title: Stress disrupts response memory retrieval.
abstract: Stress effects on memory are well-known. Most studies, however, focused on the impact of stress on hippocampus-dependent 'declarative' memory processes. Less is known about whether stress influences also striatum-based memory processes, such as stimulus-response (S-R) memory. First evidence from rodent experiments shows that glucocorticoid stress hormones may enhance the consolidation of S-R memories. Whether stress affects also S-R memory retrieval remains largely elusive. Therefore, we tested in the present experiment in humans the effect of stress on the retrieval of S-R memories. Healthy men and women were trained to locate three objects in an S-R version of a virtual eight-arm radial maze. One week later, participants underwent a stressor or a control condition before their memory of the S-R task was tested. Our results showed that participants (n=43) who were exposed to the stressor before retention testing made significantly more errors in this test trial, suggesting that stress impaired S-R memory retrieval. Moreover, high cortisol concentrations were associated with reduced S-R memory. These findings indicate that stress may affect memory retrieval processes in humans beyond hippocampal 'declarative' memory.
authors: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Cognitive Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitaetsstrasse 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors: Friederike M
authors: FM
authors: Guenzel
authors: Oliver T
authors: OT
authors: Wolf
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Schwabe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D011939:Mental Recall; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone