Cortisol and memory retrieval in women: influence of menstrual cycle and oral contraceptives

Kuhlmann, Sabrina; Wolf, Oliver T.

doi:10.1007/s00213-005-0143-z

Cited by 127 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…When consolidation was studied, the results indicated a significant difference in the correlation between stress-induced cortisol and narrative recall between early follicular, late follicular, and midluteal phases, such that a positive relationship was seen in the midluteal phase, while a negative trend was seen in the early follicular phase (Andreano et al 2008). Exogenous cortisol was found to impair retrieval during both mensis and the luteal phase, while cortisol did not impair memory in oral contraceptive users (Kuhlmann and Wolf 2005). Both studies indicate that sex hormone levels can affect cortisol's cognitive effects, although cortisol's effects differed on consolidation and retrieval.…”

Section: Sex Hormone Influencesmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In humans, only two studies of which we are aware have compared differing menstrual phases in terms of stress effects on memory (Kuhlmann and Wolf 2005;Andreano et al 2008). When consolidation was studied, the results indicated a significant difference in the correlation between stress-induced cortisol and narrative recall between early follicular, late follicular, and midluteal phases, such that a positive relationship was seen in the midluteal phase, while a negative trend was seen in the early follicular phase (Andreano et al 2008).…”

Section: Sex Hormone Influencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex influences on the neurobiology of learning and memory

Andreano¹,

Cahill²

2009

Learn. Mem.

615

400

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In essentially every domain of neuroscience, the generally implicit assumption that few, if any, meaningful differences exist between male and female brain function is being challenged. Here we address how this development is influencing studies of the neurobiology of learning and memory. While it has been commonly held that males show an advantage on spatial tasks, and females on verbal tasks, there is increasing evidence that sex differences are more widespread than previously supposed. Differing performance between the sexes have been observed on a number of common learning tasks in both the human and animal literature, many neither purely spatial nor verbal. We review sex differences reported in various areas to date, while attempting to identify common features of sexually dimorphic tasks, and to place these differences in a neurobiological context. This discussion focuses on studies of four classes of memory tasks for which sex differences have been frequently reported: spatial, verbal, autobiographical, and emotional memory. We conclude that the female verbal advantage extends into numerous tasks, including tests of spatial and autobiographical abilities, but that a small but significant advantage may exist for general episodic memory. We further suggest that for some tasks, stress evokes sex differences, which are not normally observed, and that these differences are mediated largely by interactions between stress and sex hormones.Sex influences on brain function are ubiquitous. Differences between the sexes have been documented at every level of neuroscience, from single neurons in cell culture to systems level processes as measured by neuroimaging. In some cases, consideration of sex may significantly alter, even reverse, conclusions about brain function drawn from the study of one sex alone (Cahill 2006). In some fields, such as the study of drug addiction, the evidence for sex differences is so strong that consideration of sex as a factor is becoming the norm, rather than the exception (Wetherington 2007).The claim that these neurobiological sex differences extend to the behavioral level has typically been more controversial. A recent review of the literature on this topic warns against the ''costs of overinflated claims of gender differences.'' The review holds that overall ''males and females are alike on most-but not all-psychological variables'' (Hyde 2005), but notes exceptions where sex does have an effect, including sexual and aggressive behaviors. Still, given how broadly sex differences are distributed on the neural level, it seems unlikely that their behavioral effects would be restricted solely to these domains.One area of behavior not considered in Hyde's review is the influence of sex on learning and memory. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that an understanding of the neurobiological and cognitive consequences of sex is relevant across this field. In the review that follows, behavioral evidence indicating differences between men and women from numerous memory tasks will be co...

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Section: Sex Hormone Influencesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Sex Hormone Influencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex influences on the neurobiology of learning and memory

Andreano¹,

Cahill²

2009

Learn. Mem.

615

400

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This means that the operators were required to retrieve their stress levels from memory. This may have decreased the accuracy of the estimate, especially considering that stress is known to impair both memory encoding and retrieval (de Kloet et al, 1999;de Quervain et al, 2000;Kuhlmann & Wolf, 2005;Smeets et al, 2008;Wolkowitz et al, 1990). The perceived stress is also affected by the operator's interpretation of the situation, that is, the cognitive appraisal (Lazarus, 1966;Lazarus & Launier, 1978; see also Jamieson et al, 2012;Jamieson, Mendes, Blackstock, & Schmader, 2010).…”

Section: Evaluation Of Stress With the Cardiac Recordings And Questmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cardiac measures of nuclear power plant operator stress during simulated incident and accident scenarios

et al. 2018

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Maintaining optimal performance in demanding situations is challenged by stressinduced alterations in performance. Here, we quantified the stress of nuclear power plant (NPP) operators (N 5 20) during a full-scale simulator training for incident and accident scenarios. We compared the ambulatory electrocardiography measurements of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), and self-reported stress during baselines and simulated scenarios. Perceived (scale 0-10) and physiologically measured stress were low during baseline after the scenarios and normal NPP operation (means 1.8-2.2, mean HR 75-80 bpm). During a cognitively challenging scenario simulating a sensor malfunction, the operators' stress was mild to moderate (mean 3.4; HR 1 12% from baseline). During simulations of severe accidents of fire and radioactive steam leakage, the experienced stress and cardiac activity were on a moderate to high level (means 4.2 and 4.6; HR 1 23% and 1 14% from baseline, respectively). Cardiac activity paralleled the self-reported stress: correlation of selfreported stress to HR was 0.61 (p < .001) and to HRV features RMSSD, HF, LF/HF, SD1, and SD1/SD2 were 20. 26, 20.28, 0.35, 20.40, and 20.39 (p < .01), respectively. The low shared variance (22%) between HR and physical activity further support the interpretation that the cardiac activity was strongly linked to the experience of stress and not accountable by operators' movement within the simulator. Cardiac measurements in naturalistic settings can thus reveal relevant information on acute stress with the benefit of not interrupting the primary task.

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“…Only men were selected because of possible confounding effects of menstrual cycle and contraceptive pills on the relation of cortisol and propranolol treatment with memory (Cahill & van Stegeren, 2003;Kuhlmann & Wolf, 2005). Participants were screened before inclusion.…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immediate and prolonged effects of cortisol, but not propranolol, on memory retrieval in healthy young men

Tollenaar

Elzinga

Spinhoven

et al. 2009

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

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a b s t r a c tBackground: While acute cortisol administration has been found to impair retrieval of emotional memories in healthy subjects, the duration of this memory impairment is still unknown. Propranolol, on the other hand, may impair the reconsolidation of emotional memories during reactivation, although human studies examining such effects are scarce. The present investigation was therefore undertaken to examine the immediate and prolonged effects of a single administered dose of cortisol or propranolol on memory retrieval in a double-blind placebo controlled design. Methods: Eighty-five healthy male participants were asked to retrieve previously learned emotional and neutral information after ingestion of 35 mg cortisol, 80 mg propranolol or placebo. After a washout period of 1 week, recall was again tested. Results: Memory retrieval of neutral and emotional information was impaired by a single dose of cortisol compared to placebo. The memory impairment due to cortisol remained, even after a washout period of 1 week. No immediate or prolonged effects of propranolol on memory retrieval were found, despite significant reductions in sympathetic arousal. Conclusions: These results lend support to the hypothesis that cortisol is able to attenuate (emotional) memory recall in men over longer time spans and may therefore augment the treatment of disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias, but do not clarify the mechanism(s) through which propranolol exerts its therapeutic effects.

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Cortisol and memory retrieval in women: influence of menstrual cycle and oral contraceptives

Cited by 127 publications

References 46 publications

Sex influences on the neurobiology of learning and memory

Sex influences on the neurobiology of learning and memory

Cardiac measures of nuclear power plant operator stress during simulated incident and accident scenarios

Immediate and prolonged effects of cortisol, but not propranolol, on memory retrieval in healthy young men

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