Memory May Fade, Emotions Don't

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 13:29

With the due course of time, memories may get impaired but what is left behind is the emotions. This is what a new study has claimed. This study done by neuroscientist Justin Feinstein, has proven the earlier believe that memory and emotions go hand in hand.

The researchers have noticed that mentally impaired people continue to feel sad though they don't remember what made them sad at the first place.

This study was proved by a research done on two respective groups. One which consisted of impaired memory patients and the other with general crowd. In the research, Feinstein showed a compilation of clips from heart-rending films, to five people unable to form new memories because of damage to their hippocampus.

Ten minutes later, his team tested the memories of the patients and a group of five people with normal brain function.

It was noticed that the amnesiacs felt a lingering sadness with the patients even though they struggled to remember the simplest details of the clips, whereas those with healthy memories felt fine till that time.

Feinstein's team also showed the two groups a series of funny clips and found a similar pattern of responses. Though it was noticed that the emotion of sadness stayed longer than happiness.