Neural plasticity and emotional memory

Posttraumatic stress disorder is the pathological replay of emotional memory formed in response to painful, life-threatening, or horrifying events. In contrast, depression is often precipitated by more social context-related stressors. New data suggest that different types of life experiences can di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development and psychopathology 1998-12, Vol.10 (4), p.829-855
Main Authors: POST, R. M., WEISS, S. R. B., LI, H., SMITH, M. A., ZHANG, L. X., XING, G., OSUCH, E. A., MCCANN, U. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amygdala - physiology
Animals
Brain - growth & development
Brain - physiology
Brain - physiopathology
Emotions - physiology
Female
Hippocampus - physiology
Humans
Maternal Deprivation
Memory - physiology
Models, Neurological
Models, Psychological
Neuronal Plasticity - physiology
Rats
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - physiopathology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
Stress, Psychological - physiopathology
Stress, Psychological - psychology
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Summary:Posttraumatic stress disorder is the pathological replay of emotional memory formed in response to painful, life-threatening, or horrifying events. In contrast, depression is often precipitated by more social context-related stressors. New data suggest that different types of life experiences can differentially impact biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, and behavior at the level of changes in gene expression. Repeated separation of neonatal rat pups from their mother results in many long-lasting alterations in biology and behavior paralleling that in depression, including hypercortisolism. The role of the amygdala in modulating emotional memory is highlighted, as well as some of its unique properties such as metaplasticity (i.e., the differential direction of long-term adaptation, either potentiation or depression) in response to the same input as a function of the prior history of stimulation. The implications of these emerging data on the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying emotional memory emphasize the particular importance of prevention and early intervention.
ISSN:0954-5794
1469-2198
DOI:10.1017/S0954579498001898