Canli et al. Brain Scans and Emotions

Question 1

Title

Answer 1

Event related activation in the human amygdala associates with later memory for individual emotional experiences

Question 2

fMRI

Answer 2

functional magnetic resonance imaging

Question 3

functions of fMRI

Answer 3

• non-invasive brain scanning technique that uses radio waves and strong magnetic field
• measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow

Question 4

procedure fMRI

Answer 4

• scanner traces the journey of strong oxygenated blood around the brain
• maps activity
• picture is color coded to show intensity of activity

Question 5

Amygdala

Answer 5

• almond shaped
• in the brain’s medial temporal lobe
• key role in processing emotions: fear/ pleasure/ anger

Question 6

Background

Answer 6

• amygdala activation correlates with emotional memory
• emotional experiences are better recalled than non–emotional ones
• amygdala is responsive in dynamic/ phasic ways to moment to moment indi emotional experience
• amygdala activation would reflect flexible, rapidly changing emotional response

Question 7

Aim

Answer 7

1. to investigate whether the amygdala is sensitive to varying degrees of individually experienced emotional intensity
2. whether the degree of emotional intensity affects the role of the amygdala in enhancing memory for emotional stimuli

Question 8

Materials

Answer 8

1. fMRI scanning machine
2. scenes
3. screen projector
4. mirror

Question 9

Research Method

Answer 9

Laboratory Experiment

Question 10

Experimental design

Answer 10

repeated measures design

Question 11

Sample

Answer 11

10 right handed females

Question 12

why were only females selected for this experiment?

Answer 12

because women are more likely to report intense emotional experiences (Shields) and show more physiological reactivity in concordance with valence judgments than men (Lang et al)

Question 13

Sampling Technique

Answer 13

Volunteer Sampling

Question 14

Independent Variable

Answer 14

intensity rating of each stimulus on a 4 point scale (0-3)

Question 15

Dependent Variable

Answer 15

1. the self report % of familiar, forgotten and remembered with certainty
2. functional images of 11 frames per trial resulting in a pixel count

Question 16

Procedure

Answer 16

MRI and Behavioral

Question 17

Behavioral Procedure

Answer 17

1. shown 96 scenes through a mirror directed at a back projection screen
2. view each scene for the entire time it was shown
3. when the fixation cross appeared, they had to rate the scene by pressing the relevant button with their right hand

Question 18

How many scenes were shown?

Answer 18

96 scenes

Question 19

Description of Scenes

Answer 19

• had a normative rating for arousal and valence from the International Affective Picture System stimuli set
• were shown in random order

Question 20

Valence rating of scenes (normative rating)

Answer 20

1.17 (highly negative) - 5.44 (neutral)

Question 21

Arousal rating of scenes (normative rating)

Answer 21

1.97 (tranquil) - 7.63 (highly arousing)

Question 22

How long was each scene shown?

Answer 22

2.88 seconds

Question 23

How long was the internal stimulus interval?

Answer 23

12. 96 seconds

during this time, they had to view a fixation cross

Question 24

Rating scale for emotional arousal

Answer 24

0-3

0: not emotionally intense at all
3: extremely emotional intense

Question 25

What occurred after the scene rating and scan procedure?

Answer 25

participants were tested in an unexpected recognition test

viewed all the previously seen scenes and 48 new ones (foils)

Question 26

What were the foils?

Answer 26

scenes that matched the valence and arousal characteristics of the previously shown scenes

Question 27

Valence rating of foils (normative rating)

Answer 27

1.31 (highly negative) - 5.78 (neutral)

Question 28

Arousal rating of foils (normative rating)

Answer 28

2.74 (tranquil) - 7.22 (highly arousing)

Question 29

What were the participants asked during the recognition test?

Answer 29

if they remembered the scene

and if they remembered it with certainty, less certain or not remembered

Question 30

What was the coding of the labels during the recognition test?

Answer 30

certainty - remembered
less certain - familiar

-all three trials (remem 3, forgo 1, fami 2) were encoded in numerical format to construct a correlational map

Question 31

MRI Procedure

Answer 31

1. data acquisition
2. imaging
3. correlational map

Question 32

What was used to gather data?

Answer 32

• 1.5 T General Electric Signa MR imager

- used to measure BOLD contrast (blood oxygen level dependent signal)

Question 33

Correlation map

Answer 33

created to correlate brain activity with participants arousal ratings and memory scores

Question 34

How was head movement minimised?

Answer 34

using a bite bar which was formed by using the ppt’s dental imprints

Question 35

Results

Answer 35

1. ppt’s exp of emotional intensity in the present study correlated well with average rating of emotional valence and arousal
2. amygdala activation was bilaterally and significantly correlated with higher ratings of individually experienced emotional intensity

Question 36

Results of Memory Recall

Answer 36

• better for scenes rated as emotionally intense
• 0-2: mild to moderate emotional intensity/ similar distribution of percentage of F, F, R
• 3: highly emotionally intense / was more remembered and recalled // higher freq

Question 37

Result of Correlation Coefficient

Answer 37

• between intensity ratings and normative ratings

- .66 and .68

Question 38

What were the controls in the study?

Answer 38

1. headmovement was reduced due to the use of a bite bar formed with each participant’s dental impression
2. images were chosen from standardised sets of known emotional valence
3. ppts fixated on a cross so that they would be looking in the right place to ensure that they would not miss the next image
4. the duration of the image shown/ cross fixation

Question 39

What did the use of repeated measures design ensure?

Answer 39

that indi differences in emotional responses, brain activity or recall ability could not affect the results

Question 40

PROCEDURE

Answer 40

1. during scanning, ppts were shown a series of 96 scenes presented via an overhead projector and mirror to allow them to see it while in the fMRI scanner
2. scenes were shown in random order (2.88 sec per image // 12.96 sec per fixation cross)
3. during the cross, they had to indicate their emotional arousal on a 0-3 scale
4. 3 weeks later, they were tested in an unexpected recognition test in the lab
5. the recognition test involved viewing of the prev 96 scenes and 48 new scenes
6. asked whether they had seen each scene before and for images judged as prev seen, they had to say whether they remembered with certainty (remember), or familiarity (know)

Question 41

applicability

Answer 41

It has helped us understand better the emotional memory of negative experiences, which can be useful in therapy that attempts to help people with trauma to forget such experiences.

Question 42

nature vs nurture

Answer 42

strengths: it explains the impact of natural human inheritance on human emotions.
weaknesses: it fails to account for the differences people might show in their emotional experiences as a result of the different environments in which they were brought up.

Question 43

situational vs individual

Answer 43

strengths: it explains why different memories in a person’s lifetime maybe remembered with different intensity.
weaknesses: it fails to account for the fact that some memories may be remembered as strongly as others even if lesser in emotional impact.

Question 44

psychology being investigated

Answer 44

The connection between activity in the amygdala, and a person’s experience of emotional events and their long-term memory for those events is being investigated in the present study