Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Traumatic Memory

Traumatic Memory

Emotionally traumatic events often lead to memories that are exceptionally vivid and enduring, sometimes persisting with remarkable clarity throughout an individual's life. A classic example of this phenomenon is a person who survives a car accident. Even years later, they may recall every detail of the event with startling accuracy — the screeching of the tires, the jarring impact, and the acrid smell of burning rubber. Such vividness contrasts sharply with how an individual remembers mundane...

Role of Amygdala in Memory

Role of Amygdala in Memory

The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped structure responsible for processing and storing memories, particularly those linked to emotions like fear and stress. It plays an essential role in the brain's response to emotionally significant events and often enhances memory formation by triggering stress hormone release. The amygdala is vital for encoding and retrieving memories associated with fear or stress, a process that is adaptive by helping organisms avoid dangerous situations.
One of the...

Factors Affecting Perception

Factors Affecting Perception

Perception is influenced by perceptual set, context, motivation, and emotion. Perceptual set, or perceptual expectancy, refers to the tendency to perceive things in a particular way, influenced by previous experiences and expectations. This phenomenon affects the interpretation of stimuli, creating a set of mental tendencies and assumptions that impact sensory perceptions of sound, taste, touch, and sight.
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...

The Influence of Affect on Cognition

The Influence of Affect on Cognition

Positive affect significantly influences cognitive processes, including evaluation, memory, creativity, and social judgments. Compared to negative affect, positive emotional states promote more favorable interpretations of stimuli, cognitive flexibility, and heuristic processing. These effects highlight emotions' powerful role in shaping how individuals perceive, remember, and interact with the world.Influence on Evaluation and AttributionWhen individuals experience positive affect, they are...

Role of Hippocampus in Memory

Role of Hippocampus in Memory

The hippocampus, a critical brain structure, plays an essential role in memory processing, particularly in the formation and retrieval of memory. This small, seahorse-shaped region is located within the medial temporal lobe, with one hippocampus in each brain hemisphere. Experimental studies involving lesions in the hippocampi of rats have demonstrated significant impairments in tasks such as object recognition and maze navigation, indicating the hippocampus involvement in both recognition and...

The Influence of Cognition on Affect

The Influence of Cognition on Affect

Cognition plays a pivotal role in shaping emotional experiences, as demonstrated by Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory of emotion. According to this model, emotion arises from a combination of physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation. The body’s physiological response to stimuli is ambiguous and only gains emotional significance through cognitive labeling. For instance, an increased heart rate and adrenaline surge while standing near an attractive person may be interpreted as...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Preliminary evidence that remembering together can help younger adults recall the positive.

Frontiers in cognition·2026

Same author

Aging differentially affects memory vividness and remembered salience for emotionally negative images.

Psychology and aging·2026

Same author

Recovery sleep after total sleep deprivation preserves neutral and enhances emotional declarative memory.

Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society·2026

Same author

Public Health.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association·2025

Same author

Memory deficits link trait-like EEG spectral profiles during REM and slow-wave sleep with shared symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Behavioural brain research·2025

Same author

Breaching of the U.S. Capitol: memory and moral judgment.

Cognition & emotion·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Published on: May 4, 2011

Emotion's influence on memory for spatial and temporal context.

Katherine Schmidt¹, Pooja Patnaik, Elizabeth A Kensinger

¹Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.

Cognition & Emotion

|March 8, 2011

Summary

High-arousal emotional events enhance memory accuracy for contextual details. This suggests emotion improves recall of spatial and temporal information, not just a subjective feeling of vividness.

Keywords:

affect arousal recognition space time valence

More Related Videos

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Published on: August 26, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Published on: May 4, 2011

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

Published on: February 19, 2018

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection

Published on: August 26, 2011

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience of Emotion
Human Memory

Background:

Vivid recall of emotional memories is common.
Debate exists on whether this reflects true memory enhancement or a belief bias.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if emotion enhances memory accuracy for contextual details.
To determine if item valence or arousal influences memory for spatial and temporal context.

Main Methods:

Two experiments were conducted.
Participants' memory for spatial and temporal details of high- vs. low-arousal items was assessed.
Item valence (positive/negative) was also considered.

Main Results:

High-arousal items were remembered with greater spatial and temporal accuracy than low-arousal items.
Item valence did not affect memory for contextual details.
Positive high-arousal items showed higher recognition and recall rates than negative items.

Conclusions:

Emotional arousal enhances memory accuracy for contextual details.
The effect is linked to arousal, not valence.
Emotion benefits episodic memory by improving recall of event context.