Personality and emotional memory: How regulating emotion impairs memory for emotional events

Neurobiological accounts of emotional memory have been derived largely from animal models investigating the encoding and retention of memories for events that signal threat. This literature has implicated the amygdala, a structure in the brain's temporal lobe, in the learning and consolidation of fear memories. Its role in fear conditioning has been confirmed, but the human amygdala also interacts with cortical regions to mediate other aspects of emotional memory. These include the encoding and consolidation of pleasant and unpleasant arousing events into long-term memory, the narrowing of focus on central emotional information, the retrieval of prior emotional events and contexts, and the subjective experience of recollection and emotional intensity during retrieval. Along with other mechanisms that do not involve the amygdala, these functions ensure that significant life events leave a lasting impression in memory.

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0099 The Effects of Sleep on the Consolidation of Fearful Memories

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsaa056.097 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. A39-A40

Author(s):

M Arsic ◽

L Heiss ◽

A M Chambers

Keyword(s):

Memory Consolidation ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Neutral Condition ◽

Emotion Induction ◽

Induction Procedure ◽

Main Effect ◽

Before And After ◽

Real World Learning ◽

Emotional Events ◽

The Impact

Abstract Introduction Previous research has found that emotionally intense stimuli are better remembered than neutral stimuli, especially after a period of sleep. However, few studies have examined memory for experienced emotional events, especially fearful ones. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impact of sleep on memory consolidation using a fearful emotion induction task. Methods Thirty-three young adults (18.94±1.06 years; 64% female) were randomly assigned to either a fearful or neutral emotion induction condition. Participants were induced into their assigned emotion by visualizing each of eight emotion-congruent scenarios while corresponding music played in the background. Emotional state was measured using the Affect Grid before and after the emotion induction procedure. Twelve hours later, spanning either a day of wakefulness (wake group) or night of sleep (sleep group), participants were asked to recall the previously presented scenarios. Results A 2 x 2 ANOVA examined differences in the number of scenarios recalled between the conditions. A significant main effect of sleep was found, F(1,29)=8.41, p=.007, η 2p=.23, reflecting better recall in the sleep (3.21±1.78) vs. the wake group (1.79±1.72). There was also a main effect of emotion, F(1,29)=22.17, p<.001, η 2p=.43, reflecting better recall in the fear (3.58±1.54) vs. the neutral condition (1.29±1.44). However, there was no interaction. Results were similar for the number of details recalled between the conditions. The sleep group (12.74±9.09) recalled more details than the wake group (5.50±5.81), F(1,29)=8.05, p=.008, η 2p=.22. More details were also recalled in the fear condition (13.16±8.73) than the neutral condition (4.93±5.77), F(1,29)=10.54, p=.003, η 2p=.27. There was again no interaction. Conclusion Results demonstrate that both sleep and fearful emotion facilitate memory consolidation. This work both supports and extends existing research by examining emotional memory consolidation through the manipulation of experienced events, which may more closely approximate real world learning than previous methods. Support N/A

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Emotional Memory in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Report of Two Cases

Case Reports in Psychiatry ◽

10.1155/2012/313906 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-3 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Akira Okada ◽

Junko Matsuo

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Family Member ◽

Long Memory ◽

Daily Life ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Memory Retention ◽

Long Period ◽

Emotional Events

Highly emotional events in daily life can be preserved in memory and such memory is generally referred to as emotional memory. Some reports have demonstrated that emotional memory is also found in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, to our knowledge, there have been no reports about how long memory retention for emotional events can continue in patients with AD. In this paper, we present two patients with AD who lost an immediate family member during followup and retained the memory over a long period despite progression of the AD.

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0100 Effect of Naps on Preschoolers’ Consolidation of an Emotional Storybook

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsaa056.098 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. A40-A40

Author(s):

J F Holmes ◽

M K Deighan ◽

N W Miranda ◽

G M Mason ◽

R M Spencer

Keyword(s):

Preschool Children ◽

Memory Consolidation ◽

Declarative Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Multiple Choice Questions ◽

Time Points ◽

Sleep Physiology ◽

Emotional Events ◽

Time Point

Abstract Introduction Naps are known to benefit emotional memory consolidation in preschoolers, though improvement is not evident until the following day. The mechanisms by which naps aid emotional memory, and how they differ from those facilitating more neutral declarative memory consolidation, are currently unknown. In this study, we used an emotional storybook task to assess change in memory for emotionally salient vs. neutral events across a nap and overnight sleep. PSG was included to explore sleep physiology correlates. Methods Preschool children (n = 9; Mage= 43.2 months) were read a novel storybook featuring negative and neutral events. Memory of story events was probed through sets of multiple-choice questions and assessed at three time points: immediately following the story, following a nap or equivalent wake period (within-subject; counterbalanced; separated by ~1 week), and 24h post-encoding. PSG was recorded during the nap period and both subsequent overnight sleep bouts. Results Memory performance across time points was assessed via change scores. Recall of story events did not differ between conditions from immediate to post-nap/wake assessment. When probed the following morning, children better remembered events when a nap took place the day prior (F(1,7) = 8.848, p=.021). This delayed nap benefit correlated with time spent in NREM2 during the nap (r=.91, p=.017). No differences were found between recall of negative vs. neutral events at any time point or between conditions. Conclusion Our results show a delayed benefit of napping on recall of a storybook, though at present no preference for emotional events is seen. Time spent in NREM2 during the nap was strongly associated with our finding, likely reflecting the declarative memory benefits conferred from this stage. Further analyses will include overnight sleep physiology to explore differential enhancement between event types, and possible interactions with nap microstructure. Support This work was supported by NIH R01 HL111695.

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Neuronal activity in the human amygdala and hippocampus enhances emotional memory encoding

10.1101/2021.11.28.470278 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Salman E Qasim ◽

Uma Rani Mohan ◽

Joel M Stein ◽

Joshua Jacobs

Keyword(s):

High Frequency ◽

Memory Task ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Direct Electrical Stimulation ◽

Memory Encoding ◽

Emotional Stimuli ◽

Emotional Information ◽

High Frequency Activity ◽

Emotional Events ◽

The Brain

Emotional events are often easier to recall, and comprise our most valuable memories. Here, as subjects performed a memory task in which they recalled emotional stimuli more readily than neutral stimuli, we used direct brain recording and stimulation in the hippocampus and amygdala to identify how the brain prioritizes emotional information for memory encoding. High-frequency activity (HFA), a correlate of local neuronal spiking, increased in both hippocampus and amygdala when subjects successfully encoded emotionally arousing stimuli. Direct electrical stimulation applied to these regions during encoding decreased HFA and selectively impaired retrieval for emotional stimuli. Finally, depressed subjects' memory was biased more by valence than arousal, and they exhibited a congruent increase in HFA as a function of valence. Our findings thus provide evidence that emotional stimuli up-regulate activity in the amygdala--hippocampus circuit to enhance memory for emotional information, and suggest that targeted modulation of this circuit alters emotional memory processes.

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Autobiographical Memory: How Emotion Influences the Details Recalled

10.31234/osf.io/pbdr5 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Victoria Wardell ◽

Christopher R Madan ◽

Taylyn J. Jameson ◽

Chantelle Cocquyt ◽

Katherine Checknita ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Retention Interval ◽

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Real World ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Prior Work ◽

Autobiographical Memories ◽

Time Period ◽

Emotional Events

A wealth of research suggests that emotion enhances memory. Yet, emotion does not uniformly enhance all aspects of memory. The goal of the present study was to examine the effects of emotion on mnemonic detail production for real-world, autobiographical memories (AM). Building on prior work that suggests emotion enhances memory for sensory/perceptual details, we hypothesized that emotional events would contain more perceptually-related details than neutral events. We used a paradigm modified from St. Jacques & Levine (2007), administering the Autobiographical Interview (AI; Levine et al., 2002) to 56 participants. The AI is a semi-structured protocol that parses episodic AM details into specific categories (event, perceptual, thoughts, time, place). Participants recalled memories that were positive, negative, and neutral from a recent (≲3 months old) and remote (~1-5 years old) time period, with the resulting narratives classified into the AI categories. Our results showed that the recollection of perceptual details did not differ for emotional versus neutral AMs at either retention interval. By contrast, emotion affected memory for other types of episodic details, contingent on retention interval and valence. Our findings further enrich our understanding of the intricacy and nuance of emotional memory, complementing studies using other laboratory or naturalistic approaches.

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Beta-adrenergic Blockade at Memory Encoding, but Not Retrieval, Decreases the Subjective Sense of Recollection

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00941 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 28 (6) ◽

pp. 895-907 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Ulrike Rimmele ◽

Sandra F. Lackovic ◽

Russell H. Tobe ◽

Bennett L. Leventhal ◽

Elizabeth A. Phelps

Keyword(s):

Memory Retrieval ◽

Oral Intake ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Adrenergic System ◽

Adrenergic Blockade ◽

Contrast Administration ◽

Double Blind ◽

Beta Adrenergic ◽

Behavioral Evidence ◽

Emotional Events

Humans remember emotional events not only better but also exhibit a qualitatively distinct recollective experience—that is, emotion intensifies the subjective vividness of the memory, the sense of reliving the event, and confidence in the accuracy of the memory [Phelps, E. A., & Sharot, T. How (and why) emotion enhances the subjective sense of recollection. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 147–152, 2008]. Although it has been demonstrated that activation of the beta-adrenergic system, linked to increases in stress hormone levels and physiological arousal, mediates enhanced emotional memory accuracy, the mechanism underlying the increased subjective sense of recollection is unknown. Behavioral evidence suggests that increased arousal associated with emotional events, either at encoding or retrieval, underlies their increased subjective sense of recollection. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject design, we showed that reducing arousal at encoding through oral intake of 80-mg of the beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol decreases the subjective sense of recollection for both negative and neutral stimuli 24 hr later. In contrast, administration of propranolol before memory retrieval did not alter the subjective sense of recollection. These results suggest that the neurohormonal changes underlying increased arousal at the time of memory formation, rather than the time of memory retrieval, modulate the subjective sense of recollection.

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Awake ripples enhance emotional memory encoding in the human brain

10.1101/2021.11.17.469047 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Haoxin Zhang ◽

Ivan Skelin ◽

Shiting Ma ◽

Michelle Paff ◽

Michael A Yassa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Discrimination Task ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Memory Encoding ◽

Sharp Wave ◽

Electrophysiological Evidence ◽

Emotional Events ◽

Intracranial Recordings

Intracranial recordings from the human amygdala and the hippocampus during an emotional memory encoding and discrimination task reveal increased awake sharp-wave/ripples (aSWR) after encoding of emotional compared to neutral stimuli. Further, post-encoding aSWR-locked memory reinstatement in the amygdala and the hippocampus was predictive of later memory discrimination. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence that post-encoding aSWRs enhance memory for emotional events.

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Split-Second Unlearning: Developing a Theory of Psychophysiological Dis-ease

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.716535 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Matt Hudson ◽

Mark I. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Stress Response ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Well Being ◽

Chronic Fatigue ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Supporting Evidence ◽

Fatigue Syndrome ◽

Psychophysiological Stress ◽

Psychological Educational ◽

Emotional Events

Psychophysiological “stress” underpins many conditions including anxiety, depression, phobias, chronic fatigue syndrome and non-specific musculoskeletal pain such as fibromyalgia. In this article we develop an understanding of chronic psychophysiological stress from a psychological educational perspective, by drawing on supporting evidence that significant emotional events in early life (traumatic and benign) can influence health and well-being later in life. We suggest that traumatic events instigate psychophysiological “stress” responses and the formation of emotional memory images (EMIs) within very short time frames, i.e., “split-second learning.” Once formed these emotional memories are triggered in daily living “re-playing” psychophysiological stress responses, resulting in chronic psychophysiological “dis-ease.” We describe a novel therapeutic approach to scan clients for mannerisms signifying a subconscious “freeze-like” stress response that involves the client as a curious observer within their own experience, feeding back the non-verbal cues as they arrive in the moment. By breaking down the observable fragments of their split-second Pavlovian response to the trigger, clients can detach their EMI from the psychophysiology stress response, i.e., “split-second unlearning.” Our split-second unlearning model recognizes the EMI as a barrier to moving forward and needs to be unlearned before the client can become naturally adaptive again. We argue that this approach places the client at the center of the work without the need of getting bogged down in a life-long narrative.

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Subregional activation of the amygdala during emotional memory encoding in posttraumatic stress disorder: an FMRI investigation

10.32920/ryerson.14657403.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ronak Patel

Keyword(s):

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Stress Disorder ◽

Traumatic Event ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Control Group ◽

Memory Encoding ◽

Emotional Symptoms ◽

Significant Impairment ◽

Emotional Events

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized as a debilitating and disruptive psychiatric condition that arises following exposure to a single or multiple traumatic events. The disorder expresses itself as a constellation of physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms and leads to significant impairment in social and occupation functioning. In Canada, the majority of Canadians are exposed to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime and almost one in ten Canadians go on to develop the disorder. Despite evolving conceptualizations of PTSD, re-experiencing symptoms related to recurrent and intrusive memories remains a core feature of the disorder, and these recollections often accompany other changes in memory. The mechanisms underlying memory disturbances in PTSD however, remain less clear. Early fear conditioning studies in non-human primates implicated alterations to the basolateral subdivision of the amygdala (BLA) in the pathogenesis of PTSD, due to its role in learning and memory for threatening events. The overall goal of this dissertation was to examine whether PTSD is associated with alterations in functional brain activation across three distinct subregions of the amygdala during memory encoding of emotional events varying in valence and arousal. Specifically, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and analysis methods based on probabilistic cytoarchitectonic mapping, activation of the amygdala subregions was examined for a series of photos that participants viewed in the fMRI scanner, and then later remembered during a recognition memory test. Consistent with the study’s primary hypothesis, results those with PTSD (n = 11) showed greater activation of the BLA during encoding of negative relative to positive photos. This effect was unique to the BLA compared with the centromedial amygdala. No subregional differences emerged in the trauma-exposed control group (n = 11). Moreover, the BLA memory effect in the PTSD group was also observed when comorbid depressive symptoms were statistically controlled, and showed a marginally significant effect toward independently predicting symptom severity. Contrary to the study’s hypotheses, there was no evidence of altered BLA activity during memory encoding of high arousing relative to low arousing events. Overall, the results of this dissertation suggest that task-based activation of the amygdala in PTSD is not consistent across the entire structure, and that memory-related processing of negative information is associated with recruitment of the BLA.

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