Question

TOPIC: Research Memory, Attention, and Decision-Making

Write on How does Emotions influence Memory, Attention, and Decision-Making

Should include an overview of the research on false memory, flashbulb memories,

recovered memories, selective attention, and decision-making.

Include at least 5 recent peer-reviewed articles to support...

Answer 1

Emotion has a signficant influence on the cognitive processes in humans, including, attention, memory and decision making. Emotion has a particularly strong influence on attention, especially modulating the selectivity of attention as well as motivating action and behavior. This attentional and executive control is intimately linked to learning processes, as intrinsically limited attentional capacities are better focused on relevant information. Emotion also facilitates encoding and helps retrieval of information efficiently.

However, the effects of emotion on learning and memory are not always univalent, as studies have reported that emotion either enhances or impairs learning and long-term memory retention, depending on a range of factors. Recent neuro imaging findings have indicated that the amygdala and prefrontal cortex cooperate with the medial temporal lobe in an integrated manner that affords

· the amygdala modulating memory consolidation;

· the prefrontal cortex mediating memory encoding and formation; and

· the hippocampus for successful learning.

We also review the nested hierarchies of circular emotional control and cognitive regulation within the brain to achieve optimal integration of emotional and cognitive processing.

This review highlights a basic evolutionary approach to emotion to understand the effects of emotion on learning and memory and the functional roles played by various brain regions and their mutual interactions in relation to emotional processing.

We also summarize the current state of knowledge on the impact of emotion on memory and map implications for educational settings. In addition to elucidating the memory-enhancing effects of emotion, neuro imaging findings extend our understanding of emotional influences on learning and memory processes.

False Memory

False memory refers to cases in which people remember events differently from the way they happened or, in the most dramatic case, remember events that never happened at all. False memories can be very vivid and held with high confidence, and it can be difficult to convince someone that the memory in question is wrong.

A FlashBulb Memory

A flashbulb memory is a highly detailed, exceptionally vivid 'snapshot' of the moment and circumstances in which a piece of surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) news was learned about.

Recovered Memory

Recovered memory is a memory of a traumatic event (such as sexual abuse) experienced typically during childhood that is forgotten and then recalled many years later that is sometimes held to be an invalid or false remembrance generated by outside influence.

Selective attention & decision making

The opportunity to disentangle objective and subjective measures in perceptual decision making via selective attention promises to further elucidate the mechanisms representing the formation of a decision and the confidence in it.

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