Emotion & memory: goal relevance as a key determinant of memory facilitation

This thesis proposed and tested a novel hypothesis to explain the effect of memory facilitation both at behavioral and brain levels. We propose, based on appraisal theories of emotion, and the autobiographical memory model that goal-relevant information is better remembered than goal-irrelevant information. Depending on the relevance level of these goals, they would be more or less likely to be processed and integrated into long-term memory. From these theoretical frameworks, we refined previous hypotheses explaining emotional memory facilitation. We specified the type of events capable of initiating an arousing response and in turn enhancing memory. We found that neural brain mechanism underlying this memory enhancement showed higher activation in regions related to reward and aversive learning, as well as to emotional processing for goal-relevant contexts as compared to irrelevant contexts. Finally, we were also able to extend the relevance hypothesis to a memory system other than episodic, namely prospective memory

alison montagrin's Quick Files

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Emotional memory: from affective relevance to arousal

Arousal is typically conceived as a key component of emotional response. We describe here the psychological processes thought to elicit arousal - in particular, the processes involved in the appraisal of affective relevance. The key role of relevance in attentional and memory processing, and its links with arousal, is discussed with respect to the GANE (glutamate amplifies noradrenergic effects) model described by Mather et al

The social hippocampus

The concept of cognitive map has been proposed as a way to organize our experiences and guide behavior across all domains of cognition. The hippocampus has been identified as the neural substrate supporting cognitive maps for navigating physical space. Recent evidence is broadening the role of the hippocampus into mapping other manner of spaces. Here we focus on the case of social space as a candidate for hippocampal representation because it combines multiple continuous dimensions and requires dynamic navigation through social contexts. We present evidence for the role of the hippocampus in (1) supporting social memory, (2) representing different dimensions of social space, (3) tracking dynamic social behavior, (4) maintaining a flexible map allowing adaptation to new social contexts, and (5) maladaptive social behavior across psychiatric disorders. To do so, we explore evidence across species including birds, rodents, nonhuman primates and humans, indicating hippocampal involvement in a range of social processes. Review of previous findings in a manner predicted by the cognitive map supports the existence of systematic mapping of social space by the hippocampus. Evidence for hippocampal social maps complements findings from other abstract domains, such as auditory, temporal and conceptual, allowing successful navigation through many domains of everyday life

TIPP-Lausanne first episode psychosis study: baseline characteristics

Background: When developing early intervention programs, assessment of patient s profile at a local level is critical in order to adapt tools developed elswhere to the actual needs of first episode patients. In the frame of the development of the Lausanne TIPP program, patients were assessed at baseline presentation. Method: Assessment of demographic and clinical characteristics through a specially designed questionnaire used at entry to the service by case managers. Results: 50 patients were assessed between April 2004 and March 2005. Pre-morbid evaluation revealed high rates of substance use disorder (SUD) (59%), history of psychiatric disorder (66%), traumatic events (68%), suicide attempts (7%) and family history of psychiatric illness (74%). At baseline, there was high rate of lack of insight (85%). Median duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) was 5.6 months. Conclusions: Patients in Lausanne present with issues similar to those described in other larger centres : high rate of passed history of traumtic events, of mental illness in the family and history of SUD. Relatively short DUP may reflect the richness of the health care system in Switzerland

Goal Conduciveness as a Key Determinant of Memory Facilitation

The affective dimensions responsible for the modulation of memory by emotion are subject to debate.Several hypotheses have been suggested: The arousal hypothesis of memory facilitation suggests the arousal dimension as the key determinant in whether emotional events are more likely to be remembered than neutral events. The valence hypothesis suggests preferential status for unpleasant, as compared with pleasant, stimuli in memory. The authors tested an alternative hypothesis derived from the appraisal theory of emotion, namely, that events that are relevant to the current concerns of the individual benefit from a memory advantage. In the present study, the authors demonstrate that initially neutral but goal conducive items (for game-related gain) remain stable in memory over time, whereas memory for goal irrelevant and goal obstructive items decline over time. They furthermore found that the affective evaluation of initially neutral items changed as a function of the goal relevance anipulation and that this change was stable over time. Taken together, findings support the relevance hypothesis of memory facilitation