title: Brief, pre-retrieval stress differentially influences long-term memory depending on sex and corticosteroid response.
abstract: Previous work has indicated that stress generally impairs memory retrieval. However, little research has addressed discrepancies that exist in this line of work and the factors that could explain why stress can exert differential effects on retrieval processes. Therefore, we examined the influence of brief, pre-retrieval stress that was administered immediately before testing on long-term memory in males and females. Participants learned a list of 42 words varying in emotional valence and arousal. Following the learning phase, participants were given an immediate free recall test. Twenty-four hours later, participants submerged their non-dominant hand in a bath of ice cold (Stress) or warm (No Stress) water for 3 min. Immediately following this manipulation, participants' memory for the word list was assessed via free recall and recognition tests. We observed no group differences on short-term memory. However, male participants who showed a robust cortisol response to the stress exhibited enhanced long-term recognition memory, while male participants who demonstrated a blunted cortisol response to the stress exhibited impaired long-term recall and recognition memory. These findings suggest that the effects of brief, pre-retrieval stress on long-term memory are sex-specific and mediated by corticosteroid mechanisms.
authors: Department of Psychology, Sociology, & Criminal Justice, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH 45810, USA. Electronic address: p-zoladz@onu.edu.
authors: Phillip R
authors: PR
authors: Zoladz
authors: Department of Psychology, Sociology, & Criminal Justice, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH 45810, USA.
authors: Andrea E
authors: AE
authors: Kalchik
authors: Department of Psychology, Sociology, & Criminal Justice, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH 45810, USA.
authors: Mackenzie M
authors: MM
authors: Hoffman
authors: Department of Psychology, Sociology, & Criminal Justice, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH 45810, USA.
authors: Rachael L
authors: RL
authors: Aufdenkampe
authors: Department of Psychology, Sociology, & Criminal Justice, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH 45810, USA.
authors: Hanna M
authors: HM
authors: Burke
authors: Department of Psychology, Sociology, & Criminal Justice, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH 45810, USA.
authors: Sarah A
authors: SA
authors: Woelke
authors: Department of Psychology, Sociology, & Criminal Justice, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH 45810, USA.
authors: Julia M
authors: JM
authors: Pisansky
authors: Department of Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Sciences, Raabe College of Pharmacy, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH 45810, USA; College of Pharmacy and Program for Novel Therapeutics in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders, Roseman University of Health Sciences, Henderson, NV 89014, USA.
authors: Jeffery N
authors: JN
authors: Talbot
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D057567:Memory, Long-Term; D011939:Mental Recall; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Amygdala; Cortisol; Emotion; Hippocampus; Memory; Stress