Guiding the Emotion in Emotional Memories: The Role of the Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex

Abstract

Models of episodic emotional memory typically concern why emotional events are more likely to be remembered than neutral events, focusing on interactions between the amygdala and other medial temporal lobe regions. But memories of emotional events can be distinguished by their affective tone and framing. We propose that the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), a region that is increasingly recognized to crosscut socio-affective and cognitive domains, plays a key role in this aspect of emotional memory. After briefly reviewing the role of the dmPFC in the control of behaviors ranging from actions to emotions to social cognition, we delve into the accumulating evidence that its functions also subserve the abstraction of meaning from events and the control of memories, particularly emotional memories. Its role begins during the encoding of emotional experiences, continues through their stabilization, and endures during the retrieval of memory content. At each phase, the dmPFC participates in the integration of affective and cognitive components of memories, setting up networks and framings that either emphasize or de-emphasize emotional content. Incorporating the dmPFC into models of episodic emotional memory should provide leverage in understanding the affective tone with which experiences are brought to memory.