The underlying premise of EMDR is that panic and anxiety experiences are processed differently by the brain than are usual experiences. One theory of memory is that during severe stress a part of the brain responsible for modulating emotions (the amygdala) temporarily shuts down another part of the brain (the hippocampus) responsible for usual memory processing. The traumatic experience is trapped outside of the usual brain processing power, and EMDR allows the client to access the experience and transform it to declarative memory using the hippocampus. With EMDR the hippocampus may not be so shut down by the emotions evoked by the experience so that that the client can withstand while doing the processing. Distraction by and attention to the bilateral stimulation may play a part in helping the client experience the emotions as tolerable. How bilateral distraction to each side specifically facilitates processing of distressing experiences is not yet understood.