Dataset Information

Exploring the Facets of Emotional Episodic Memory: Remembering "What," "When," and "Which".

ABSTRACT: Our memories can differ in quality from one event to the next, and emotion is one important explanatory factor. Still, the manner in which emotion impacts episodic memory is complex: Whereas emotion enhances some aspects of episodic memory-particularly central aspects-it dampens memory for peripheral/contextual information. Extending previous work, we examined the effects of emotion on one often overlooked aspect of memory, namely, temporal context. We tested whether emotion would impair memory for when an event occurred. Participants (N = 116 adults) watched videos wherein negative and neutral images were inserted. Consistent with prior work, results showed that emotion enhanced and impaired memory, respectively, for "what" and "which." Unexpectedly, emotion was associated with enhanced accuracy for "when": We found that participants estimated that neutral images occurred relatively later, but there was no such bias for negative images. By examining multiple features of episodic memory, we provide a holistic characterization of the myriad effects of emotion.

SUBMITTER: Palombo DJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8641128 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Exploring the Facets of Emotional Episodic Memory: Remembering "What," "When," and "Which".

Palombo Daniela J DJ Te Alessandra A AA Checknita Katherine J KJ Madan Christopher R CR

Psychological science 20210623 7

Our memories can differ in quality from one event to the next, and emotion is one important explanatory factor. Still, the manner in which emotion impacts episodic memory is complex: Whereas emotion enhances some aspects of episodic memory-particularly central aspects-it dampens memory for peripheral/contextual information. Extending previous work, we examined the effects of emotion on one often overlooked aspect of memory, namely, temporal context. We tested whether emotion would impair memory ...[more]

PMID: 34160303

Similar Datasets

Project description:Recent evidence suggests that our capacities to remember the past and to imagine what might happen in the future largely depend on the same core brain network that includes the middle temporal lobe, the posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex, the inferior parietal lobe, the medial prefrontal cortex, and the lateral temporal cortex. However, the extent to which regions of this core brain network are also responsible for our capacity to think about what could have happened in our past, yet did not occur (i.e., episodic counterfactual thinking), is still unknown. The present study examined this issue. Using a variation of the experimental recombination paradigm (Addis, Pan, Vu, Laiser, & Schacter, 2009. Neuropsychologia. 47: 2222-2238), participants were asked both to remember personal past events and to envision alternative outcomes to such events while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Three sets of analyses were performed on the imaging data in order to investigate two related issues. First, a mean-centered spatiotemporal partial least square (PLS) analysis identified a pattern of brain activity across regions of the core network that was common to episodic memory and episodic counterfactual thinking. Second, a non-rotated PLS analysis identified two different patterns of brain activity for likely and unlikely episodic counterfactual thoughts, with the former showing significant overlap with the set of regions engaged during episodic recollection. Finally, a parametric modulation was conducted to explore the differential engagement of brain regions during counterfactual thinking, revealing that areas such as the parahippocampal gyrus and the right hippocampus were modulated by the subjective likelihood of counterfactual simulations. These results suggest that episodic counterfactual thinking engages regions that form the core brain network, and also that the subjective likelihood of our counterfactual thoughts modulates the engagement of different areas within this set of regions.

Project description:BackgroundChildhoods in urban or rural environments may differentially affect the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders, possibly through memory processing and neural response to emotional stimuli. Genetic factors may not only influence individuals' choices of residence but also modulate how the living environment affects responses to episodic memory.MethodsWe investigated the effects of childhood urbanicity on episodic memory in 410 adults (discovery sample) and 72 adults (replication sample) with comparable socioeconomic statuses in Beijing, China, distinguishing between those with rural backgrounds (resided in rural areas before age 12 and relocated to urban areas at or after age 12) and urban backgrounds (resided in cities before age 12). We examined the effect of childhood urbanicity on brain function across encoding and retrieval sessions using an fMRI episodic memory paradigm involving the processing of neutral or aversive pictures. Moreover, genetic association analyses were conducted to understand the potential genetic underpinnings that might contribute to memory processing and neural mechanisms influenced by early-life urban or rural environments.ResultsEpisodic memory retrieval accuracy for more difficult neutral stimuli was similar between those with urban and rural childhoods, whereas aversive stimuli elicited higher retrieval accuracy in the urban group (P = 0.023). For aversive stimuli, subjects with urban childhood had relatively decreased engagement of the striatum at encoding and decreased engagement of the hippocampus at retrieval. This more efficient striatal encoding of aversive stimuli in those with urban childhoods was associated with common variation in neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 2 (NTRK2) (right striatum: P = 1.58×10-6). These findings were confirmed in the replication sample.ConclusionsWe suggest that this differential striatal processing of aversive stimuli observed in individuals with urban or rural childhoods may represent mechanisms by which childhood urbanicity may affect brain circuits, heightening behavioral responses to negative stressors associated with urban environments. NTRK2-associated neural processes in the striatum may play a role in these processes.

Dataset Information

Exploring the Facets of Emotional Episodic Memory: Remembering "What," "When," and "Which".

Publications

Exploring the Facets of Emotional Episodic Memory: Remembering "What," "When," and "Which".

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets