Affect-related information processing and psychogenic amnesias

The importance of affect for the processing of memories is emphasized. Among the affect-related brain regions, the amygdalar complex, the septal area and the cingulate gyrus are stressed in particular and examples are provided which demonstrate the interaction between emotional and mnestic brain activity. Relations between dissociative disorders and amnesic conditions are outlined. Evidence for a principal similarity between retrograde amnesia caused by measurable organic brain damage and caused by psychic conditions, such as stress, is provided. The shock-induced release of stress hormones (glucocorticoids) is assumed to hinder other transmitters to successfully couple to their respective receptors, leading to the block of normal information flow for memory retrieval. This condition is named 'mnestic block syndrome'.