A Gene to Better Remember Traumatic Events

Summary
Recent studies have shown that people who carry a common variant of a gene called ADRA2B possibly have a better ability to remember emotional moments, both positive and negative. This is the first found gene which may have a connection to emotional memory. Dominique de Quervain, a professor at the University of Zurich's Division of Psychiatry Research, says, "[This work] may have consequences for anxiety disorders where emotional memory plays a critical role." Dominique de Quervain genotyped 435 young Swiss adults and then showed each subject 30 pictures, allowing four seconds for each image. Each image was one of three types of 'emotional arousal categories'; positive, negative, and neutral. After viewing all the images, the adults had to write a brief summary of each image. The subjects with the variant gene where able to recall up to 80% of the emotionally arousing images. Whereas those without the variant could only recall 40%. It is believed that 30% of the U.S. Caucasian population and 12% of African American population have the variant. This gene may not only allow a person to vividly remember an emotional experience but also enhance the memory. After also testing 202 refugees from the Rwandan civil war the team of researchers found that the refugees with the gene variant had more traumatic and distressing memories. Post-traumatic stress disorder made no difference in the study. Those with the gene variant seemed to reexperience the wartime memories with shocking detail.
Response
When I first chose this article, I assumed that it would not persuade me. I expected to disagree with the study by the end of the article. I doubted that a gene could be connected with emotional recall but at this point, my views have changed. The research, assuming it's correct and untampered with, speaks for itself. This information got me thinking, knowing this gene exists, should it change the way we relate to others? Yes. Suppose two girls suffer a traumatic experience at a young age. Twenty years later, one is still haunted by the memory while the other is hardly affected. Should we label the first girl as being emotionally weak and the second as strong? No. each person is very different and it is possible that it may not be that the first girl chooses to remember the pain, but that she can't forget it due to the gene variant. Maybe we should consider extending more grace the next time we're quick to judge someone who 'just won't let something go.' http://sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=18E4716D-E7F2-99DF-351642C9346A93D3&chanID=sa003&ec=ab343_0730