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emotional memory

·October 15, 2025·6 min read

Astrocytes, Not Neurons, Hold the Key to Emotional Memory

New research reveals that astrocytes — not neurons — are responsible for stabilizing emotional memories by re-engaging during recall. After an emotionally intense event, such as fear, specific astrocytes become biologically tagged with adrenoreceptors, making them responsive when the memory is later reactivated.

This shows a brain with the amygdala and hippocampus glowing red.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 26, 2025·6 min read

How the Brain Reactivates Emotional Experiences

A new study using direct recordings from human brains reveals how the amygdala and hippocampus coordinate to form and retrieve emotional memories. During aversive memory encoding, high-frequency gamma activity in the amygdala shapes hippocampal responses, which are later reactivated in the hippocampus—but not the amygdala—during memory recall.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 15, 2025·3 min read

Hippocampus and Insula Team Up to Encode Emotional Memories

A new study explored how the hippocampus and insula interact during the encoding of emotional memories in humans. Sixteen participants with implanted electrodes viewed emotionally valenced words and attempted to recall them while neural activity was recorded.

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Featured Neuroscience

·May 25, 2025·4 min read

The Nature of Nostalgia: How Time Transforms Emotion in Memory

New research reveals that nostalgic memories don’t remain emotionally static, they evolve over time. While these memories are typically rich in positive feelings at the time they occur, those feelings tend to fade, making space for rising negative emotions like regret and loneliness.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 18, 2025·4 min read

How Music Can Emotionally Reshape Your Memories

A new neuroscience study reveals that music can alter the emotional content of our memories when played during recollection. Participants who listened to emotionally charged music while recalling neutral stories later remembered those stories with emotional tones matching the music.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 12, 2024·4 min read

Emotional Memory Cells Driving Empathy Discovered

Researchers have uncovered a brain mechanism in the prefrontal cortex that determines how animals respond to others’ emotions based on their own past experiences. These neurons, producing corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), act as emotional memories, modulating responses to socio-emotional stimuli.

This shows the location of the cerebellum in the brain

Featured Neuroscience

·October 6, 2022·3 min read

A New Function of the Cerebellum

The cerebellum plays a key role in the storage of both positive and negative memories of emotional events.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 7, 2019·5 min read

Scientists may soon be able to predict your memories

Using a mathematical model, researchers uncover the effects of emotion in memory encoding. They hope the data can be used to predict which experiences a person is most likely to recall.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 22, 2018·5 min read

Naps Plus Sleep Enhances Emotional Memory in Early Childhood

Summary: According to researchers, naps in combination with overnight sleep may work together to benefit emotional memory consolidation in young...

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 15, 2018·5 min read

When Emotional Memories Intrude, Focusing on Context Could Help

A new study reveals focusing attention to the context of a memory, rather than the emotional aspects, increases activity in brain regions associated with executive function and attention.

Featured Psychology

·December 26, 2016·3 min read

Is There Such A Thing As An Emotional Hangover?

Researchers report emotional experiences can influence memory and physiological states for an extended period of time. Additionally, non emotional experiences that follow emotional ones can are remembered some time later.