Models of episodic emotional memory typically concern why emotional events are more likely to be remembered than neutral events, focusing on interactions between the amygdala and other medial temporal lobe regions. But memories of emotional events can be distinguished by their affective tone and framing. We propose that the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), a region that is increasingly recognized to crosscut socio-affective and cognitive domains, plays a key role in this aspect of emotional memory. After briefly reviewing the role of the dmPFC in the control of behaviors ranging from actions to emotions to social cognition, we delve into the accumulating evidence that its functions also subserve the abstraction of meaning from events and the control of memories, particularly emotional memories. Its role begins during the encoding of emotional experiences, continues through their stabilization, and endures during the retrieval of memory content. At each phase, the dmPFC participates in the integration of affective and cognitive components of memories, setting up networks and framings that either emphasize or de-emphasize emotional content. Incorporating the dmPFC into models of episodic emotional memory should provide leverage in understanding the affective tone with which experiences are brought to memory.

情景情绪记忆模型通常关注为什么情绪事件比中性事件更容易被记住的原因，重点是杏仁核与其他颞叶内侧区域之间的相互作用。但是情感事件的记忆可以通过它们的情感语气和框架来区分。我们建议背侧前额叶皮层（dmPFC），这是越来越多地认识到横切社会情感和认知领域的区域，在情感记忆的这一方面起着关键作用。在简要回顾了dmPFC在控制从行为到情感再到社会认知的行为中的作用之后，我们深入研究了越来越多的证据，表明dmPFC的功能还支持事件和记忆（尤其是情感记忆）的意义抽象。它的作用始于情感体验的编码，一直持续到稳定，并在记忆内容的检索过程中持久。在每个阶段，dmPFC都参与记忆的情感和认知部分的整合，建立强调或不强调情感内容的网络和框架。将dmPFC纳入情节性情感记忆模型中，应该可以帮助人们理解将经验带入记忆的情感基调。