Cadu Klier1, Luciano Grüdtner Buratto1. 1. Departamento de Processos Psicológicos Básicos, Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The experience of stressful events can alter brain structures involved in memory encoding, storage and retrieval. Here we review experimental research assessing the impact of the stress-related hormone cortisol on long-term memory retrieval. METHOD: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science and PsycNet databases with the following terms: "stress," "long-term memory," and "retrieval." Studies were included in the review if they tested samples of healthy human participants, with at least one control group, and with the onset of the stress intervention occurring after the encoding phase and shortly (up to one hour) before the final memory test. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were included in the qualitative synthesis (N = 962) and were classified according to the time elapsed between stress induction and memory retrieval (stress-retrieval delay), the stress-inducing protocol (stressor), the time of day in which stress induction took place, sex, and age of participants. Most studies induced stress with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) between 15 and 25 minutes before the final memory (mostly recall) test and showed significant increases in cortisol levels and memory impairment. DISCUSSION: The reviewed studies indicate that stress does impair retrieval, particularly when induced with the TSST, in the afternoon, up to 45 minutes before the onset of the final memory test, in healthy young men. These results may inform future research on the impact of stress-induced cortisol surges on memory retrieval.
INTRODUCTION: The experience of stressful events can alter brain structures involved in memory encoding, storage and retrieval. Here we review experimental research assessing the impact of the stress-related hormone cortisol on long-term memory retrieval. METHOD: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science and PsycNet databases with the following terms: "stress," "long-term memory," and "retrieval." Studies were included in the review if they tested samples of healthy humanparticipants, with at least one control group, and with the onset of the stress intervention occurring after the encoding phase and shortly (up to one hour) before the final memory test. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were included in the qualitative synthesis (N = 962) and were classified according to the time elapsed between stress induction and memory retrieval (stress-retrieval delay), the stress-inducing protocol (stressor), the time of day in which stress induction took place, sex, and age of participants. Most studies induced stress with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) between 15 and 25 minutes before the final memory (mostly recall) test and showed significant increases in cortisol levels and memory impairment. DISCUSSION: The reviewed studies indicate that stress does impair retrieval, particularly when induced with the TSST, in the afternoon, up to 45 minutes before the onset of the final memory test, in healthy young men. These results may inform future research on the impact of stress-induced cortisol surges on memory retrieval.
Authors: Sandra Van der Auwera; Johanna Klinger-König; Katharina Wittfeld; Jan Terock; Anke Hannemann; Robin Bülow; Matthias Nauck; Uwe Völker; Henry Völzke; Hans Jörgen Grabe Journal: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Date: 2022-05-17 Impact factor: 5.270