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The Effects Of Emotional Experiences On Memory Processing, Naomi Berkowitz

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Neural regions, specifically the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex overlap in functions of emotion and memory, indicating a degree of interrelatedness between the two functions. Lesions in medial temporal lobe regions result in an impairment of memory processes specific to emotional stimuli. Additionally, amygdala activity is increased for all valence memory as opposed to neutral. Arousal levels of high and low valence memories affect the pathway for encoding in the brain, and determine the vividness and episodic detail with which a memory will be recorded. The amygdala-hippocampal network is involved in high arousal memory, while a prefrontal cortex-hippocampal network is …