M04 - Cutting edge paper

Question 1

What does this article claim/want to proof?

Answer 1

• Emotion enhances memory for emotional events itself
• emotion retroactively influencing past memory

Question 2

What is the research goal of this article?

Answer 2

Examine neurobiological mechanisms of how emotional learning enhances memory for past seemingly mundane events

Question 3

What is the significance of this study?

Answer 3

The retroactive effect can lead to maladaptive generalization (PTSD, phobias) - the risk of generalizing emotion to events way to much and see truly mundane things still as emotional

Question 4

What does the current research show?

Answer 4

• Shows mechanisms underlying memory enhancement for emotional events itself
• Autonomic reactions to emotional arousal that stimulate encoding and post-encoding processes of emotional memory

Question 5

What is this article about broadly?

Answer 5

The link between emotion and memory. We know that one can reorganize memories according to their future significance but they want to know the mechanism behind it.

Question 6

What study method do they use in this paper?

Answer 6

Sensory preconditioning protocol (with trial-specific associative learning task)

Question 7

What are the phases of a sensory preconditioning protocol?

Answer 7

1. Initial learning: pair two neutral face-object pairs
2. Emotional learning: each face from initial learning paired with an aversive screaming voice or neutral voice
   3.Suprise associative memory test: How well you memorized the face-object pairs

Question 8

What hypothesis do they have?

Answer 8

1. Emotion-charge retroactive benefit results from reactivation of hippocampal and neocortical representations = enhances the memory association between initially learned events + their integration
2. Emotional learning retroactively promotes memory integration for neutral events online and offline (encoding and resting)

Question 9

What where the results from the face-object pairs?

Answer 9

Better memory in aversive condition (face linked to screaming voice) only in high-confidence trials (they were very certain that they answered the question correctly)

Question 10

What two regions did they focus on?

Answer 10

LOC: lateral occipital cortex (involved in object processing)
FFA: fusiform face area (face processing)

Question 11

What is the pair-specific result?

Answer 11

Higher similarity between trial in initial learning and emotional learning phase when paired with aversive voice (strongly reactivate initial learning)

Question 12

What brain region analysis did they do?

Answer 12

PPI - the interaction between brain regions
- you choose a brain region - measure its activity - compare the activity of other brain regions to this seed brain region - if the activity the they are connected

Question 13

What regions were involved in the PPI (Psycho-physiological interaction analysis) in this study?

Answer 13

Seed: hippocampus
Focus areas: amygdala, FFA, LOC

Question 14

What were the results of the PPI study?

Answer 14

• Increase in hippocampal + amygdala interaction & hippocampal + neocortical interaction for emotional learning
  aka connection in these brain regions in emotional charged pairs

Question 15

What analysis were conducted in this paper?

Answer 15

• Sensory preconditioning protocol
• PPI (Psycho-Physiological analysis)
• Mediation analysis
• Mediation analysis + rest blocks before and after learning phase

Question 16

What is a mediation analysis?

Answer 16

Studying a factor X and how it is influencing the connection between other aspects

Question 17

What was the result of the mediation analysis?

Answer 17

1. Hippocampal-amygdala connectivity affects hippocampal-LOC connectivity directly

and also

2. Hippocampal-amygdala connectivity indirectly influences Hippocampal-LOC connectivity through the Hippocampal-FFA mediator

Question 18

What do the results of the mediation analysis possibly explain?

Answer 18

Could account for emotion-charged memory performance in aversive condition

Question 19

What analysis do they use to test the rest influencing of memory + emotion consolidation?

Answer 19

Mediation analysis + rest blocks

Question 20

What changes between the mediation analysis and mediation analysis + rest block?

Answer 20

Shift from connectivity towards object-sensitive regions to more widespread regions throughout the brain