title: For whom the bell (curve) tolls: cortisol rapidly affects memory retrieval by an inverted U-shaped dose-response relationship.
abstract: Stress and cortisol are generally considered to impair declarative memory retrieval, although opposite results have also been reported. Dose-dependent effects and differences between genomic and non-genomic cortisol effects are possible reasons for these discrepancies. The aim of the current experiment was to assess the non-genomic effects of escalating doses of intravenous cortisol on cued recall of socially relevant information in humans. 40 participants (age range 20-30 years; 20 females) learned associations between male faces with a neutral facial expression and descriptions of either positive or negative social behaviors and were tested one week later in a cued recall paradigm. Escalating doses of cortisol (0, 3, 6, 12, 24 mg) were administered 8 min before testing according to a between-subjects design. An inverted U-shaped dose-response relationship between salivary cortisol levels and recall performance was observed, with moderate elevation of salivary cortisol resulting in the best recall performance. This is the first study in humans demonstrating that cortisol rapidly modulates declarative memory retrieval via a dose-dependent, non-genomic mechanism that follows an inverted U-shaped curve. Our result further emphasizes the importance of fast cortisol effects for human cognition.
authors: Institute of Psychobiology, Division of Clinical Psychophysiology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany. Electronic address: s1thschi@uni-trier.de.
authors: Thomas M
authors: TM
authors: Schilling
authors: Monika
authors: M
authors: Kölsch
authors: Mauro F
authors: MF
authors: Larra
authors: Carina M
authors: CM
authors: Zech
authors: Terry D
authors: TD
authors: Blumenthal
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Frings
authors: Hartmut
authors: H
authors: Schächinger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001245:Association Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012919:Social Behavior; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Cortisol; Declarative memory retrieval; Dose–response design; Humans; Inverted U-shape; Non-genomic effects