Dataset Information

Selectively Interfering With Intrusive but Not Voluntary Memories of a Trauma Film: Accounting for the Role of Associative Memory.

ABSTRACT: Intrusive memories of a traumatic event can be reduced by a subsequent interference procedure, seemingly sparing voluntary memory for that event. This selective-interference effect has potential therapeutic benefits (e.g., for emotional disorders) and legal importance (e.g., for witness testimony). However, the measurements of intrusive memory and voluntary memory typically differ in the role of associations between a cue and the emotional memory "hotspots." To test this, we asked participants to watch a traumatic film followed by either an interference procedure (reminder plus Tetris) or control procedure (reminder only). Measurement of intrusions (using a laboratory task) and voluntary memory (recognition for film stills) were crossed with the presence or absence of associative cues. The reminder-plus-Tetris group exhibited fewer intrusions despite comparable recognition memory, replicating the results of prior studies. Note that this selective interference did not appear to depend on associative cues. This involuntary versus voluntary memory dissociation for emotional material further supports separate-trace memory theories and has applied advantages.

SUBMITTER: Lau-Zhu A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8579330 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Selectively Interfering With Intrusive but Not Voluntary Memories of a Trauma Film: Accounting for the Role of Associative Memory.

Lau-Zhu Alex A Henson Richard N RN Holmes Emily A EA

Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science 20210506 6

Intrusive memories of a traumatic event can be reduced by a subsequent interference procedure, seemingly sparing voluntary memory for that event. This <i>selective-interference effect</i> has potential therapeutic benefits (e.g., for emotional disorders) and legal importance (e.g., for witness testimony). However, the measurements of intrusive memory and voluntary memory typically differ in the role of associations between a cue and the emotional memory "hotspots." To test this, we asked partici ...[more]

PMID: 34777922

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Project description:Intrusive memories often take the form of distressing images that emerge into a person's awareness, unbidden. A fundamental goal of clinical neuroscience is to understand the mechanisms allowing people to control these memory intrusions and reduce their emotional impact. Mnemonic control engages a right frontoparietal network that interrupts episodic retrieval by modulating hippocampal activity; less is known, however, about how this mechanism contributes to affect regulation. Here we report evidence in humans (males and females) that stopping episodic retrieval to suppress an unpleasant image triggers parallel inhibition of mnemonic and emotional content. Using fMRI, we found that regulation of both mnemonic and emotional content was driven by a shared frontoparietal inhibitory network and was predicted by a common profile of medial temporal lobe downregulation involving the anterior hippocampus and the amygdala. Critically, effective connectivity analysis confirmed that reduced amygdala activity was not merely an indirect consequence of hippocampal suppression; rather, both the hippocampus and the amygdala were targeted by a top-down inhibitory control signal originating from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This negative coupling was greater when unwanted memories intruded into awareness and needed to be purged. Together, these findings support the broad principle that retrieval suppression is achieved by regulating hippocampal processes in tandem with domain-specific brain regions involved in reinstating specific content, in an activity-dependent fashion.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Upsetting events sometimes trigger intrusive images that cause distress and that may contribute to psychiatric disorders. People often respond to intrusions by suppressing their retrieval, excluding them from awareness. Here we examined whether suppressing aversive images might also alter emotional responses to them, and the mechanisms underlying such changes. We found that the better people were at suppressing intrusions, the more it reduced their emotional responses to suppressed images. These dual effects on memory and emotion originated from a common right prefrontal cortical mechanism that downregulated the hippocampus and amygdala in parallel. Thus, suppressing intrusions affected emotional content. Importantly, participants who did not suppress intrusions well showed increased negative affect, suggesting that suppression deficits render people vulnerable to psychiatric disorders.

Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has escalated the global need for remotely delivered and scalable interventions after psychological trauma. A brief intervention involving a computer game as an imagery-competing task has shown promising results for reducing the number of intrusive memories of trauma-one of the core clinical symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. To date, the intervention has only been delivered face-to-face. To be tested and implemented on a wider scale, digital adaptation for remote delivery is crucial. An important first step is to develop digitalized intervention materials in a systematic way based on feedback from clinicians, researchers, and students in preparation for pilot testing with target users.ObjectiveThe first aim of this study is to obtain and analyze qualitative feedback on digital intervention materials, namely two animated videos and two quizzes that explain the target clinical symptoms and provide intervention instructions. The second aim is to refine the digitalized materials based on this feedback.MethodsWe conducted semistructured interviews with 12 participants who had delivered or had knowledge of the intervention when delivered face-to-face. We obtained in-depth feedback on the perceived feasibility of using the digitalized materials and suggestions for improvements. Interviews were assessed using qualitative content analysis, and suggested improvements were evaluated for implementation using a systematic method of prioritization.ResultsA total of three overarching themes were identified from the data. First, participants were highly positive about the potential benefits of using these digital materials for remote delivery, reporting that the videos effectively conveyed key concepts of the symptom and its treatment. Second, some modifications to the materials were suggested for improving clarity. On the basis of this feedback, we made nine specific changes. Finally, participants raised some key challenges for remote delivery, mainly in overcoming the lack of real-time communication during the intervention.ConclusionsClinicians, researchers, and clinical psychology students were overall confident in the use of digitalized materials to remotely deliver a brief intervention to reduce intrusive memories of trauma. Guided by participant feedback, we identified and implemented changes to refine the intervention materials. This study lays the groundwork for the next step: pilot testing remote delivery of the full intervention to trauma survivors.

Dataset Information

Selectively Interfering With Intrusive but Not Voluntary Memories of a Trauma Film: Accounting for the Role of Associative Memory.

Publications

Selectively Interfering With Intrusive but Not Voluntary Memories of a Trauma Film: Accounting for the Role of Associative Memory.

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