- **Abstract** Processes associated with memory have been investigated more critically in the last decade with a redefinition of the functioning of the structures involved in memory process. Among new theories, the representational-hierarchical theories (RH), inspired by perceptual experiments conducted elsewhere, suggested that memory structures were involved depending on the complexity of the content being manipulated. This means that the hippocampus can be involved both in memory processes and in perceptual processes: The issue is the complexity of elements that are processed. Emotional memory is a theoretical axis focused on the interaction between memory processes and emotional processes. The evidence for its preservation or degradation in patients with Alzheimer's disease is equivocal. In order to provide a new perspective on emotional memory, we have mobilised representational-hierarchical theories. To assess these theories, we conducted an online experiment involving the processing of simple or complex, emotional or neutral material, and we measured the amount of memory information that healthy volunteers could recognise. The results indicate that emotional content is retained better than neutral content but that the complexity of the content does not affect recognition. We believe that our material was too confusing. The lack of results in line with our hypotheses is more likely to be due to methodological bias than to the quality of the underlying theories, which were well tested in the past. **Keywords** : alzheimer’s disease, emotional memory, representational-hierachical model, hippocampus, perception