Canli

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

1. To find whether emotive images will be better remembered than pictures with little emotion.
2. To find whether the amygdala is sensitive to different levels of emotional intensity to external stimuli, and whether the level of emotional intensity enhances the memory of that stimuli.

Question 2

2 kinds of medical scan

Answer 2

1. Functional scans show activity levels in different areas of the brain.
   2, Structural scans take detailed pictures of the brain structure.

Question 3

Research method, design

Answer 3

Lab, repeated measures design

Question 4

Independent variable

Answer 4

level of arousal of each picture shown.
i) Not emotionally intense at all: Levels 0 & 1
ii) Extremely emotionally intense: Levels 2 & 3.

Question 5

Dependent variable

Answer 5

1. The fMRI measure of amygdala activation. For each of the 96 scenes, 11 frames were captured.
2. The memory of the scene after 3 weeks.

Question 6

Sample

Answer 6

10 right handed females, volunteers

Question 7

How many emotional scenes

Answer 7

96 from International Affective Picture System

Question 8

Valence ratings

Answer 8

1.17 (highly negative) - 5.44 (neutral)

Question 9

How long each pic was presented for

Answer 9

2.88 sec and an interval of 12,96 sec where they viewed a fixation cross

Question 10

How did participants indicate their emotional arousal?

Answer 10

By pressing a button with their right hand. They had to choose from 4 buttons on a scale of 0 - 3

Question 11

How was the fMRI data collected?

Answer 11

1.5 Tesla fMRI scanner which is used to measure blood-oxygen-level-dependent contrast

Question 12

What was the unexpected recognition test

Answer 12

They were called in 3 weeks after and they viewed 96 scenes and 48 foils (newly added). Participants were asked to judge whether they had remembered it, felt it was familiar, or forgotten it

Question 13

Results

Answer 13

1. The correlation between participants’ intensity rating and valence was -0.66. The correlation between participants’ intensity rating and arousal was 0.68. Participants’ ratings of emotional intensity reflected well the valence and arousal characteristics of the stimuli.
2. Amygdala activation was significantly correlated with higher ratings of individually experienced emotional intensity.
3. The follow-up memory task indicated that memory performance was better for scenes rated as highly emotionally intense than for scenes rated as less emotionally intense.
4. The degree of left amygdala activation predicted whether the stimuli would be forgotten, appear familiar, or would be remembered.

Question 14

Conclusion

Answer 14

1. Canli found an association between individual experiences of emotional intensity for stimuli with amygdala activation and memory. The more emotionally intense an image is, the more likely it will be remembered.
   This provides evidence to explain why people remember emotionally intense experiences well.
2. The amygdala is sensitive to individuals’ experienced emotional intensity of visual stimuli. The activity in the left amygdala during encoding is predictive of subsequent memory.

Question 15

Strengths

Answer 15

1. High Internal Validity
2. High reliability

Question 16

Weaknesses

Answer 16

1. Low external validity
2. Low ecological validity