Abstract: Emotional memory has been extensively investigated using functional neuroimaging techniques. These studies extend the understanding of the neural mechanisms of emotional memory, which were assessed mainly in animals. The authors reviewed recent studies of encoding and retrieval processes of emotional memory. These studies show evidence that the amygdala participates in emotional memory not only in the stage of consolidation, but also in the early stage of encoding, and the stage of retrieval. The correlation and connectivity analysis showed evidence for the interaction between the amygdala and the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in both encoding and retrieval stages. Recent studies suggest that stimulus category is also involved in modulation of emotional memory. The amygdala is involved in the processing of stimulus category, vividness and feeling of remembering for emotional memory. It is necessary to combine different types of techniques to explore the neural mechanisms of emotional memory in future.

Key words: amygdala, emotion, memory, neuroimaging

摘要： 脑功能成像技术近年来已应用于情绪记忆的研究，相关的研究结果扩展了依据动物实验所得到的有关结论。作者主要对近年来情绪记忆的编码和提取阶段的脑成像研究进行了综述。研究表明，杏仁核在情绪记忆中的作用不仅局限在巩固阶段，它的作用在编码过程的初期已显示出来，并参与记忆的提取过程。脑区相关和联结模型强调了杏仁核与内侧颞叶等之间的交互作用。已有的研究还表明，刺激类型是影响情绪记忆的重要因素之一。杏仁核还参与对情绪的刺激类型、情绪记忆的生动感和主观性的加工。在今后的研究中将多种神经科学的技术相结合会更深入地揭示情绪记忆的脑机制。

关键词: 杏仁核, 情绪, 记忆, 脑功能成像