evocation of previously experienced emotions. An extensive functional neuroimaging literature has provided a description of brain regions involved in retrieving emotionally neutral episodic memories. Whether similar or distinct systems are involved in retrieving emotional memories is unresolved. This question motivated the present functional neuroimaging study, using 0-15 positron emission tomography (PET), where we compared patterns of brain activation associated with retrieving previously studied emotional and neutral pictorial material. By varying task requirements and item density we characterized two distinct neural response patterns during emotional memory retrieval. First, we identified an anterior temporal pole activation that reflected the psychological set associated with emotional memory retrieval. Second, we identified a left amygdala response sensitive to actual retrieval of emotional items. These data suggest distinct functional roles for temporal lobe regions during emotional memory retrieval involving context-related tonic anterior temporal pole activation and a phasic item-related amygdala response. We conclude that brain regions involved in episodic memory retrieval reflect not only physical attributes of stimulus material, for example, their verbal or visual qualities, but also their affective significance.