Negative Images Boost Unrelated Memories

People who viewed an image of a dead cat (or something equally negative) after recalling a newly learned Swahili word were better at later remembering the word than people who viewed a neutral image, say Bridgid Finn and Henry L. Roediger III of Washington University. The viewers of negative images remembered 57% of what they had previously recalled, compared with 44% for people who saw neutral pictures. An emotionally arousing event may enhance "reconsolidation" of memory because the brain's emotional centers have close connections with the reconsolidation region, the researchers say.

Source: Enhancing Retention Through Reconsolidation: Negative Emotional Arousal Following Retrieval Enhances Later Recall

via Harvard Business Review's The Daily Stat