ACUTE STRESS-INDUCED CORTISOL ELEVATION ENHANCES MEMORY CONSOLIDATION OF SIMILAR ITEMS

stress;cortisol;pattern separation;pattern completion;memory consolidation;memory retrieval;hippocampus;subregions;dentate gyrus;CA3;not listed

Jiang, Alice CZhao, Haiqing ;

Johns Hopkins University

关键词: stress;    cortisol;    pattern separation;    pattern completion;    memory consolidation;    memory retrieval;    hippocampus;    subregions;    dentate gyrus;    CA3;    not listed;   

Others  :  https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/59357/JIANG-THESIS-2016.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: JOHNS HOPKINS DSpace Repository

【 摘 要 】

Though considerable evidence has indicated that stress-induced changes in cortisol crucially affect memory function, the precise relationship between cortisol and long-term memory remains poorly understood. Cortisol has been shown to enhance memory consolidation, the process of converting short-term memories into long-term memories, and impair memory retrieval, the process of accessing previously stored memories. However, very little is known about the way stress affects the hippocampus and its subregions, which have recently been shown to contribute critical functions to learning and memory. In the present study, we examined the effect of acute stress, induced by the Trier Social Stress Test, on a memory task designed to differentially tax the functioning of dentate gyrus and CA3 subregions of the hippocampus. The study aimed to determine whether stress affects hippocampal-dependent memory consolidation and retrieval processes in otherwise healthy young adults. It was observed that a stress-induced elevation of glucocorticoids during memory consolidation enhanced the ability to discriminate between highly similar stimuli while elevated glucocorticoids during memory retrieval had no significant effect on memory performance. Additional findings reported a dose-dependent effect of cortisol on memory function and correlations with self-report ratings of depression, anxiety, and perceived stress. Taken together, this study provides evidence that acute stress differentially affects the consolidation and retrieval stages of memory, and particularly enhances the encoding of highly similar items, a function thought to rely strongly on the dentate gyrus and CA3 subregions of the hippocampus.