Finding positive meaning in memories of negative events adaptively updates memory

Finding positive meaning in past negative memories is associated with enhanced mental health. This study investigates whether positively reinterpreting negative memories updates their representation. Across four experiments, the researchers demonstrate that focusing on positive aspects after recalling negative memories adaptively updates them, leading to increased positivity at future retrieval. This effect persists for two months and aligns with a reactivation-induced reconsolidation process, requiring a reminder and a 24-hour delay. fMRI analysis reveals that these adaptive updates are reflected in greater hippocampal and ventral striatal pattern dissimilarity across retrievals.

Megan E. Speer, Sandra Ibrahim, Daniela Schiller, Mauricio R. Delgado