Component Neural Systems for the Creation of Emotional Memories during Free Viewing of a Complex, Real-World Event

Abstract

To investigate the neural systems that contribute to the formation of complex, self-relevant emotional memories, dedicated fans of rival college basketball teams watched a competitive game while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During a subsequent recognition memory task, participants were shown video clips depicting plays of the game, stemming either from previously-viewed game segments (targets) or from non-viewed portions of the same game (foils). After an old-new judgment, participants provided emotional valence and intensity ratings of the clips. A data driven approach was first used to decompose the fMRI signal acquired during free viewing of the game into spatially independent components. Correlations were then calculated between the identified components and post-scanning emotion ratings for successfully encoded targets. Two components were correlated with intensity ratings, including temporal lobe regions implicated in memory and emotional functions, such as the hippocampus and amygdala, as well as a midline fronto-cingulo-parietal network implicated in social cognition and self-relevant processing. These data were supported by a general linear model analysis, which revealed additional valence effects in fronto-striatal-insular regions when plays were divided into positive and negative events according to the fan's perspective. Overall, these findings contribute to our understanding of how emotional factors impact distributed neural systems to successfully encode dynamic, personally-relevant event sequences.

Keywords: affect; declarative memory; functional neuroimaging; independent components analysis; social cognition; sports psychology.

Figure 1

Independent components (ICs) identified during the free viewing of the 35-min portion of the basketball game (p = 0. 001; k = 5). This figure represents the 9 IC spatial maps identified, each overlaid on the sagittal, coronal and axial planes of an anatomical template.

Figure 2

Brain activity related to the two ICs that correlated with emotional intensity ratings. (A) Shows the “MTL-visual IC” (blue) and the “default network IC2” (red), and their corresponding time-courses are shown in (B). The dotted lines indicate the standard deviation.

Figure 3

Regions showing a greater difference in activity for successfully encoded positive relative to negative segments (p < 0. 001, k = 5): (A) left orbito-frontal cortex, (B) right amygdala, (C) right striatum.