Remembered event features shape default mode network engagement during emotional memory recall
Abstract
Episodic memory involves reconstruction of past events through integration of multiple types of information, including perceptual details, narrative content, and emotional tone. The default mode network (DMN) is a set of regions thought to support episodic retrieval, yet it remains unclear how distinct subnetworks contribute to recall of these different memory features. Here, we examined how DMN subnetworks support and represent memory for naturalistic emotional events. Male and female human participants encoded short news videos that varied in emotional valence and recalled them in response to neutral cues during functional MRI scanning. Videos were again recalled one day later and memories were scored for perceptual and narrative details. Activity in the dorsomedial subnetwork was related to the emotional valence of the memory, while activity in the medial temporal subnetwork was associated with the number of perceptual details recalled. Multivariate pattern analyses further revealed that the medial temporal subnetwork exhibited greater pattern stability across recalls when recalling more perceptual details, while stability in the dorsomedial and core subnetworks was tied to emotional remembering. Our findings suggest that the dorsomedial subnetwork provides an affective frame for a memory, while the medial temporal subnetwork contributes perceptual specificity. These results demonstrate that the contents of memory retrieval shape network engagement during emotional recall, providing insight into how the brain reconstructs complex real-world experiences.
Significance Statement How do we remember the emotional tone of an event versus its visual details? This study examines how distinct subnetworks within the brain’s default mode network (DMN) contribute to remembering different features of memory. While the medial temporal subnetwork is connected to retrieving the perceptual details of past events, the dorsomedial subnetwork supports recall of the emotional tone. Furthermore, patterns of activity in the medial temporal subnetwork are more stable when recalling more perceptually rich memories, while stability in the dorsomedial subnetwork is tied to emotional remembering. These findings suggest that the default mode network flexibly responds to different kinds of memory features, supporting the reconstruction of rich emotional memories from complex real-world experiences.
Related
- A Spiking Neural Network Model of Elementary Self-Consciousness via Endogenous Default Mode Network Dynamics
- The vagus nerve drives cognitive function through the default mode network
- Social Anxiety Modulates Default Mode Network Dysfunction and Working Memory Impairment During Social Media-Like Cue Distraction.
- Self-esteem gates the coupling between cultural estrangement and the default mode network
- Reconfiguration of default mode metabolic demands and network organization during acute stress
BibTeX
@article{curko2026remembered,
title = {{Remembered event features shape default mode network engagement during emotional memory recall}},
author = {Nina Curko and Rosalie Samide and Valentina Krenz and Elizabeth A. Kensinger and Maureen Ritchey},
journal = {eneuro},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1523/eneuro.0146-26.2026},
url = {https://www.eneuro.org/lookup/doi/10.1523/ENEURO.0146-26.2026},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Remembered event features shape default mode network engagement during emotional memory recall
AU - Nina Curko
AU - Rosalie Samide
AU - Valentina Krenz
AU - Elizabeth A. Kensinger
AU - Maureen Ritchey
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - eneuro
DO - 10.1523/eneuro.0146-26.2026
UR - https://www.eneuro.org/lookup/doi/10.1523/ENEURO.0146-26.2026
AB - Episodic memory involves reconstruction of past events through integration of multiple types of information, including perceptual details, narrative content, and emotional tone. The default mode network (DMN) is a set of regions thought to support episodic retrieval, yet it remains unclear how distinct subnetworks contribute to recall of these different memory features. Here, we examined how DMN subnetworks support and represent memory for naturalistic emotional events. Male and female human participants encoded short news videos that varied in emotional valence and recalled them in response to neutral cues during functional MRI scanning. Videos were again recalled one day later and memories were scored for perceptual and narrative details. Activity in the dorsomedial subnetwork was related to the emotional valence of the memory, while activity in the medial temporal subnetwork was associated with the number of perceptual details recalled. Multivariate pattern analyses further revealed that the medial temporal subnetwork exhibited greater pattern stability across recalls when recalling more perceptual details, while stability in the dorsomedial and core subnetworks was tied to emotional remembering. Our findings suggest that the dorsomedial subnetwork provides an affective frame for a memory, while the medial temporal subnetwork contributes perceptual specificity. These results demonstrate that the contents of memory retrieval shape network engagement during emotional recall, providing insight into how the brain reconstructs complex real-world experiences. Significance Statement How do we remember the emotional tone of an event versus its visual details? This study examines how distinct subnetworks within the brain’s default mode network (DMN) contribute to remembering different features of memory. While the medial temporal subnetwork is connected to retrieving the perceptual details of past events, the dorsomedial subnetwork supports recall of the emotional tone. Furthermore, patterns of activity in the medial temporal subnetwork are more stable when recalling more perceptually rich memories, while stability in the dorsomedial subnetwork is tied to emotional remembering. These findings suggest that the default mode network flexibly responds to different kinds of memory features, supporting the reconstruction of rich emotional memories from complex real-world experiences.
SN - 2373-2822
ER -