STRESSING MEMORY 3 Exposure To A Significant Stressor Simultaneously Enhances Memory For Emotional Aspects Of An Event And Disrupts Memory For Non-Emotional Aspects Of The Same Event.

The present experiment demonstrates that exposure to a significant stressor simultaneously enhances memory for emotional aspects of an event and disrupts memory for non-emotional aspects of the same event. These results are consistent with theories invoking differential effects of stress on brain systems responsible for encoding and retrieving emotional memories (the amygdala) and non-emotional memories (the hippocampal formation), and inconsistent with the view that memories formed under traumatic levels of stress are qualitatively the same as those formed under ordinary circumstances (e.g., McNally, 2003; Shobe & Kihlstrom, 1997). These data, which are also consistent with results obtained in a number of studies using animals and humans, have implications for the legal system, clinical practice, and theories regarding human memory