title: Noradrenergic modulation of emotional memory in aging.
abstract: Interest in the role of the noradrenergic system in the modulation of emotional memories has recently increased. This study briefly reviews this timely line of research with a specific focus on aging. After having identified surprisingly few studies that investigated emotional memory in older adults from a neurobiological perspective, we found a significant interaction between noradrenergic activity and emotional memory enhancement in older adults. This pattern of data are explained both in terms of a top-down modulation of behavioral processes (e.g., changes in priority and individual goals) and in terms of greater activity of noradrenergic system during aging. Altogether, both behavioral and genetic variations studies (e.g., Alpha 2 B Adrenoceptor genotype) have shown that healthy older adults are able to circumvent or minimize the experience of negative emotions and stabilize or even enhance positive emotional experiences. Future studies are highly warranted to better clarify the relationship between noradrenaline and emotional memories in the aging brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Health and Territory, University of Chieti, Italy. Electronic address: n.mammarella@unich.it.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mammarella
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Health and Territory, University of Chieti, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Domenico
authors.affiliation: Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Palumbo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Health and Territory, University of Chieti, Italy.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fairfield
mesh_terms: D059331:Adrenergic Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D018341:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018341:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2
keywords: ADRA2B; Aging; Emotional memory; Noradrenergic system