canli et al.

Question 1

what is the canli studies premise (basically what it studied / concluded)

Answer 1

event-related activation in the human amygdala associates with later memory for individual emotional experience

Question 2

what was canli’s aim?

Answer 2

to show that emotive images will be remembered than those that have little emotional impact on an individual.

Question 3

canli’s central question?

Answer 3

• whether the amygdala is sensitive the varying degrees of emotional intensity to external stimuli
• whether the level of intensity of said stimuli enhances the memory for the stimuli

Question 4

background of canli?

Answer 4

• people are more likely to recall emotional experiences than non-emotional
• fMRI: neuroimaging procedure using MRI technology that measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow

Question 5

how was the fMRI used in the study?

Answer 5

used in a repeated measures, subsequent-memory design to test the prediction that emotionally intense stimuli that produce greater amygdala activation would be recalled more easily that stimuli that generate less amygdala activation.

Question 6

study procedures summarization?

Answer 6

1) participants saw neutral and negative scenes
2) indicated how they experienced emotional intensity in each case
3) a separate fMRi response was recorded in the amygdala for each such emotional experience
4) 3 weeks later, participant’s memories for experiences were assessed to see if those images that generated greater activation of the amygdala were remembered better

Question 7

research method?

Answer 7

lab experiment, as the environment the participants were tested in is not an everyday situation.

Question 8

how does the use of the fMRI scanners limit the realism of the study?

Answer 8

they are large machines participants don’t encounter often IRL, and participants have to lie very still while the measurements are being recorded.

Question 9

independent variable (IV)?

Answer 9

the intensity of emotional arousal to each of the 96 scenes presented to each participant.

Question 10

how many scenes were shown for participants to rate?

Answer 10

96 scenes.

Question 11

participants had to choose between __ buttons to indicate emotional arousal on a scale of __

Answer 11

4 buttons to indicate emotional arousal, on a scale of

0 - not emotionally intense at all
to
3 - extremely emotionally intense

Question 12

experiment design?

Answer 12

repeated measures design, as the participants contributed to each of the 4 conditions depending on their rating of each scene.

Question 13

dependent variables? (2!)

Answer 13

1) level of activation of the amygdala measured by fMRI during the 1st stage of the experiment when the participants were exposed to the 96 scenes.
2) measure of memory when participants had to recognize the images 3 weeks after the initial experiment.

Question 14

how many frames were captured per trial?

Answer 14

11 frames, meaning that for each scene there were 11 fMRI measures of neural activity/

Question 15

sample?

Answer 15

ten right-handed healthy female volunteers.

Question 16

why was the sample chosen?

Answer 16

because it was thought that they are more likely to report intense emotional experiences and show more physiological reactions to the stimuli than men

Question 17

how were the scenes presented to the participants?

Answer 17

the 96 scenes were presented by overhead projector and mirror during the scanning to participants during scanning to allow them to see it while in the fMRI scanner.

Question 18

did all participants give informed consent?

Answer 18

all participants gave informed consent to be involved in the study and were aware of the nature of the experiment.

Question 19

were the individuals operating the fMRI scanner trained?

Answer 19

the individuals operating the fMRi scanner were fully trained and competent in safety arrangements that should be followed during a medical scan.

Question 20

where were the 96 scenes used from?

Answer 20

all 96 scenes were from the “International Affective Picture System” stimuli set.

Question 21

what were the ratings of valence in the scenes?

Answer 21

the scenes had average ratings of valence.

Question 22

what does valence mean?

Answer 22

attractiveness or aversiveness of an event, object, or situation.

Question 23

how was the order of scenes randomized for participants?

Answer 23

the order of scenes were randomized across participants.

Question 24

how long was each picture presented for?

Answer 24

2.88 seconds

Question 25

how long was the fixation cross put on the screen for between pictures?

Answer 25

between intervals of 12.96 sec

Question 26

participants were instructed to view each picture for:

Answer 26

the entire time it was displayed

Question 27

after the pictures replacement with a fixation cross, they had to indicate their emotional arousal by:

Answer 27

pressing a button with their right hand

Question 28

the 4 buttons were on a scale of:

Answer 28

0 - not emotionally intense at all
3 - extremely emotionally intense

Question 29

3 weeks after the first part of the experiment participants were:

Answer 29

tested in an unexpected recognition test in a lab.

Question 30

in the 3 wk after lab, participants viewed the 96 previous scenes and:

Answer 30

48 new scenes (foils)

Question 31

the foils were selected to match:

Answer 31

previously presented scenes in their valence and arousal characteristics

Question 32

in the 3 wk after lab, participants were asked if:

Answer 32

they had seen each scene before with certainty or not.

Question 33

what did the results show in relation to emotional intensity?

Answer 33

that the emotional intensity correlated with emotional valence (whether pos or neg) and arousal (activation)

Question 34

what scenes had their follow-up memory improve?

Answer 34

follow- up memory improved for scenes rated emotionally intense (3) rather than those rated as less (0-2)

Question 35

how were the scenes rated less emotionally intense (0-2) similar?

Answer 35

scenes rated less emotionally intense had similar percentages in being forgotten, familiar, or remembered.

Question 36

what side of the amygdala predicted whether the stimuli would be forgotten?

Answer 36

LEFT amygdala activation predicted whether the stimuli would be forgotten.

Question 37

little amygdala activation according to the fMRI when viewing a picture rated highly emotionally intense was associated with:

Answer 37

the participant forgetting the image

Question 38

intermediate / high amygdala activations were associated with:

Answer 38

participant later reporting familiarity or confident recognition