Physical and Emotional Arousal and Their Effects on Retroactive Memory Enhancement: Gender Matters
Date
2012-05
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
There is evidence that emotional events hold a special place in memory and
may affect consolidation of neutral events that surround it. This effect has shown to be
both an inhibiting factor for neutral events that precede emotional ones, and, more
recently, an enhancing factor for those events. This effect has been coined retroactive
memory enhancement (RME). In addition, it has been shown that physical arousal also
plays a similar part in memory. In order to try to mesh these findings, the current study
examined the effect that physical arousal has on memories formed prior to exercise by
having subjects associate names with shapes and undergo moderate exercise. Memory
was assessed after a 24 hour delay. Though no main effects were seen, a significant
correlation between change in heart rate during exercise and scores on the memory test
arose. In a follow up experiment studying the effect of emotional stimuli on RME, the
same gender differences arose, with females appearing to be more susceptible to the
effects of emotional manipulation.
Description
Keywords
emotional arousal, retroactive memory enhancement, physical exercise