Power surges pain for memory

Memory is improved by light surges

01/22/2015

Every day, the brain is confronted with innumerable details, but only part of the perceived information remains in the memory. The more emotional the events, the stronger the memory. Researchers at the University of New York have now investigated in a recent study, how the memory behaves when certain information is associated by light surges with emotional sensations or the fear of pain.

The research team led by Elizabeth Phelps of the University of New York concludes in his research that electric shocks increase memory. Even a subsequent revaluation of the memory is possible with the help of power surges, report the US scientists in the prestigious trade magazine „Nature“. The study authors Lila Davachi and Elizabeth Phelps explain in the press release of the University of New York that „These new results underline the highly adaptive nature of our memory system, suggesting that our memory not only retrieves events from the past, but also updates memories of the past with important new information or data.“

Emotional memories
As part of their study, the US scientists showed the participants a series of images from two different categories (tools and animals). They first had them examine a picture set without further influences and after about five minutes repeated the test with new pictures and shock electrodes on the wrists of the subjects. In the second test, the participants were each given one of the categories of surges and then the researchers examined how well the volunteers could remember the different pictures. In the image category, which was associated with a shock, it showed a much better memory. For example, those who got the blow while looking at animal pictures were much better able to identify those pictures than the tool pictures.

Retroactive appreciation of memory
The researchers also found that emotional learning goes back to the past. Images viewed prior to the emotional learning process - that is, prior to the electric shocks - enabled subjects to better remember if they later received shocks in the same category. In other words, the initially stored information was subsequently linked to an emotional feeling and thereby upgraded. This suggests that a retrospective memory improvement by promoting the long-term storage of information occurs, according to the University of New York. Irrelevant Information can be retrospectively credited as relevant, and thus selectively included in the memory, write Lila Davachi and Elizabeth Phelps in the journal „Nature“.

Unimportant information saved?
The findings of the US researchers are quite surprised, especially with respect to the retrospective revaluation of individual memories, because this means that the information is not finally assessed at the time of admission and apparently supposedly unimportant details are apparently stored in the brain, so that subsequently be upgraded can. How far the retroactive memory improvement can reach this maximum, however, is so far unclear. Whether an appreciation of the information would be possible even after days or months remains to be checked in further studies. (Fp)