Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder01:27

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

488
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that arises following exposure to traumatic events such as natural disasters, forced displacement, or severe accidents. It significantly impairs individuals' ability to cope with daily activities and disrupts their emotional and psychological equilibrium.
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events,...
488
Traumatic Memory01:20

Traumatic Memory

553
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...
553
Role of Hippocampus in Memory01:19

Role of Hippocampus in Memory

1.4K
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...
1.4K
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory01:14

Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory

1.1K
The cerebellum, while traditionally associated with motor control, also plays a crucial role in memory, particularly in procedural memory, which involves learning motor tasks that become automatic through repetition. For example, studies have shown that when the cerebellum is damaged, individuals or animals lose the ability to learn conditioned motor responses, such as the conditioned eye-blink response in classical conditioning experiments with rabbits. This study demonstrates the...
1.1K
Role of Amygdala in Memory01:16

Role of Amygdala in Memory

1.1K
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...
1.1K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Shared and specific associations of amygdala nuclei volumes with PTSD symptom domains and childhood trauma: An ENIGMA-PGC PTSD mega-analysis.

Molecular psychiatry·2026
Same author

Spatial encoding of a traumatic virtual reality scene reduces intrusive memories.

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience·2026
Same author

Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Amygdala and Hippocampus in PTSD: Results From the PGC-ENIGMA PTSD Working Group.

The American journal of psychiatry·2026
Same author

Childhood Maltreatment and Deviations From Normative Brain Structure: A Mega-Analysis of 3711 Individuals From the ENIGMA Major Depressive Disorder and ENIGMA Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Working Groups.

Biological psychiatry·2026
Same author

Lower Gyrification of the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An ENIGMA-PTSD Study.

Biological psychiatry global open science·2026
Same author

A novel person-reported measure of safety-seeking behaviours: a preliminary study in older victims of community crime.

Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 19, 2026

A Metric Test for Assessing Spatial Working Memory in Adult Rats Following Traumatic Brain Injury
05:53

A Metric Test for Assessing Spatial Working Memory in Adult Rats Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Published on: May 7, 2021

3.8K

Allocentric spatial memory performance predicts intrusive memory severity in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Anika Sierk1, Antje Manthey2, John King3

  • 1Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom.

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
|September 20, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience fewer intrusive memories when they have better allocentric spatial memory. This study supports the dual representation theory in PTSD.

Keywords:
Allocentric processingHippocampusMRIPTSDTrauma

More Related Videos

Assessing Spatial Memory Impairment in a Mouse Model of Traumatic Brain Injury Using a Radial Water Tread Maze
06:09

Assessing Spatial Memory Impairment in a Mouse Model of Traumatic Brain Injury Using a Radial Water Tread Maze

Published on: July 17, 2017

7.5K
Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity
10:43

Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity

Published on: July 1, 2014

15.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 19, 2026

A Metric Test for Assessing Spatial Working Memory in Adult Rats Following Traumatic Brain Injury
05:53

A Metric Test for Assessing Spatial Working Memory in Adult Rats Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Published on: May 7, 2021

3.8K
Assessing Spatial Memory Impairment in a Mouse Model of Traumatic Brain Injury Using a Radial Water Tread Maze
06:09

Assessing Spatial Memory Impairment in a Mouse Model of Traumatic Brain Injury Using a Radial Water Tread Maze

Published on: July 17, 2017

7.5K
Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity
10:43

Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity

Published on: July 1, 2014

15.7K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves distressing trauma-related memories.
  • Dual representation theory suggests intrusive memories stem from poor contextual encoding, particularly allocentric spatial memory.
  • Contextualization of mental imagery is thought to involve the ventral visual stream (VVS) and hippocampus.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between neuronal structures (VVS, hippocampus), allocentric memory, and intrusive memory severity in women with PTSD.
  • To test the role of allocentric spatial memory in the contextualization of mental imagery within the dual representation theory framework for PTSD.

Main Methods:

  • Recruited 33 women with PTSD from childhood trauma.
  • Assessed allocentric spatial memory using the virtual Town Square Task.
  • Acquired T1-weighted MRI scans and evoked intrusive memories via script-driven imagery.

Main Results:

  • Found a significant association between lower intrusive memory severity and higher allocentric spatial memory.
  • No significant association was observed between VVS cortical thickness, hippocampal volume, and intrusive memory severity.
  • Exploratory analysis showed a negative correlation between time since trauma and left hippocampal volume.

Conclusions:

  • The findings support the dual representation theory by highlighting the importance of allocentric spatial memory in PTSD.
  • Better allocentric spatial memory may be linked to reduced intrusive memory severity in PTSD.
  • While causality cannot be inferred, the results suggest potential clinical implications for understanding and treating PTSD.