Emotional context modulates subsequent memory effect.

Full Abstract

Emotions have been shown to modulate memory processes. However, the neuronal substrate underlying these modulatory effects is largely unknown. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated whether the context of emotional encoding modulates brain activation predictive for subsequent recall of emotionally neutral material. While inferior frontal activation predicted recall in general, our data show that in a positive encoding context, recall was predicted by activation of right anterior parahippocampal and extrastriate visual brain areas, whereas in a negative encoding context, recall was predicted by activation of the amygdala. Thus, we could demonstrate that successful episodic encoding is differentially modulated by emotional context. These results contribute to the understanding of the interaction of emotion and cognition and moreover are of general relevance for studies of episodic memory.

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Author information

Author/s: Erk, Susanne (S); Kiefer, Markus (M); Grothe, Jo (J); Wunderlich, Arthur P (AP); Spitzer, Manfred (M); Walter, Henrik (H);

Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Leimgrubenweg 12-14, 89075 Ulm, Germany.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: NeuroImage (Neuroimage), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Feb; vol 18 (issue 2) : pp 439-47

Dates: Created 2003/02/21; Completed 2003/04/11; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12595197, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Amygdala - physiology
Association Learning - physiology
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Echo-Planar Imaging
Electroencephalography
Female
Frontal Lobe - physiology
Humans

Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Mental Recall - physiology
Neural Pathways - physiology
Parahippocampal Gyrus - physiology
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Verbal Learning - physiology

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