Towards a better integration of emotional factors in autobiographical memory

While the role of emotion in autobiographical memory (ABM) is acknowledged in some models, its specific effects are blurred by narrow approaches towards emotion that are often limited to a distinction between intensity and valence. After presenting a critical review of the role assigned to emotion for the development of ABM, this paper surveys current perspectives which encourage a broader approach to emotion in the development of ABM. Research on Flashbulb memories provides an important context where the role of emotion has been the most extensively investigated. This paper makes three important recommendations for future research, which are to (1) provide an assessment of emotional responses that includes appraisals, action tendencies, bodily sensations, and emotion intensity; (2) investigate the role of specific emotional states; and (3) adopt systematically a multi-component approach of ABM measurement, which takes accuracy, consistency, vividness, degree of details, and confidence into account.

Flashbulb memory recall in healthy adults - a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

The present study investigated neural activations related to flashbulb memory (FM) recall and examined whether the amygdala and hippocampus are involved in FM recall. 20 healthy adults completed a block design with an FM-condition, where the reception events for a number of potential FM events had to be recalled, and a control condition (FMC) comprising reception events lacking FM characteristics. A definition naming task was used as an implicit baseline. The individual emotional reaction to the FM events (EMO) and self-rated retrieval success were included in the SPM model as modulating parameters. The main contrast of interest were FM > FMC and activations associated with EMO. ROI-analyses on mesiotemporal regions were performed. FM > FMC yielded activations in line with the autobiographical memory network, with mostly left sided-activations. EMO was associated with a more bilateral activation pattern. ROI-analysis revealed activations for EMO in the right amygdala and HATA. FM > FMC was associated with right hippocampal activations. The present findings are compatible with previous research into autobiographical memory, but also show activations for FM recall different from ordinary, not highly emotional autobiographical memories, as EMO is associated with a more bilateral network. Moreover, the amygdala seems to be involved in FM recall.

Flashbulb memories: Is the amygdala central? An investigation of patients with amygdalar damage

Flashbulb memories (FM) are a subgroup of autobiographical memories referring to the circumstances in which a person first heard of a surprising, emotionally arousing event. Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) have been reported to be impaired in FM recall. As emotional arousal is central to FM, various authors have suggested a crucial role of the amygdala. However, to date, no studies have directly addressed this hypothesis. In this study, 33 TLE patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) were tested on an FM task twice with a minimum interval of two months. FM recall quality was measured as consistency of the answers. Patients were grouped according to the presence as well as the lateralisation of amygdalar damage, using information of brain imaging and intracranial electroencephalography-recordings. Analyses revealed that, relative to HC, patients with amygdalar damage had significantly diminished FM recall quality, whereas patients with intact amygdalae did not. Particularly patients with amygdalar damage in the non-language-dominant hemisphere performed significantly worse than HC. Findings suggest a negative influence of amygdalar damage, possibly especially in the non-dominant hemisphere, on FM retrieval quality. Given the shocking character of events evoking FM, a rapid emotion detection system involving the right (i.e. non-dominant) amygdala could be influential to FM formation. Thus, the present findings support previous, not yet examined, hypotheses concerning a crucial role of the amygdala in FM.

Fluidity in autobiographical memories: relationship memories sampled on two occasions

We investigated consistency of relationship memories. College undergraduates described five events (first meeting, first date, first fight, most embarrassing event, and favourite memory) from their current relationship or, if not currently dating, most recent relationship. Three months later, they were asked to describe the same events again. We scored the consistency of these narratives at three levels of analysis: event, basic information and propositions. The participants demonstrated low consistency in their descriptions, particularly at more detailed levels of analysis. Consistency depended somewhat on the events being recalled, with participants being more consistent for commonly retrieved relationship memories such as first dates. We also found that those individuals who continued in a relationship were less consistent than those describing a previous relationship. These still dating couples had increased opportunities to narrate event stories together and to update knowledge about the relationship through new episodes. In this fashion, updating of experiences may have led to more inconsistencies in recall over time. When considered with research on flashbulb memories, our findings indicate that updating and revisions may be general features of autobiographical memory.