Sample response

One hormone that affects human behaviour is adrenaline.  It is produced by the adrenal glands and plays an important role in what is called the “flight or fight response.”  When we are afraid, the brain signals the release of adrenaline, which then stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in increased blood flow to muscles, increased heart rate and increased breathing rate. This prepares an organism to either fight against a threat, or to run away from it. 

Since we often create strong memories of things that have frightened us, McGaugh & Cahill wanted to study the effect of adrenaline on the creation of emotional memories.  They had participants watch a series of slides while listening to a story.  In one group, the story was uninteresting.   The second group heard a story that was very traumatic about a young boy who was in an accident and his feet were severed.  After two weeks, the participants came back and were asked to answer a series of questions about the slides.  Those that were in the more emotionally arousing condition remembered more than in the boring condition.

To test the role of adrenaline, they repeated this procedure but gave the participants beta-blockers that interfere with the release of adrenaline. It was hypothesized that if adrenaline is blocked, then the amygdala would not be able to produce emotional memories.  It appears that this was the case. The group that took beta-blockers remembered no more detail about the slides than the group that heard the boring story. 

It appears that by interacting with the amygdala, adrenaline plays a key role in the creation of emotional memories.

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