Research article summary (published 30 Dec 2007):

The effect of emotional stress on involuntary and voluntary conscious memories.

Full Abstract

Clinical theories of post-traumatic stress disorder often claim that intrusive (involuntary) memories favour emotionally stressful material and that these memories come with more sensory imagery and emotional reliving compared to voluntary memories. However, these assumptions have not been verified experimentally. Here we obtained recordings of emotional reactions to aversive pictures at the time of encoding, as well as records of involuntary and voluntary memories of these pictures in a subsequent diary study. A comparison of individual ratings, obtained during encoding, of pictures recalled involuntarily and voluntarily showed that emotional stress at encoding increased overall accessibility, independent of whether recall was voluntary or involuntary. However at the time of recall, voluntary memories scored higher on narrative content and on measures of imagery. The findings are compatible with research on emotion and memory in general, but challenge clinical claims of differential involuntary versus voluntary access to emotionally stressful events.

Author information

Author/s: Hall, Nicoline Marie (NM); Berntsen, Dorthe (D);

Affiliation: Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. nicolinehall(-atsign-)gmail.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Memory (Hove, England) (Memory), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jan; vol 16 (issue 1) : pp 48-57

Dates: Created 2008/05/05; Completed 2008/08/22;

PMID: 17852728, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult Analysis of Variance Cues Female Humans Imagination Male

Mental Recall - physiology Middle Aged Psychological Tests Psychophysics Questionnaires Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology Stress, Psychological - psychology

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