title: Steroid abnormalities and the developing brain: declarative memory for emotionally arousing and neutral material in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
abstract: Steroid hormones modulate memory in animals and human adults. Little is known on the developmental effects of these hormones on the neural networks underlying memory. Using Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) as a naturalistic model of early steroid abnormalities, this study examines the consequences of CAH on memory and its neural correlates for emotionally arousing and neutral material in children. Seventeen patients with CAH and 17 age- and sex-matched healthy children (ages 12-14 years) completed the study. Subjects were presented positive, negative and neutral pictures. Memory recall occurred about 30min after viewing the pictures. Children with CAH showed memory deficits for negative pictures compared to healthy children (p<0.01). There were no group differences on memory performance for either positive or neutral pictures (p>0.1). In patients, 24h urinary-free cortisol levels (reflecting glucocorticoid replacement therapy) and testosterone levels were not associated with memory performance. These findings suggest that early steroid imbalances affect memory for negative material in children with CAH. Such memory impairments may result from abnormal brain organization and function following hormonal dysfunction during critical periods of development.
authors.affiliation: Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, Emotional Development and Affective Neuroscience Section, National Institute of Mental Health, 15K North Drive, Room 300-C, Bethesda, MD 20892-2670, USA. maheufra@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Françoise S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Maheu
authors.forename: Deborah P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Merke
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Schroth
authors.forename: Margaret F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Keil
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hardin
authors.forename: Kaitlin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Poeth
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Pine
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ernst
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000312:Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000652:urine; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012016:Reference Values; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone