The Amygdala and Prioritization of Declarative Memories

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Joseph Manns, Emory University; David I. Bass, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-08-10
• Publisher: Association for Psychological Science
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2017 by Association for Psychological Science
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0963721416654456
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Current Directions in Psychological Science
• ISSN: 0963-7214
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 261
• End Page: 265
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported in part by NIH Grant R01MH100318 to Joseph R. Manns and an NIMH NRSA Fellowship Grant F30 MH095491 to David I. Bass.
• Keywords: stimulation; consolidation; amygdala; emotion; memory
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience

Abstract

The present review highlights results from recent studies that delivered brief electrical stimulation to the basolateral complex of the amygdala in rats to reveal its capacity to prioritize declarative memories on a moment-to-moment basis even after the moment has passed. The results indicate that this memory enhancement depends on the hippocampus and elicits intrahippocampal gamma synchrony that possibly corresponds with sharpened hippocampal spike-timing dependent plasticity. These recent findings are discussed in relation to past studies of emotional memory in rodents and humans.