Stanford Law 2011

Cognitive Neuroscience of Emotional Memory

Kevin S. LaBar, Ph.D.Center for Cognitive Neuroscience

Duke University

Outline of Talk

Enhancing effects of emotion on declarative memory: basic laboratory paradigms encoding, consolidation, and retrieval effects of emotion regulation

Enhancing effects of emotion on declarative memory: 'real-world' paradigms emotional memories of a complex sporting event emotional autobiographical memories

PsychologicalTheories of

Emotion

(A)

(B)

APPRAISAL CRITERIA JOY ANGER FEAR SADNESS Novelty high high high low Pleasantness high open low open Goal significance: Outcome certainty high very high high very high Conduciveness conducive obstructive obstructive obstructive Urgency low high very high low Coping potential: Agency self/other other other open Control high high open very low Power high high very low very low Adjustment high high low medium

(C)

Categorical (evolutionary)

Dimensional (social-motivational)

Component Process (cognitive)

Memory modulation theories

Memory systems theories

Neurobiological theories of emotional memory

The amygdala mediates emotional arousal influences on a variety of

memory systems

LaBar & Cabeza, Nat Rev Neurosci, 2006

Experimental fMRI Encoding Paradigm

ValenceUnpleasant Neutral Pleasant1 5 9

1=Low

9=High

Aro

usal

High arousing & Unpleasant

High arousing & Pleasant

Low arousing & Neutral

ValenceUnpleasant Neutral Pleasant1 5 9

1=Low

9=High

Aro

usal

ValenceUnpleasant Neutral Pleasant1 5 9

1=Low

9=High

Aro

usal

High arousing & Unpleasant

High arousing & Pleasant

High arousing & Unpleasant

High arousing & Pleasant

Low arousing & Neutral

High Arousing & Pleasant [N=60]

High Arousing & Unpleasant [N=60]

Low Arousing & Neutral [N=60]

Study: rate pleasantness

Test: cued recall

Dolcos, LaBar, & Cabeza, Neuron, 2004

Left Amygdala Right AmygdalaB.

A.

Pleasant NeutralUnpleasant

-0.05

0.05

0.15

0.25

1 2 3 4 5-0.05

0.05

0.15

0.25

1 2 3 4 5 TRTR

% s

igna

l ch

ange

Z = -22

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

# of

pic

ture

s re

calle

d

Pleasant Neutral Unpleasant0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

# of

pic

ture

s re

calle

d

Pleasant Neutral Unpleasant

Main Effect of Arousal on Amygdala Activation and Memory

Subsequent Memory Paradigm

Difference

Arousal Modulation of Subsequent

Memory (Dm) Effect

Meta-analysis of emotional encoding success studies

Murty , Ritchey, Adcock & LaBar, Neuropsychologia, 2010

Emotion regulation and subsequent memory

Encode negative pictures during fMRI under passive view, suppress, and reappraise (reduce personal relevance) conditions, as well as neutral (view) control pictures

Test memory in 2-week delayed recognition test

Behavioral results

Pannu Hayes et al., Front Human Neurosci, 2010

*

Emotion regulation and hippocampal subsequent memory effect

Pannu Hayes et al., Front Human Neurosci, 2010

Remembering One Year Later:Role of the MTL in Retrieving Emotional Memories

• Successful Retrieval = Hits vs. Misses

• Divide into recollection- and familiarity-based retrieval operations

• Compare Emotional Successful Retrieval vs. Neutral Successful Retrieval

Does the MTL also participate in the successful retrieval of emotional items from long-term storage?

Emotional Modulation of Retrieval Success Activity in MTL(Remember/Know combined)

Dolcos, LaBar, & Cabeza, PNAS, 2005

Recollection- vs. Familiarity-Based Emotional Retrieval Success Activity

**

“There should also be more interest in what people actually do (eat, have political views, watch television…), [and] more concern about whether the paradigmatic instances we choose for experimental analysis correspond to real-world events and are both robust and generalizable”Rozin, Perspectives Psychol. Sci.,

2009

Moving from the lab to the real world…

Retrieving emotional memories for a complex sporting event:

The Duke -UNC Basketball Study

Features of the experimental design

Archived game (@UNC 2000)

Valence is determined by opposing fan perspectives

Select engaged fans of opposing teams

Encoding conditions are controlled

Assess memory for specific plays (detailed event memory) each play has an emotional outcome that fluctuates

widely across trials

Sample retrieval trial

fMRI results: Arousal modulationAmygdala and hippocampus

fMRI results: Arousal modulation

Social cognitive/self-referential network Sensorimotor

fMRI results: Valence effects

Positive valence effect

dorsal frontoparietal network

Spatiotemporal dissociation of emotional intensity and reliving in autobiographical memory

“cue word”

time

“emotion”“reliving”

retrieval maintenance

eyes closed

24 sec

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

MRT = 12.3 sDaselaar et al., Cereb Cortex, 2008

-1.00

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

phase1 phase2 phase1 phase2

-1.00

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

phase1 phase2 phase1 phase2

T va

lues

T va

lues

EmotionReliving

EmotionReliving

retriev maint retriev maint retriev maint retriev maint

Visual CortexEmotion-specific variation Reliving-specific variation

Amygdala

Early Role of Emotion During Memory Retrieval

“When a subject is being asked to remember, very often the first thing that emerges is something of the nature of an attitude. The recall is then a construction, made largely on the basis of this attitude, and its general effect is that of a justification of the attitude,” where for Bartlett attitude is “very largely a matter of feeling, or affect.”

Bartlett (1932/1995)

Conclusions Emotional memory is a multidimensional construct

Amygdala-MTL interactions are important for long-term encoding and retrieval of emotionally intense episodes, with additional support from frontoparietal and sensory regions

Emotion regulation strategies modify activity in this network

These interactions extend to more complex, real-world memories where emotion has a broader reach over social cognitive and sensorimotor networks

Emerging VR technologies may be beneficial to reveal how real-world contexts regulate the expression of emotional memories

Acknowledgements Research support:

NIH R01 DA14094, R01 AG023123; NSF CAREER Award

Collaborators: Alison Adcock, Anne Botzung, Rachael Brady,

Roberto Cabeza, Sander Daselaar, Florin Dolcos, Daniel Greenberg, Amanda Miles, Gregory McCarthy, Rajendra Morey, Jasmeet Pannu Hayes, Heather Rice, David Rubin, Moria Smoski, Holton Thompson, David Zielinski

LaBaratory: Jose Alba Hernandez, Matthew Fecteau, Nicole

Huff, Phil Kragel, Vishnu Murty, Maureen Ritchey

No conflicts of interest to report

Future directions: Virtual emotional

memories Duke immersive Virtual

Environment (DiVE)

MTL Activation During Retrieval of Emotional Autobiographical Memories

Greenberg, Rice, Cooper, Cabeza, Rubin & LaBar, Neuropsychologia, 2005

Anterior AnteriorPosterior Posterior

• Pre-scan cue generation method• Compare autobiographical vs. semantic retrieval

AMSM

How Can Cognitive Neuroscience Contribute?

1. Whether emotion enhances or diminishes the strength of memory for an event

2. Whether special mechanisms are required to account for the effects of emotion on memory

3. Whether emotion affects the subjective experience of remembering

Two central issues in emotional memory research (Schooler & Eich, 2000)

Francis Bacon: Facts connected with strong feelings were easier remembered than indifferent facts

Descartes: Emergence of memories is brought about by the passions

Rappaport, Emotions and Memory, 1950

Historical interest: Emotion and memory

Arousal-Mediated Memory Consolidation Deficits Following

Bilateral Amygdala Damage

# w

ords

rec

alle

d

R L

S.P.

LaBar & Phelps, Psychol Sci, 1998