Open AccessA memory-based theory of emotional disorders.
Author(s) -
Rivka T. Cohen,
Michael J. Kahana
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
psychological review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.688
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1939-1471
pISSN - 0033-295X
DOI - 10.1037/rev0000334
Subject(s) - psychology , psycinfo , cognitive psychology , autobiographical memory , cognition , mood , context (archaeology) , arousal , episodic memory , valence (chemistry) , stressor , developmental psychology , recall , clinical psychology , neuroscience , medline , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics , political science , law , biology
Learning and memory play a central role in emotional disorders, particularly in depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. We present a new, transdiagnostic theory of how memory and mood interact in emotional disorders. Drawing upon retrieved-context models of episodic memory, we propose that memories form associations with the contexts in which they are encoded, including emotional valence and arousal. Later, encountering contextual cues retrieves their associated memories, which in turn reactivate the context that was present during encoding. We first show how our retrieved-context model accounts for findings regarding the organization of emotional memories in list-learning experiments. We then show how this model predicts clinical phenomena, including persistent negative mood after chronic stressors, intrusive memories of painful events, and the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).