The Impact of Stressful Events on Memory Integration

A study published in eNeuro found that stress can enhance the recall of individual events but impairs the ability to remember the chronological sequence of events. The researchers conducted an experiment where participants were exposed to a stress-inducing procedure involving electric shocks while viewing pictures. The stress group showed better memory for individual pictures from the block with shocks but struggled with recalling the sequence of pictures in that block. The study sheds light on the impact of stress on memory formation and suggests that stress may enhance certain aspects of memory while impairing others. However, it should be noted that the stressor used in the study was mild and of short duration.