Sleep’s Role in the Consolidation of Emotional Episodic Memories
- Elizabeth A. Kensinger, Department of Psychology, Boston College, McGuinn 510, 140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467; or Jessica D. Payne, Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Haggar Hall, Room 122B, Notre Dame, IN 56556 E-mail: elizabeth.kensinger{at}bc.edu or jpayne7{at}nd.edu
Abstract
Emotion has a lasting effect on memory, encouraging certain aspects of our experiences to become durable parts of our memory stores. Although emotion exerts its influence at every phase of memory, this review focuses on emotion’s role in the consolidation and transformation of memories over time. Sleep provides ideal conditions for memory consolidation, and recent research demonstrates that manipulating sleep can shed light on the storage and evolution of emotional memories. We provide evidence that sleep enhances the likelihood that select pieces of an experience are stabilized in memory, leading memory for emotional experiences to home in on the aspects of the experience that are most closely tied to the affective response.
Article Notes
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The authors declared that they had no conflicts of interest with respect to their authorship or the publication of this article.
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Preparation of this manuscript was assisted by funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (MH080833).
- © The Author(s) 2010
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