Memory And Motivational Emotional Processes

It is well established that memory for emotional information is generally better than for neutral information. This Research Topic comprises a set of papers focusing on memory and its relation with motivational and emotional processes, ranging from electroencephalographic evidences of emotional modulation of memory systems, to the role of neurotransmitters/neuromodulators (i.e. endocannabinoid, glucocorticoid, serotonin, noradrenergic, dopaminergic systems), and second messengers on emotional memory, and the specific involvement of cerebral areas on the relation between memory and motivational/emotional processes (i.e. prefrontal cortex, amygdala, accumbens). In particular, some of the topics discussed in this Research Topic will include: cortical activity correlates of emotional modulation of memory systems, interactions between ascending vagal fibers and central noradrenergic systems in modulating memory for emotionally arousing events, involvement of prefrontal /accumbal catecholamine system in processing emotional and motivational salience, role of both negative and positive emotional arousal in increasing persistence of consolidated memories through modulation of second messengers and the involvement of emotional arousal in the activation of amygdala projections, that can then modulate different types of memory.

This volume presents a rare occasion where scholars from Europe, North Africa and North America share their research programs and findings revolving around an important theme: integration. Despite different research foci and methodologies, there is a strong consensus that we need to understand a psychological phenomenon in all its complexity, involving its neural, psychological, and social dimensions, involving perception and conception, and decision processes, involving motivation, emotion, and cognition – all in complex interaction. This volume is intended to reach out to basic and applied psychological researchers, cognitive and affective scientists, learning scientists, biologists, sociologists, neuropsychological researchers, and philosophers, who have an interest in an integrated understanding of the mind at work, particularly pertaining to explanations of real-life phenomena that have social and practical significance. A distinct feature of this volume is that most research involved is heavily built on neuropsychological evidence, while loyal to the experimental tradition with its focus on functional behavior in various situations and conditions that mimic or resemble real life. The viability of this approach to doing cutting-edge research that is relevant and applicable to many real-life phenomena should also make this body of research useful for a wide range of human endeavor, from religion, education, to industrial and organizational psychology.

This important volume defines the state of the art in the field of emotion and memory by offering a blend of research review, unpublished findings, and theory on topics related to its study. As the first contemporary reference source in this area, it summarizes findings on implicit and explicit aspects of emotion and memory, addresses conceptual and methodological difficulties associated with different paradigms and current procedures, and presents broad theoretical perspectives to guide further research. This volume articulates the accomplishments of the field and the points of disagreement, and gives the brain, clinical, and cognitive sciences an invaluable resource for 21st-century researchers. Citing and analyzing the results of experiments as well as field and case studies, the chapters are organized around methodological approaches, biological-evolutionary perspectives, and clinical perspectives, and bring together experts in neuroscience, and both cognitive and clinical psychology. Questions addressed include: * What is the nature of emotional events and what do we retain from them? * Is there something about emotional events that causes them to be processed differently in memory? * Do emotional memories have special characteristics that differ from those produced by "ordinary" memory mechanisms or systems? * Do people with emotional disturbances remember differently than normal people? * Which factors play the most crucial role in functional amnesia?

The central argument of this book is that cognition is not the whole story in understanding intellectual functioning and development. To account for inter-individual, intra-individual, and developmental variability in actual intellectual performance, it is necessary to treat cognition, emotion, and motivation as inextricably related. Motivation, Emotion, and Cognition: Integrative Perspectives on Intellectual Functioning and Development: *represents a new direction in theory and research on intellectual functioning and development; *portrays human intelligence as fundamentally constrained by biology and adaptive needs but modulated by social and cultural forces; and *encompasses and integrates a broad range of scientific findings and advances, from cognitive and affective neurosciences to cultural psychology, addressing fundamental issues of individual differences, developmental variability, and cross-cultural differences with respect to intellectual functioning and development. By presenting current knowledge regarding integrated understanding of intellectual functioning and development, this volume promotes exchanges among researchers concerned with provoking new ideas for research and provides educators and other practitioners with a framework that will enrich understanding and guide practice.

This book presents the contributions of the members of an Advanced Research Workshop on Cogni ti ve Science Perspectives on Emotion, Motivation and Cognition. The Workshop, funded mainly by the NATO Scientific Affairs Division, together with a contribution from the (British) Economic and Social Research Council, was conducted at II Ciocco, Tuscany, Italy, 21-27 June 1987. The venue for our discussions was ideal: a quiet holiday hotel, 500m high in the Apennine mountain range, approached by a mile of perilously steep, winding narrow road. The isolation was conducive to concentrated discussions on the topics of the Workshop. The reason for the Workshop was a felt need for researchers from disparate but related approaches to cognition, emotion, and motivation to communicate their perspectives and arguments to one another. To take just one example, the framework of information processing and the metaphor of mind as a computer has wrought a major revolution in psychological theories of cogni tion. That framework has radically altered the way psychologists conceptualize perception, memory, language, thought, and action. Those advances have formed the intellectual substrate for the "cognitive science" perspective on mental life.

The endocannabinoid system consists of cannabinoid receptors, their endogenous lipid ligands (endocannabinoids) and the enzymatic machinery for their synthesis and degradation. In the brain, endocannabinoids regulate ion channel activity and neurotransmitter release and thereby contribute to various aspects of brain function, including memory, reward and emotions. Their ability to modulate synaptic efficacy has a wide range of functional consequences and provides unique therapeutic possibilities. Unprecedented advances have been made in the understanding of the role of endocannabinoids in the regulation of the emotional brain over the past few years. However, a comprehensive book encompassing all these aspects is still lacking. The book will provide an overview of the role played by the endocannabinoid system in the regulation of emotional processes with particular emphasis on the modulation of memory and reward for emotionally arousing events and for the regulation of motivational aspects in cannabis use.

The amygdala is a central component of the limbic system, which is known to play a critical role in emotional processing of learning and memory. Over these last 20 years, major advances in techniques for examining brain activity greatly helped the scientific community to determine the nature of the contribution of the amygdala to these fundamental aspects of cognition. Combined with new conceptual breakthroughs, research data obtained in animals and humans have also provided major insights into our understanding of the processes by which amygdala dysfunction contributes to various brain disorders, such as autism or Alzheimer's disease. Although the primary goal of this book is to inform experts and newcomers of some of the latest data in the field of brain structures involved in the mechanisms underlying emotional learning and memory, we hope it will also help stimulate discussion on the functional role of the amygdala and connected brain structures in these mechanisms.

This Special Issue is concerned with the effects of three emotional states (positive affect; anxiety; and depression) on performance. More specifically, the contributors focus on the potential mediating effects of attention and of executive processes of working memory. The evidence discussed suggests that anxiety and depression both impair the executive functions of shifting and inhibition, in part due to task-irrelevant processing (e.g., rumination; worry). In contrast, positive affect seems to enhance the shifting function and does not impair the inhibition function. The complicating role of motivational intensity is also discussed, as are implications for future research.