Prof. Florin Dolcos, UIUC, will lecture "Reconciling Opposing Effects of Emotion on Relational Episodic Memory: Behavioral, Eye-Tracking, & Brain Imaging Investigations."
Abstract: Although there is agreement that emotion enhances item memory, how it influences relational memory (RM) remains debated. In my talk, I will present reconciling evidence based on addressing open questions regarding (1) the importance of specificity in assessing RM, both subjectively and objectively, (2) the role of attention in emotion-memory interactions, using both eye-tracking and task manipulations, and (3) the effect of realistic and integrated stimuli. First, emotion enhanced RM when subjective RM accuracy (recollection-based recognition) was confirmed by objective RM accuracy (item-context recognition). Second, although emotion impaired objective RM through an attention-capturing effect, it enhanced RM accuracy when attentional effects were statistically accounted for using eye-tracking data. Third, functional MRI data showed that these enhancing effects were linked to amygdala-hippocampal and MTL-PFC interactions. Overall, these findings challenge the prevalent view that emotion impairs RM and point to possible training interventions to increase RM in healthy functioning, PTSD, and aging.
