Positive Emotional Induction Interferes with the Reconsolidation of Negative Autobiographical Memories

Buenos Aires

Congreso; Reunión conjunta de Sociedades de Biociencias; 2017

After reactivation, a previously consolidated memory can enter into a labile state followed by a re-stabilization process defined as reconsolidation. The aim of this study was to explore whether an existing negative autobiographical memory can be modified by using a non-invasive interference (audiovisual positive preparation) after reactivation and to determine if this effect could be dependent on the reconsolidation process.Participants ?memories were reactivated on day 1 (retrieval session) by means of the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) by the presentation of the negative adjective ?angry? and they were instructed to remember one specific event from their own past and to write down the event in 4 min. Ten min later half of the subjects were shown the positive audiovisual inductor (POSITIVE INDUCTOR, PI group) and the other half was shown an equivalent neutral audiovisual inductor (NEUTRAL INDUCTOR NI group). The memories were tested 7 and 30 days later by means of the presentation of the title of the event and they had again 4 min to write down the event. The results shown that only in women The presentation of a positive inductor reduced significantly the negative emotional content 7 and 30 days later (post hoc, p< 0.05).In sum, we found that a positive emotional experience after a negative autobiographical memory reactivation may lead to a change in the emotional information of the original trace and that such effect can be mediated by the reconsolidation process. These results suggest that a positive audiovisual induction may play a potential role in psychotherapeutic techniques for the modification of dysfunctional autobiographical memories.