Memory & Emotion (Slide 18)

how Relational Memory is tested on amnesic patients

Delete or add object to a visual scene; measure eye movements

amnesic patients don’t notice changes

impairment is not present at short durations

• i.e. due to failure of long-term memory

The Frontal Cortex

MTL binds information processed by frontal lobes

• frontal activity differentiates between later remembered and forgotten items

• amnesia patients show frontal activity

• normal individuals have poor memory in absence of frontal activity (attention)

• serves as cognitive executive

Greater activity in hippocampus, parietal, premotor, fusiform, and inferior frontal regions predict later memory

The Parietal Cortex

Cluster of parietal regions; active in tasks looking at episodic memory

strong connections to hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus

Memory Consolidation (2 theories)

Standard consolidation theory

• memories are gradually shifted to cortex

Multiple trace theory

• retrieval lays down new “traces”

• makes memories resistant to disruption

Memory consolidation and sleep

Sleep facilitates the transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory. Aiding in recollection and recall

What is an emotion?

Distinct from moods. Have three parts:

• physiological response

• behavioral response

• feeling (subjective experience)

Are emotions culturally bound?

No. They are universal

Theories of Emotion

Role of physiological response

Cognition

Evolutionary pressure

Hierarchical vs. parallel processing

Emotion Pathways

The Limbic System

The Limbic System (2 parts)

Amygdala

Orbitofrontal Cortex

Amygdala pathways

Low Road

• sensory information via thalamus directly to the amygdala

• crude identification

High Road

• via thalamus then sensory cortex

• slower but more accurate

Patient S.M. (Amygdala study)

Urbach-Wiethe disease

Selective difficulty recognizing fear

Understood concept of fear

Showed exaggerated approach behavior

Classical Conditioning

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) leads to unconditioned response (UCR)

Conditioned stimulus (CS) predicts UCS

The CS elicits conditioned response (CR)

Extinction - if the CS is not paired with the UCS, eventually the CR goes awat

Fear conditioning

Classical conditioning where the outcome is to make the subject fear something

Lesion to amygdala

• abolishes ability to acquire conditioning

• does not abolish UCR to UCS (you are still afraid of UCS)

Fear conditioning study

skin conductance relates to activity in amygdala

Flashbulb memories

Highly detailed, vivid memories of emotionally significant events.

Very high confidence retained for long periods

Emotion and Memory

Arousal increases skin conductance and overall memory

Arousal slows forgetting

Emotion and Memory localization

Clusters in bilateral amygdala, anterior hippocampus, anterior and posterior parahippocampal gyrus

also, prefrontal and parietal areas