Sample response

One technique used to study the brain is the fMRI.  The fMRI is a brain scan that allows researchers to see the function of the brain in real-time. The scan uses a strong magnetic field that responds to changes in the level of oxygen in the blood and the flow of blood in the brain as a response to neural activity.  When neurons are active in the brain they use more oxygen and to provide more oxygen, blood flow increases to the active area. fMRIs allow participants to carry out very simple tasks while in the tunnel and then measure activity in parts of the brain that are activated as a result of the behaviour.

One study that used an fMRI to study emotional memories was done by Sharot. The study used a sample of 24 people who were in New York City on 9/11.  She had the participants lie in the fMRI while words were flashed on a screen in front of them.  The words were either paired with “summer” or “September.”  Sharot found that for the participants who were in New York City but not near the attack had equal activation of the amygdala for both sets of words.  However, for the group that was downtown on the day of the attack, they had much stronger activation of the amygdala.  It appears that the amygdala plays a role in emotional memories, but in flashbulb memories, it may play an even more important role. This makes sense since if they felt that their lives were in danger, their fight or flight response would have been activated and played a role in the creation of the flashbulb memory.

Although the fMRI is able to show the researchers activity in parts of the brain, it does not actually explain what is happening.  The fMRI allowed Sharot to localize activity in the amygdala and then make further hypotheses about how the flashbulb memories may be formed.

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