title: Neural modulation of directed forgetting by valence and arousal: An event-related potential study.
abstract: Intentional forgetting benefits memory by removing no longer needed information and promoting processing of more relevant materials. This study sought to understand how the behavioural and neurophysiological representation of intentional forgetting would be impacted by emotion. We took a novel approach by examining the unique contribution of both valence and arousal on emotional directed forgetting. Participants completed an item directed forgetting task for positive, negative, and neutral words at high and lower levels of arousal while brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). Behaviourally, recognition of to-be-remembered (TBR) and to-be-forgotten (TBF) items varied as a function of valence and arousal with reduced directed forgetting for high arousing negative and neutral words. In the brain, patterns of frontal and posterior activation in response to TBF and TBR cues respectively replicated prior EEG evidence to support involvement of inhibitory and selective rehearsal mechanisms in item directed forgetting. Interestingly, emotion only impacted cue-related posterior activity, which varied depending on specific interactions between valence and arousal. Together, results suggest that the brain handles valence and arousal differently and highlights the importance of considering in a collective manner the multidimensional nature of emotion in experimentation.
authors: Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B2K3. Electronic address: s7gallan@psych.ryerson.ca.
authors: Sara N
authors: SN
authors: Gallant
authors: University of Sussex, School of Psychology, Falmer, BN1 9QH, UK.
authors: Benjamin J
authors: BJ
authors: Dyson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D001143:Arousal; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Arousal; Directed forgetting; Emotion; Event-related potentials; Memory; Valence