Genomic and non-gemonic cortisol effects on memory retrieval dependent on sex hormone status
Final Report Abstract
Stress and the associated increase in the stress hormone cortisol lead to significant impairments in memory retrieval, which have noticeable effects on everyday life, for example in exam situations or in court. Surprisingly, there are only a few studies in humans on the neural correlates involved in memory retrieval. Additionally, it is also striking that previous studies have only examined men, thus there is no evidence on the brain structures involved in women. Due to different concentrations of sex hormones, it is important to consider both the timing of the menstrual cycle and the use of oral contraceptives (OC) in women. In particular, it has been shown in a review that the effects of stress and cortisol on various learning and memory processes in OC women are either not detectable or even reversed compared to men. Furthermore, another review illustrated the general applicability of stress hormone effects in the context of fear conditioning and extinction retrieval, reconsolidation, and exposure therapy. Various empirical, preregistered studies have been conducted to further characterize the presumed stress-induced effect on memory performance. In a fear conditioning paradigm with socially relevant stimuli (ingroup vs. outgroup faces), it was found that stress reduced the differentiation between ingroup and outgroup faces during retrieval. Stress also modulated retrieval in an instrumental counterconditioning paradigm where money could be won or lost. In particular, stress increased approach behavior towards stimuli consistently rewarded with money and reduced avoidance behavior towards stimuli associated with money loss. Thus, it was shown that stress can also alter decision-making behavior, which plays a role in episodic memory retrieval. In another series of studies, the influence of high cortisol levels on different time points of memory retrieval of female and male face stimuli was examined. It was found that both stress induction and resulting higher cortisol levels led to improved memory performance for female faces in men, as well as endogenously high cortisol levels during retrieval in the morning (compared to low cortisol levels in the evening). In a preliminary analysis of data from a functional magnetic resonance imaging study, it was also shown in men that cortisol increased activation of the hippocampus and the fusiform face area during retrieval. In contrast, women tested in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle showed a different effect: cortisol reduced memory performance, which was associated with decreased activation of the amygdala. Once the sample has been fully collected, a detailed picture of the involvement of sex hormones during retrieval under elevated cortisol levels can be provided. Overall, it has been shown that stress hormones influence various learning and memory processes. This also provides important insights into clinical applications, especially in relation to mental disorders where stress-associated memory phenomena are well described, such as in posttraumatic stress disorder.
Publications
-
Exposure to acute stress affects the retrieval of out-group related bias in healthy men. Biological Psychology, 166, 108210.
Pan, Dong-ni; Wolf, Oliver T. & Merz, Christian J.
-
Hormonal contraceptive usage influences stress hormone effects on cognition and emotion. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 67, 101012.
Jentsch, Valerie L.; Pötzl, Lisa; Wolf, Oliver T. & Merz, Christian J.
-
How stress hormones shape memories of fear and anxiety in humans. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 142, 104901.
Merz, Christian J. & Wolf, Oliver T.
-
Stress effects on memory retrieval of aversive and appetitive instrumental counterconditioning in men. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 196, 107697.
Beck, Katharina; Meir, Drexler Shira; Wolf, Oliver T. & Merz, Christian J.
-
Rapid effects of acute stress on cognitive emotion regulation. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 151, 106054.
Langer, Katja; Jentsch, Valerie L. & Wolf, Oliver T.
