title: Age related changes in emotional memory.
abstract: Studies have found that emotionally evocative stimuli are better remembered than neutral stimuli, an effect called "emotional enhancement". Researchers have also found that the elderly experience an overall decline in memory relative to the young. We hypothesized that the elderly may experience diminished emotional enhancement, and that this may be one factor contributing to overall memory decline in the elderly. We tested elderly and young subjects on tasks of emotional memory for words and faces. In both the elderly and young, a shift in memory favoring positive stimuli (as opposed to negative and neutral stimuli) was evident, this effect being slightly more marked in the elderly. We suggest that the effects seen in both groups may be due to a shift from the amygdala-hippocampal system to the prefrontal cortex over time. We suggest that the more marked response in the elderly may be due to age-related changes in these brain systems, causing a further shift towards memory for positive material.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Neuroscience CR131, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97239-3098, USA. leigland@ohsu.edu
authors.forename: Lindsey A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Leigland
authors.forename: Laura E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: Jeri S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Janowsky
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology