Can extremely-intense positive emotions cause amnesia?

[Green Xenon]

Hi:

 

I've heard that extremely-negative emotional experiences can cause the individual to lose memory of the event -- dissociative amnesia.

 

I have two questions:

 

1. Can extremely positive emotional events also cause dissociative amnesia?

 

2. What are the neurological mechanisms by which memories of intensely negative psychological events are lost?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Green Xenon

[dr.syntax]

It would seem to me some people might say have a wild night of sexual experiences and not be able to remember it if such behavior was in conflict with thier self image. A certain sort of morning after effect. As to your second question Dr.Arthur Janov discusses that topic in great detail. I will see if I can find an appropriate link for you. ...DS Hello again, . I`ll paraphrase a short part of it: The thalmus wich is the switchboard of the brain seems to have a mechanism that measures the valence of the pain and decides whether to forward it or not. Some of Dr.Janov`s books provide detailed diagrams of the brain that show the different areas of the brain as they apply to processing pain and such. The Anatomy of Mental Illness is one such book. Hope that helps. ...DS PS None of the links I tried have worked. If you google:[ Arthur Janov+primal therapy ] and dig around a bit you will find some answers. I tried hard but none of my links worked

Edited September 6, 2009 by dr.syntax
I wish to add to my answer, no links work

[Des-Rez]

extremely-negative emotional experiences are a shock to the mind. Amnesia is in a way just a walking coma to protect the individual from “damaging” thoughts. Either that or the event is so unbelievable and unfathomable that the person doesn't understand what has happened and to the person it is much easier to believe that it never occured in the first place.

 

I have never heard of anyone, without the use of drugs, experience anything as shockingly euphoric as the suggested. And if an event was such an incomprehensible thing then they really needs to get friends or just outright laugh at a comedy. Laughter is healthy.

 

 

Just some music,

[iNow]

Can extremely-intense positive emotions cause amnesia?

Actually, positive emotions are more likely to lead to stronger memories, so I'd say this question is polar opposite to what really happens. All one must do is to look at research into conditioning (reward reinforces memory... intense positive emotion = reward).

[GDG]

Intense emotion of either kind tends to make events more memorable. However, you are more likely to think about positive memories than negative memories: over time, your happy memories will be reinforced, and your negative memories left in the corner of the cellar. Unless, of course, you like to dwell on negative memories. Boring, unemotional events are quickly forgetable.

[dr.syntax]

Sorry to disagree with you GDG, But is well documented that extremely traumatic events, both physical and psychological often lead to a sort of partial amnesia with a very many people. I am speaking of partial amnesia, or an inablity to remember events surrounding the traumatic event. Not the sort of total amnesia where people forget who they are. ...Dr.Syntax

[JillSwift]

Sorry to disagree with you GDG, But is well documented that extremely traumatic events, both physical and psychological often lead to a sort of partial amnesia with a very many people. I am speaking of partial amnesia, or an inablity to remember events surrounding the traumatic event. Not the sort of total amnesia where people forget who they are. ...Dr.Syntax

Can you present some of this documentation, please?

 

I've not answered this thread because I've been on the hunt for something that evidenced the claim that intense emotion has immediate effect on memory. The only thing I've been able to find is studies on pain response and memory as it involves physical trauma.

[iNow]

The wiki article does a nice job of pulling out the basics on emotion and memory. While DS is correct that in some rare instances extreme traumatic events will be blocked out, GDG is somewhat more correct that... as a general rule... emotion heightens memory and improves retention. In sum, it's much more likely for emotion to lead to stronger memory than the loss of it.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion_and_memory

Emotion can have a powerful impact on memory. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than neutral events.

 

The activity of emotionally enhanced memory retention can be linked to human evolution; during early development, responsive behavior to environmental events would have progressed as a process of trial and error. Survival depended on behavioral patterns that were repeated or reinforced through life and death situations. Through evolution, this process of learning became genetically embedded in humans and all animal species in what is known as "fight or flight" instinct.

 

Artificially inducing this instinct through traumatic physical or emotional stimuli essentially creates the same physiological condition that heightens memory retention by exciting neuro-chemical activity affecting areas of the brain responsible for encoding and recalling memory. This memory-enhancing effect of emotion has been demonstrated in a large number of laboratory studies, using stimuli ranging from words to pictures to narrated slide shows, as well as autobiographical memory studies. However, as described below, emotion does not always enhance memory.

 

 

 

Btw Jill - There are some good references at the link if you wish to continue your search.

[JillSwift]

Thank you, iNow. I tend to forget about Wikipedia.

[dr.syntax]

Can you present some of this documentation, please?

 

I've not answered this thread because I've been on the hunt for something that evidenced the claim that intense emotion has immediate effect on memory. The only thing I've been able to find is studies on pain response and memory as it involves physical trauma.

 

nationally recognized organizations. It`s focus is on the overall impact of trauma/stress on the brain. Amnesia is one of the aspects discussed. The web address is : http://www.lawandpsychiatry.com/html/hippocampus.htm . It`s a fairly short but scholarly article with references. Much of what it discusses is specifically emotional pain/trauma. ...Dr.Syntax

Edited September 12, 2009 by dr.syntax
web address correction

[insane_alien]

i seriously doubt that emotional pain/trauma counts as a intense positive emotion.

[GDG]

Sorry to disagree with you GDG, But is well documented that extremely traumatic events, both physical and psychological often lead to a sort of partial amnesia with a very many people. I am speaking of partial amnesia, or an inablity to remember events surrounding the traumatic event. Not the sort of total amnesia where people forget who they are. ...Dr.Syntax

 

My recollection is that one has amnesia associated with traumatic events because one's memory is essentially interrupted: e.g., the short term impressions never make it into long term memory, because unconsciousness intervenes. Haven't read up on PTSD lately, but isn't the problem believed to be in part due to having an extreme emotion reaction to triggering stimuli, without being able to consciously remember what caused the trauma in the first place?

 

In any event, I'm having a hard time imagining an extremely positive emotion associated with extreme trauma...

[dr.syntax]

My recollection is that one has amnesia associated with traumatic events because one's memory is essentially interrupted: e.g., the short term impressions never make it into long term memory, because unconsciousness intervenes. Haven't read up on PTSD lately, but isn't the problem believed to be in part due to having an extreme emotion reaction to triggering stimuli, without being able to consciously remember what caused the trauma in the first place?

 

In any event, I'm having a hard time imagining an extremely positive emotion associated with extreme trauma...

 

When sufficient trauma occurs the thalamus does not allow portions of, or the entire event to connect with those portions of the brain where conscious memories are stored. They are shunted off to the places in the mind and body where blocked imprints get stored. They do not rest there peacefully. Until and unless they can be felt and connected in a healing way they exert a never resting pressure into the nervous system. This is a very real form of stress and is damaging in many ways to all who live with this condition. I believe Primal Therapy offers the only real resolution for this condition. I don`t know if you were refering to my " morning after " comment or not as to positive emotions and trauma. The original posting did ask if it was possible for a very positive emotion or something like that to cause amnesia. Something like that. Anyway, this morning after effect was the only thing I could think of that might have such an effect. Of course I do not think positive feelings are blocked as a normal function of the brain. Anyway enough of that. I appreciate your response. ...Dr.Syntax

[Green Xenon]

When sufficient trauma occurs the thalamus does not allow portions of, or the entire event to connect with those portions of the brain where conscious memories are stored. They are shunted off to the places in the mind and body where blocked imprints get stored. They do not rest there peacefully. Until and unless they can be felt and connected in a healing way they exert a never resting pressure into the nervous system. This is a very real form of stress and is damaging in many ways to all who live with this condition. I believe Primal Therapy offers the only real resolution for this condition. I don`t know if you were refering to my " morning after " comment or not as to positive emotions and trauma. The original posting did ask if it was possible for a very positive emotion or something like that to cause amnesia. Something like that. Anyway, this morning after effect was the only thing I could think of that might have such an effect. Of course I do not think positive feelings are blocked as a normal function of the brain. Anyway enough of that. I appreciate your response. ...Dr.Syntax

 

Sorry for my late response in this thread. I just noticed that it was active.

 

I have another question regarding this dissociative amnesia.

 

I've also heard of cases where traumatic memories do form clearly but the individual is not immediately affected by the memories. Rather it takes years for the memories to enter consciousness [often in the form of PTSD marked by nightmares and upsetting flashbacks]. What causes this?

 

Examples of this occur in prisoners of war, children who were molested, or residents of structures fires. Memory of the event does form but the victim can't access the memory voluntarily. 20 years or so down the road, these victims will suddenly complain of vivid memories and bad dreams of those events. What are the neurological mechanisms behind this temporary blockage of memory followed by such explosive re-experiencing of these events?

 

Obviously the memory does form and coherently so. This throws out the hypothesis that stress hormones prevent the memory from being formed.

 

 

Thanks

[iNow]

I have another question regarding this dissociative amnesia.

 

I've also heard of cases where traumatic memories do form clearly but the individual is not immediately affected by the memories. Rather it takes years for the memories to enter consciousness [often in the form of PTSD marked by nightmares and upsetting flashbacks]. What causes this?

The ability to remember something and the ability to recall it are two different phenomenon. Usually, when memories "erupt" like that later in life, it is due to the fact that they were not processed or accepted emotionally. Emotions are a powerful driver of our thoughts, and our emotions sometimes are beyond our control, especially when we ignore them or don't deal with them in the moment.

[dr.syntax]

Sorry for my late response in this thread. I just noticed that it was active.

 

I have another question regarding this dissociative amnesia.

 

I've also heard of cases where traumatic memories do form clearly but the individual is not immediately affected by the memories. Rather it takes years for the memories to enter consciousness [often in the form of PTSD marked by nightmares and upsetting flashbacks]. What causes this?

 

Examples of this occur in prisoners of war, children who were molested, or residents of structures fires. Memory of the event does form but the victim can't access the memory voluntarily. 20 years or so down the road, these victims will suddenly complain of vivid memories and bad dreams of those events. What are the neurological mechanisms behind this temporary blockage of memory followed by such explosive re-experiencing of these events?

 

Obviously the memory does form and coherently so. This throws out the hypothesis that stress hormones prevent the memory from being formed.

 

 

Thanks

 

I would wish to add that victums of trauma are immediately negatively impacted whether they consciously recall the event or not. In those cases where there is no or only partial recall the event is stored in it`s entirety as an imprint. These imprints can be stored throughout the entire nervous system and express themselves in many ways: nervous ticks,drug addiction,ulcers,high blood pressure,sleeping disorders,depression,phobias,migraines,eating disorders, and on and on. The point being these imprints live on inside the person exerting a negative force,stress hormones and such until and unless that person can reconnect with the repressed event in a way that allows for the emotional reliving of the event in a truly curative manner. Simply talking about it or understanding it better resolves nothing. There is an answer to all this and it is called Primal Therapy. If you are interested in that simply google: primal therapy+janov or simply: primal therapy. There is a lot available on the web regarding Primal Therapy. Here is a link to Arthur Janov`s Primal Center: http:http://www.primaltherapy.com/SEO/primal_theory_overview.shtml . ...Dr.Syntax

[iNow]

My sense is that "primal therapy" is based on too many unfounded assumptions, and is more about new age woo than it is actual science or empirical evidence. Not necessarily bad, but definitely open to criticisms.

[dr.syntax]

My sense is that "primal therapy" is based on too many unfounded assumptions, and is more about new age woo than it is actual science or empirical evidence. Not necessarily bad, but definitely open to criticisms.

 

Dr. Janov`s therapy is based on sound scientific principles. There is absolutely nothing supernatural or mystical and such that has anything to do with Primal Therapy. ...ds

I am tired of arguing with you. I don`t enoy it. You believe whatever you want as to Primal Therapy. ...Dr.Syntax

Edited September 15, 2009 by dr.syntax
Consecutive posts merged. edit

[Green Xenon]

The ability to remember something and the ability to recall it are two different phenomenon.

 

What is the difference? I have a hard time understanding.

[iNow]

Memory = storage.

Recall = retrieval from storage.