I’d hazard a guess and say most everyday memories aren’t really linked to strong emotions…it’s hard to get really excited about the location of a pen or some such.

Other memories are not quite so benign. I’m referring to those with strong emotion linked to them. Those can be good or destructive. Well, at MIT, neuroscientists have found (in mice) the neuronal circuit that is critical to linking memory with emotion. Furthermore, the researchers found that they could reverse the emotional association of specific memories by manipulating brain cells with optogenetics — a technique that uses light to control neuron activity.

“In the future, one may be able to develop methods that help people to remember positive memories more strongly than negative ones,” says Susumu Tonegawa, the Picower Professor of Biology and Neuroscience, director of the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and senior author of the paper.” – MIT

The ability to change the emotions comes from the fact that while memories are stored in the Hippocampus, emotions are stored in the Amygdala. So, it’s obvious that a circuit must exist which links a memory to an emotion. The researchers ‘tagged’ the neurons with a specific memory using a light sensitive protein called channel rhodopsin. Then, any time these neurons were illuminated, the mice experienced that specific memory…

Well, I hate spoilers. If you’re interested, you can read more here: http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/brain-circuit-links-emotion-memory-0827

Remember, these are mice…but the research is truly ground breaking. This isn’t something that’s coming soon to a theater near you.

It’s important especially in light of how many of our troops are returning with PTSD…that research beyond the shotgun medicines (although largely effective) is being done and that it will cause even more research.

Source: http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/brain-circuit-links-emotion-memory-0827