A team of scientists at New York Universe has just gained a better understanding of the way in which we remember both emotional and non-emotional information. Emotions persist in the brain even after an emotional event has ended, in a phenomenon described as "emotional hangover," according to the new study.
These emotional reactions seem to influence the way people remember events, increasing their ability to remember even neutral circumstances that took place after an emotional reaction.
The Experiment
Scientists have been aware of the fact that people do tend to remember emotionally charged information better than other types of information. However, they were curios to find out whether emotional responses can also influence the manner people remember neutral events.
In order to reach an answer, the team divided the subjects of the experiment into two groups. The first group was shown a series of images that stimulated them emotionally and aroused them. While watching the images, their physiological reactions were monitored carefully. They were also shown a series of neutral images which did not create any particular reaction.
The second group received the neutral images first and then the emotionally impactful ones. The subjects had to wait for 10 to 30 minutes until the second set of photos was shown. Six hours after the stage of the experiment had ended, the subjects had to participate in a memory test related to the images they had seen.
The Results
As expected, people were more likely to remember the emotionally charged images; however, another interesting thing was also observed. The subjects were also more likely to remember the neutral images when they were shown after the emotionally charged ones.
The fMRI used to monitor the subjects showed the cause of the results. It seems the emotional states lingered in the brains of the participants for up to half an hour after they saw the images and influenced the manner in which they remembered the "boring" images. In the case of the people who saw the neutral images first, the effect was not detected.
"How we remember events is not just a consequence of the external world we experience, but is also strongly influenced by our internal states -- and these internal states can persist and color future experiences," noted Lila Davachi, senior author of the study.
The fascinating results have led to a better understanding of our memory and may have practical applications if developed even further. However, further studies are definitely necessary as emotions also create a particular bias regarding how and what is remembered.
