Abstract:  The studies indicate both rats and humans had better memory recall under emotionally arousing experiences situation. This paper presents the neurobiological mechanisms for the influence of emotional arousal on memory consolidation, including: (a) Emotional arousal or stress released the adrenal stress hormones leading to enhance the consolidation of lasting memories. (b1) The activation of amygdala mediated the consolidation of emotional arousal. The release of Norepinephrine (NE) within amygdala affected the consolidation of memory. (b2) Amygdala regulation of memory projected to brain systems, such as hippocampus or cortex, which engaged in different kinds of memory experiences. (c) The activation of NE in the amygdala played an important role in the process of stress-induced memory consolidation. In summary, the effect of emotional arousal on memory consolidation involved hormonal regulation, neural modulation and their interaction.

Key words:  emotional arousal, stress hormones, amygdala, memory consolidation