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Abstract:
Autobiographic memory is usually affect-laden, either
positively or negatively. A central question is whether the
retrieval of both emotive forms of memory engages the same or a
different neural net. To test this we studied 13 normal subjects
with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they retrieved a
number of distinct episodes, all of which were either rated as
strongly positive (happy) or strongly negative (sad) in affect.
Comparing the retrieval of sad with that of happy episodes
activated both lateral orbital cortices symmetrically, together
with a small region in the right lateral temporal cortex and the
left cerebellum. Vice versa, comparing the retrieval of happy with
that of sad episodes resulted in a major left hippocampal and a
bilateral (but more strongly right-sided) medial orbitofrontal and
a left dorsolateral prefrontal activation. These findings point to
the importance of the orbitofrontal cortex for affect-laden
information processing and to the existence of distinct neural nets
for the re-activation of positively and negatively viewed
autobiographic episodes.
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