Why do we have such a hard time letting go of memories that make us feel scared? The Solution Can Be Found In Science
When compared to a good or joyful memory, a painful or frightening one is more likely to be recalled very well in our thoughts throughout the course of the years that we spend living.
A study explains why memories of frightening experiences leave scars in our minds.
Researchers from the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering and the Tufts University School of Medicine have discovered why this is the case.
They have conducted research on the creation of scared memories in the amygdala, which is located in the emotional centre of our brains, and they have developed a hypothesis about the mechanism that underlies this process.
They discovered that the neurotransmitter for stress, norepinephrine, is responsible for fear processing in the brain. It does this by stimulating a specific population of inhibitory neurons in the amygdala, which causes them to generate a repetitive bursting pattern of electrical discharges. [Citation needed]
The bursting pattern causes a change in the frequency of brain wave oscillation in the amygdala, taking it from a state of rest to a state of arousal, which ultimately leads to the creation of fear memories.
A study explains why memories of frightening experiences leave scars in our minds.
Jeffrey Tasker, a professor of cell and molecular biology at Tulane University and the holder of the Catherine and Hunter Pierson Chair in Neuroscience, offers the following explanation in reference to the scenario of an armed robbery: “If you are held up at gunpoint, your brain secretes a bunch of the stress neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which is similar to an adrenaline rush.”
He went on to say, “This alters the electrical discharge pattern in specific circuits in your emotional brain, centred in the amygdala, which, in turn, transitions the brain to a state of heightened arousal that facilitates memory formation, fear memory since it’s scary.” He said this in the context of the amygdala. We believe that this is the same mechanism that, when disrupted, leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the inability to forget terrible events.
Why do we have such a hard time letting go of memories that make us feel scared? The Solution Can Be Found In Science
Why do we have such a hard time letting go of memories that make us feel scared? The Solution Can Be Found In Science
When compared to a good or joyful memory, a painful or frightening one is more likely to be recalled very well in our thoughts throughout the course of the years that we spend living.
A study explains why memories of frightening experiences leave scars in our minds.
Researchers from the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering and the Tufts University School of Medicine have discovered why this is the case.
They have conducted research on the creation of scared memories in the amygdala, which is located in the emotional centre of our brains, and they have developed a hypothesis about the mechanism that underlies this process.
They discovered that the neurotransmitter for stress, norepinephrine, is responsible for fear processing in the brain. It does this by stimulating a specific population of inhibitory neurons in the amygdala, which causes them to generate a repetitive bursting pattern of electrical discharges. [Citation needed]
The bursting pattern causes a change in the frequency of brain wave oscillation in the amygdala, taking it from a state of rest to a state of arousal, which ultimately leads to the creation of fear memories.
A study explains why memories of frightening experiences leave scars in our minds.
Jeffrey Tasker, a professor of cell and molecular biology at Tulane University and the holder of the Catherine and Hunter Pierson Chair in Neuroscience, offers the following explanation in reference to the scenario of an armed robbery: “If you are held up at gunpoint, your brain secretes a bunch of the stress neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which is similar to an adrenaline rush.”
He went on to say, “This alters the electrical discharge pattern in specific circuits in your emotional brain, centred in the amygdala, which, in turn, transitions the brain to a state of heightened arousal that facilitates memory formation, fear memory since it’s scary.” He said this in the context of the amygdala. We believe that this is the same mechanism that, when disrupted, leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the inability to forget terrible events.
Archives
Categories