memory control + PTSD Flashcards
(19 cards)
Intro
Introduce the concept of memory control – the ability to intentionally forget or suppress memories, particularly emotional ones.
Highlight relevance: emotional memories are typically more vivid and persistent.
Discuss emotional memories as both adaptive (e.g., survival value) and maladaptive (e.g., intrusive memories in PTSD).
Thesis: People can exert some control over emotional memories, but the effectiveness is limited by emotional salience, individual differences (e.g., depression), and trauma intensity.
theoretical background intro/para 1
Mood Congruence Theory (Bower, 2003): emotional state affects encoding and retrieval.
Self-Memory System (Conway, 2005): autobiographical memories are hierarchically organized; emotional memories are often highly self-relevant.
Emotional salience increases encoding strength (Brewin, 1989) and retrieval accessibility.
Memory control is especially relevant in clinical contexts (e.g., depression, PTSD), where emotional memories can be intrusive or overgeneralized.
Directed forgetting
A. Directed Forgetting (DF)
Item-Method DF – instruction to forget or remember individual items.
DF effect shown for neutral and emotional words, less for emotional (Bailey & Chapman, 2012).
Emotional items are harder to forget – require more cognitive effort fMRI study (Nowicka et al., 2011).
List-Method DF – forget/remember instruction applied after list.
Less effective for emotional stimuli (Payne & Corrigan, 2007).
Dual representation theory + support
A. Dual Representation Theory (Brewin, 2001)
Two systems:
Verbally Accessible Memory (VAM)
Situationally Accessible Memory (SAM)
SAMs are involuntarily triggered and are sensory-rich (e.g., flashbacks).
PTSD reflects imbalance: weak VAM, overactive SAM.
B. Experimental Support
Holmes et al. (2004, 2009): trauma film paradigm and Tetris study.
Cognitive vaccine: playing Tetris within the consolidation window reduced intrusive memories.
Supports dual representation theory – task diverts resources from sensory encoding.
CONCLUSION
Memory control over emotional experiences is possible but limited.
Directed forgetting and TNT show modest effects, especially when memories are low in arousal or not personally relevant.
PTSD and depression demonstrate the challenges of controlling highly emotional or trauma-related memories.
Evidence supports that details can be suppressed.
Interventions like Tetris or MeST show promise, especially if used early or in targeted ways.
Final stance: while people can exert partial and context-dependent control, emotional intensity and self-relevance significantly reduce the efficacy of forgetting strategies.
mood congruence and depression
Williams and Broadbent (1986)
Patients with depression (who had attempted suicide) take longer than controls to recall memories elicited by positive cues.
No difference for negative cues.
Memory specificity training
MeST (Raes et al 2009)
Basic premise – training to retrieve specific memories through focusing on sensory-perceptual and contextual details.
Barry et al (2019) – Meta-analysis
MeST outperforms passive (e.g. waitlist) and active (e.g. psychoeducation) controls in terms of effects on ABM specificity and reducing depressive symptoms.
Across cultural settings (UK, US, Belgium, Spain, Japan, Iran…)
Helps those with PTSD or Depression
TNT paradigm
B. Think/No-Think Paradigm (TNT)
Depue et al. (2006): memory enhancement for THINK and impairment for NO THINK more pronounced for emotional items
Noreen & MacLeod (2013): in Autobiographical TNT, details can be suppressed, but gist remains. Effect found for negative but not positive memories
Suggests partial control: people can limit memory access but not erase emotional episodes.
C. Boundary Conditions
High-arousal or emotionally intense memories are more resistant.
DF and TNT are more successful with neutral or low-arousal content.
Joslyn & Oakes 2005
DF effect for positive and negative memories
But high-intensity events appear to be resilient
People remember fewer autobiographical memories when instructed to forget
This effect is reasonably long-lasting (1 week later)
DF Effects apparent for both positive and negative experiences
BUT – especially high-intensity emotions might make memories more resistant
challenges and application of dual representation theory (Brewin, 2001)
C. Challenges to Dual Representation
Berntsen & Rubin: argue for basic memory mechanisms.
D. Application and Limits
PTSD shows that highly emotional memories are resistant to intentional forgetting.
Interventions can reduce intrusion but not erase the memory.
Critical time window and modality of task matter for interventions.
Holmes et al (2009) crit ev
Could we use this as an intervention in the real world? (Think about the timing of the Tetris task in Holmes et al’s (2009) study.
McNally et al 1998
PTSD sufferers showed no directed forgetting effect for trauma-related words.
In contrast, healthy controls and trauma-exposed individuals without PTSD were able to forget.
Waldhauser et al 2011
Memory suppression requires coordinated activity between prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.
Disruption in this network may explain impaired forgetting in PTSD (though PTSD not directly studied here, mechanisms apply).
Catarino et al 2015
PTSD patients showed impaired suppression in the TNT task.
The more severe the PTSD symptoms, the less they were able to suppress.
McNally et al 1998 crit ev
Strengths:
Clear group comparison enhances internal validity.
Trauma-related stimuli improve construct relevance.
Limitations:
Trauma-relatedness of words may vary across individuals → weakens stimulus control.
PTSD groups may differ in trauma type, time since trauma, or medication status
Noreen and MacLeod 2013 crit ev
Strengths:
Moves beyond word lists to use autobiographical memories, improving ecological and construct validity.
Shows graded suppression (e.g., forgetting causes more than consequences).
Limitations:
Not a PTSD sample → indirect relevance.
Subjective memory ratings may be influenced by response bias.
Overgeneral Memories (OGM)
Williams et al (2007)
Individuals with PTSD or depression tend to recall general memories i.e going to school compared to my first day at school
can be modified through MeST - shows memory is malleable
Linked to trauma history
Demonstrates how memory is influenced by emotions, goal-directed etc.
OGM mechanisms
When ppl experience trauma they may deliberately or unconsciously avoid specific memories
affects memory retrieval process, stops at general event rather than specific
Specific events may be highly aversive, stops at general level as a protection?
Barnier et al 2007
ppts self generate words in response to cue words
1 groups shown 2 lists related to school years
1 group shown 1 list related to school years and one list related to thematic period i.e holidays
smaller directed forgetting effect for group 1 (related)
However, both have significant effect
