The effect of anticipation and the specificity of sex differences for amygdala and hippocampus function in emotional memory.

ABSTRACT: Prior research has shown memory is enhanced for emotional events. Key brain areas involved in emotional memory are the amygdala and hippocampus, which are also recruited during aversion and its anticipation. This study investigated whether anticipatory processes signaling an upcoming aversive event contribute to emotional memory. In an event-related functional MRI paradigm, 40 healthy participants viewed aversive and neutral pictures preceded by predictive warning cues. Participants completed a surprise recognition task directly after functional MRI scanning or 2 weeks later. In anticipation of aversive pictures, bilateral dorsal amygdala and anterior hippocampus activations were associated with better immediate recognition memory. Similar associations with memory were observed for activat

SUBMITTER: Mackiewicz KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1599934 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature