Dominique J-F de Quervain1, Amanda Aerni, Benno Roozendaal. 1. Division of Psychiatry Research and the Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zürich, Lenggstr. 31, 8032 Zürich, Switzerland. quervain@bli.unizh.ch
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Elevated glucocorticoid levels impair retrieval of emotional information, and animal studies indicate that this effect depends on concurrent emotional arousal-induced increases in noradrenergic transmission within the brain. The authors investigated whether the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol blocks glucocorticoid-induced memory retrieval impairments in human subjects. METHOD: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 42 healthy volunteers were presented a set of words with variable emotionality and asked to learn them for recall. A day later, cortisone (25 mg), propranolol (40 mg), or both drugs were administered orally 1 hour before a free-recall test. RESULTS:Cortisone selectively impaired the recall of emotionally arousing words by 42%. This impairment was blocked by the concurrent administration of propranolol. Propranolol alone did not affect recall of either emotional or neutral words. CONCLUSIONS: A pharmacological blockade of beta-adrenoceptors prevents glucocorticoid-induced memory retrieval deficits in human subjects. This finding may have important implications for the treatment of memory deficits in hypercortisolemic states, such as stress and depression.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: Elevated glucocorticoid levels impair retrieval of emotional information, and animal studies indicate that this effect depends on concurrent emotional arousal-induced increases in noradrenergic transmission within the brain. The authors investigated whether the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol blocks glucocorticoid-induced memory retrieval impairments in human subjects. METHOD: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 42 healthy volunteers were presented a set of words with variable emotionality and asked to learn them for recall. A day later, cortisone (25 mg), propranolol (40 mg), or both drugs were administered orally 1 hour before a free-recall test. RESULTS:Cortisone selectively impaired the recall of emotionally arousing words by 42%. This impairment was blocked by the concurrent administration of propranolol. Propranolol alone did not affect recall of either emotional or neutral words. CONCLUSIONS: A pharmacological blockade of beta-adrenoceptors prevents glucocorticoid-induced memory retrieval deficits in human subjects. This finding may have important implications for the treatment of memory deficits in hypercortisolemic states, such as stress and depression.
Authors: Li-Yan Zhao; Jie Shi; Xiao-Li Zhang; David H Epstein; Xiang-Yang Zhang; Yu Liu; Thomas R Kosten; Lin Lu Journal: Neuropsychopharmacology Date: 2009-11-04 Impact factor: 7.853