Memory, emotion, and prefrontal cortex

在这个项目中，我试图理解人类大脑中情感和记忆之间的关系。情感事件和生活经历往往比日常事件更容易被回忆起来，实验室里对情感和记忆的研究表明，情感刺激（如文字或图片）通常比中性刺激更容易被记住。这种现象被称为“情绪增强记忆”（EEM）效应，但其大脑基础直到最近才开始被探索。迄今为止，认知神经科学的研究主要集中在杏仁核及其与海马体的相互作用上，以探索脑电图的大脑基础。然而，在这个项目中，我建议研究前额皮质（PFC）在EEM中的潜在作用。PFC与杏仁核和海马体有大量的相互联系，并与情感和认知功能之间的关系有关，而不是记忆。虽然有一些功能性神经影像学研究探索了PFC中的情绪和记忆，但人类病变的研究很少。具体来说，我试图确定1)前额叶退化或损伤是否影响EEM效果，2)前额叶皮层的特定区域在支持EEM方面是否比其他区域更重要，以及3)效价、唤醒和组织的潜在影响。在我们的第一线研究中，我将研究帕金森氏症患者，他们的大脑中三个关键区域：海马体、杏仁核和前额皮质都出现了结构退化。在第二行，我将研究局灶性前额叶病变的患者。这项工作将告诉我们更多关于情绪和记忆之间的关系是如何由大脑支持的，以及前额皮质是否（以及如何）起关键作用。

In this project, I seek to understand the relation between emotion and memory in the human brain. Emotional events and life experiences tend to be more easily recollected than everyday ones, and studies of emotion and memory in the laboratory have shown that emotional stimuli (such as words or pictures) are generally easier to remember than neutral ones. This phenomenon has been labelled the "emotional enhancement of memory" (EEM) effect, but its brain basis has only recently begun to be explored. So far, cognitive neuroscience studies have focused on the amygdala and its interactions with the hippocampus in exploring the brain basis of EEM. However, in this project I propose to examine the potential role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in EEM. PFC has massive interconnections with the amygdala and hippocampus, and has been implicated in the relation between emotion and cognitive functions other than memory. Although there are a few functional neuroimaging studies that have explored emotion and memory in the PFC, human lesion studies are few. Specifically, I seek to determine 1) whether prefrontal degeneration or damage affects the EEM effect, 2) whether particular regions of prefrontal cortex are more important than others in supporting EEM, and 3) the potential effects of valence, arousal, and organization. In our first line of research, I will study patients with Parkinson's disease, who show structural deterioration of all three critical brain regions: the hippocampus, the amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. In the second line, I will study patients with focal prefrontal lesions. This work will tell us more about how the relation between emotion and memory is supported by the brain, and whether (and how) the prefrontal cortex plays a critical role.