How do emotions influence memory? In a collaboration between Hangzhou Normal University and Nanjing Normal University, Xi Jia led a study to explore whether emotions shape how well people remember meaningless, or neutral, images.
As detailed in their new JNeurosci paper, the researchers recorded the brain activity of 44 study participants as they viewed meaningless images of squiggles followed by images meant to evoke positive, neutral, or negative emotions. Researchers presented each squiggle–emotional image pair to participants three times. During image pair learning sessions, positive emotions promoted brain activity that could predict how well participants remembered the squiggles a day later. Thus, according to the authors, positive emotions during learning promote brain activity associated with better memory performance.
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About JNeurosci
JNeurosci was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship.
About The Society for Neuroscience
The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries.
JNeurosci
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0009-25.2025
People
Positive Emotion Enhances Memory by Promoting Memory Reinstatement across Repeated Learning
7-Jul-2025
The authors declare no competing financial interests.