The acute effects of psychoactive drugs on emotional episodic memory encoding, consolidation, and retrieval: A comprehensive review

Psychoactive drugs modulate learning and emotional processes in ways that could impact their recreational and medical use. Recent work has revealed how drugs impact different stages of processing emotional episodic memories, specifically encoding (forming memories), consolidation (stabilizing memories), and retrieval (accessing memories). Drugs administered before encoding may preferentially impair (e.g., GABAA sedatives including alcohol and benzodiazepines, Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, ketamine), enhance (e.g., dextroam-phetamine and dextromethamphetamine), or both impair and enhance (i.e., +/- 3,4-methylenediox-ymethylamphetamine or MDMA) emotionally negative and positive compared to neutral memories. GABAA sedatives administered immediately post-encoding (during consolidation) can preferentially enhance emotional memories, though this selectivity may decline or even reverse (i.e., preferential enhancement of neutral mem-ories) as the delay between encoding and retrieval increases. Finally, retrieving memories under the effects of THC, dextroamphetamine, MDMA, and perhaps GABAA sedatives distorts memory, with potentially greater selectively for emotional (especially positive) memories. We review these effects, propose neural mechanisms, discuss methodological considerations for future work, and speculate how drug effects on emotional episodic memory may contribute to drug use and abuse.

Automated summary

Psychoactive drugs can affect learning and emotional processes, which may impact their recreational and medical use. Recent research has shown that these drugs can have varying effects on different stages of processing emotional episodic memories, including encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. Drugs administered before encoding can impair, enhance, or both impair and enhance emotionally negative and positive memories compared to neutral memories. GABAA sedatives administered during consolidation may enhance emotional memories, but this selectivity may decrease or reverse as the delay between encoding and retrieval increases. Finally, retrieving memories under the influence of certain drugs can distort memory, with a potentially stronger effect on emotional (especially positive) memories. This article reviews these effects, proposes neural mechanisms, discusses methodological considerations for future studies, and speculates on how drug effects on emotional episodic memory may contribute to drug use and abuse.