Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-3800, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jun 18;110 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):10402-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1301209110. Epub 2013 Jun 10.
Although forgetting is the common fate of most of our experiences, much evidence indicates that emotional arousal enhances the storage of memories, thus serving to create, selectively, lasting memories of our more important experiences. The neurobiological systems mediating emotional arousal and memory are very closely linked. The adrenal stress hormones epinephrine and corticosterone released by emotional arousal regulate the consolidation of long-term memory. The amygdala plays a critical role in mediating these stress hormone influences. The release of norepinephrine in the amygdala and the activation of noradrenergic receptors are essential for stress hormone-induced memory enhancement. The findings of both animal and human studies provide compelling evidence that stress-induced activation of the amygdala and its interactions with other brain regions involved in processing memory play a critical role in ensuring that emotionally significant experiences are well-remembered. Recent research has determined that some human subjects have highly superior autobiographic memory of their daily experiences and that there are structural differences in the brains of these subjects compared with the brains of subjects who do not have such memory. Understanding of neurobiological bases of such exceptional memory may provide additional insights into the processes underlying the selectivity of memory.
虽然遗忘是我们大多数经历的共同命运，但大量证据表明，情绪唤醒会增强记忆的存储，从而选择性地创造我们更重要经历的持久记忆。介导情绪唤醒和记忆的神经生物学系统紧密相连。情绪唤醒释放的肾上腺应激激素肾上腺素和皮质酮调节长期记忆的巩固。杏仁核在介导这些应激激素影响方面起着关键作用。杏仁核中去甲肾上腺素的释放和去甲肾上腺素受体的激活对于应激激素诱导的记忆增强是必不可少的。动物和人类研究的发现提供了令人信服的证据，表明情绪唤起激活杏仁核及其与参与处理记忆的其他大脑区域的相互作用，对于确保对情感上有意义的经历有良好的记忆起着至关重要的作用。最近的研究确定，一些人类受试者对自己的日常经历具有高度卓越的自传体记忆，并且与没有这种记忆的受试者的大脑相比，这些受试者的大脑存在结构差异。对这种特殊记忆的神经生物学基础的理解可能为记忆选择性的潜在过程提供更多的见解。
