Brief learning induces a memory bias for arousing-negative words: an fMRI study in high and low trait anxious persons

摘要: Persons suffering from anxiety disorders display facilitated processing of arousing and negative stimuli, such as words. This memory bias is reflected in better recall increased amygdala activity response to stimuli. However, individual learning histories were not considered most studies, a concern that we meet here. Thirty-four female persons (half with high-, half low trait anxiety) participated criterion-based associative word-learning paradigm, which neutral pseudowords paired aversive or pictures, should lead valence change for the negatively pseudowords. After learning, tested fMRI investigate differential brain activation evoked by newly acquired valence. Explicit implicit was assessed directly after training three follow-ups at 4-day intervals. The behavioral results demonstrate leads an explicit (but no implicit) linked pseudowords, relative ones, confirms earlier studies. Bilateral underlines effect: Higher correlated stronger than neutrally ones. Most interestingly, this effect also present participants could remember well. Moreover, higher reactivity completely novel ones highly anxious persons, can be taken evidence generalization. These findings few trials generate emotional indexed both behaviorally neurophysiologically. Importantly, typical stimuli generalization larger high persons.