Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Toronto, Canada.
Neuropsychologia. 2011 Mar;49(4):734-44. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.11.010. Epub 2010 Nov 19.
Understanding genetic contributions to individual differences in the capacity for emotional memory has tremendous implications for understanding normal human memory as well as pathological reactions to traumatic stress. Research in the last decade has identified genetic polymorphisms thought to influence cognitive/affective processes that may contribute to emotional memory capacity. In this paper, we review key polymorphisms linked to emotional and mnemonic processing and their influence on neuromodulator activity in the amygdala and other emotion-related structures. We discuss their potential roles in specific cognitive processes involved in memory formation, and review links between these genetic variants, brain activation, and specific patterns of attention, perception, and memory consolidation that may be linked to individual differences in memory vividness. Finally we propose a model predicting an influence of noradrenergic, serotonergic, and dopaminergic processes on emotional perception, as well as on memory consolidation and self-regulation. Outside of the laboratory, it is likely that real-life effects of arousal operate along a continuum that incorporates other "non-emotional" aspects of memory. For this reason we further discuss additional literature on genetic variations that influence general episodic memory processes, rather than being specific to emotional enhancement of memory. We conclude that specific neuromodulators contribute to an amygdala-driven memory system that is relatively involuntary, embodied, and sensorily vivid.
理解遗传因素对个体情绪记忆能力差异的影响，对于理解正常人类记忆以及对创伤性应激的病理性反应具有重要意义。过去十年的研究已经确定了一些遗传多态性，这些多态性被认为会影响认知/情感过程，从而可能影响情绪记忆能力。在本文中，我们回顾了与情绪和记忆处理相关的关键多态性及其对杏仁核和其他与情绪相关结构中神经调质活性的影响。我们讨论了它们在记忆形成过程中特定认知过程中的潜在作用，并回顾了这些遗传变异与大脑激活之间的联系，以及与记忆生动性个体差异相关的特定注意、感知和记忆巩固模式。最后，我们提出了一个预测模型，预测去甲肾上腺素能、血清素能和多巴胺能过程对情绪感知的影响，以及对记忆巩固和自我调节的影响。在实验室之外，唤醒的实际影响很可能沿着一个连续体运作，其中包含记忆的其他“非情感”方面。出于这个原因，我们进一步讨论了影响一般情景记忆过程的遗传变异的其他文献，而不是专门针对记忆对情绪的增强。我们得出结论，特定的神经调质有助于一种由杏仁核驱动的记忆系统，这种系统相对不由自主、具有身体感觉和感官生动。
