EMOTIONAL PERCEPTION AND MEMORY IN AMNESIA

The authors examined whether perception of emotional stimuli is normal in amnesia and whether emotional arousal has the same enhancing effec t on memory in amnesic patients as it has in healthy controls. Forty s tandardized color pictures were presented while participants rated eac h picture according to emotional intensity (arousal) and pleasantness (valence). An immediate free-recall test was given for the pictures, f ollowed by a yes-no recognition test. Arousal and valence ratings were highly similar among the amnesic patients and controls. Emotional aro usal (regardless of valence) enhanced both recall and recognition of t he pictures, and this enhancement was proportional for amnesic patient s and controls. Results suggest that emotional perception and the enha ncing effect of emotional arousal on memory are intact in amnesia.