Amygdala activity at encoding corresponds with memory vividness and with memory for select episodic details.
It is well known that amygdala activity during encoding corresponds with subsequent memory for emotional information. It is less clear how amygdala activity relates to the subjective and objective qualities of a memory. In the present study, participants viewed emotional and neutral objects while undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Participants then took a memory test, identifying which verbal labels named a studied object and indicating the vividness of their memory for that object. They then retrieved episodic details associated with each object's presentation, selecting which object exemplar had been studied and indicating in which screen quadrant, study list, and with which encoding question the exemplar had been studied. Parametric analysis of the encoding data allowed examination of the processes that tracked with increasing memory vividness or with an increase in the diversity of episodic details remembered. Dissociable networks tracked these two increases, and amygdala activity corresponded with the former but not the latter. Subsequent-memory analyses revealed that amygdala activity corresponded with memory for exemplar type but not for other episodic features. These results emphasize that amygdala activity does not ensure accurate encoding of all types of episodic detail, yet it does support encoding of some item-specific details and leads to the retention of a memory that will feel subjectively vivid. The types of episodic details tied to amygdala engagement may be those that are most important for creating a subjectively vivid memory.
Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. elizabeth.kensinger@bc.edu
Elizabeth A
EA
Kensinger
Donna Rose
DR
Addis
Ranga K
RK
Atapattu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology*; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012016:Reference Values; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1961 Jun;4:561-71
13688369
Hippocampus. 2006;16(5):504-20
16634088
Trends Cogn Sci. 2001 Sep 1;5(9):394-400
11520704
Perspect Psychol Sci. 2007 Mar;2(1):33-52
26151918
Learn Mem. 2008 Mar 05;15(3):172-82
18323572
Nat Neurosci. 2004 Mar;7(3):278-85
14758364
J Neurosci. 2006 Mar 1;26(9):2564-70
16510734
Psychol Aging. 2009 Jun;24(2):412-22
19485658
Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2008 Jun;8(2):143-52
18589505
Annu Rev Neurosci. 2004;27:1-28
15217324
Psychol Sci. 2008 Sep;19(9):919-25
18947358
Nat Neurosci. 2004 Dec;7(12):1376-80
15558065
Cogn Emot. 2011 Feb;25(2):229-43
21379376
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Mar 2;101(9):3310-5
14981255
J Exp Psychol Gen. 2003 Jun;132(2):310-24
12825643
Learn Mem. 2006 Nov-Dec;13(6):711-8
17101871
Rev Neurosci. 2004;15(4):241-51
15526549
Emot Rev. 2009;1(2):99-113
19421427
Mem Cognit. 2003 Dec;31(8):1169-80
15058678
J Exp Psychol Gen. 2000 Jun;129(2):242-61
10868336
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Feb 15;102(7):2626-31
15703295
Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2007 Sep;7(3):233-42
17993209
Neuroimage. 2004 Apr;21(4):1337-49
15050559
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2006 Dec;16(6):693-700
17097284
J Cogn Neurosci. 2007 Nov;19(11):1872-87
17958489
Neuroreport. 2002 Jan 21;13(1):15-9
11924878
Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2008 Apr 1;17(2):147-152
21399743
Mem Cognit. 2004 Apr;32(3):474-88
15285130
Int J Law Psychiatry. 2004 May-Jun;27(3):265-79
15177994
Neuropsychologia. 2008;46(7):1787-99
18343462
Neuroimage. 2010 Jan 15;49(2):1769-76
19786107
Learn Mem. 2005 Sep-Oct;12(5):472-9
16204201
Science. 2004 May 7;304(5672):881-3
15131309
Psychol Bull. 2009 Jul;135(4):638-77
19586165
J Cogn Neurosci. 2008 Jul;20(7):1161-73
18284340
Psychol Sci. 2003 Sep;14(5):455-61
12930476
Int J Psychophysiol. 2006 Jul;61(1):26-33
16427713
Psychophysiology. 2009 Nov;46(6):1190-9
19674398
Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2003 Jun;17(1):75-82
12763194
Cereb Cortex. 2008 Nov;18(11):2494-504
18375529
Psychon Bull Rev. 2007 Jun;14(3):423-9
17874582
Hum Brain Mapp. 1999;8(2-3):109-14
10524601
Psychol Aging. 2009 Dec;24(4):981-8
20025411
Neuropsychologia. 2009 Jul;47(8-9):1765-79
19428409
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006 Jan;7(1):54-64
16371950
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jan 2;104(1):389-94
17182739
Neuropsychologia. 2007 Oct 1;45(13):2951-62
17631361