Does a Better Memory Equal Greater PTSD Risk?  Strong recall may
be genetically associated with heightened flashbacks of trauma
and pain, according to new research.    • Share   • Read Later
Getty Images  A good memory is typically seen as a powerful
advantage, an aid to intelligence and socializing.  But when
experience is traumatic, this asset may become a serious
liability, according to new research on survivors of the Rwandan
genocide.  Researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland
studied a gene for a protein called PKCA, which is known to be
involved in the encoding of emotional memories.  In healthy
Swiss adults, a variant called rs4790904 was found to be
associated with visual memory.  There are three versions of
rs4790904:  AA, AG and GG.  In one experiment including over 700
healthy adults from Switzerland, people with the AA variant had
better recall of happy or otherwise emotionally positive and
neutral images.  A brain imaging experiment including nearly 400
Swiss adults also linked the A