title: The relation of the cortisol awakening response and prospective memory functioning in young children.
abstract: Recent research suggests that the cortisol awakening response (CAR) is linked to cognitive functions depending on hippocampal and frontal cortex circuits and may possibly be modulated by prospective memory (PM). However, the link between the CAR and PM abilities has not been investigated so far. Addressing this open issue, we report data from 97 children aged 37-87 months. Salivary cortisol levels were assessed 0 and 30 min post-awakening over three study days. Thereby a valid CAR measurement was ensured by using objective measures of awakening and sampling times. A game-like task served as behavioral measure of PM performance. Bayesian analysis revealed a positive association between children's PM performance and the CAR, with better PM performance being related to a greater CAR. This association persisted after controlling for age. Overall, the current finding supports the prediction that PM functioning may be linked to the CAR, possibly as both the CAR and PM rely on a common neurophysiological basis.
authors.affiliation: Technische Universität Dresden, Department of Psychology, Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: damaris.baeumler@tu-dresden.de.
authors.forename: Damaris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bäumler
authors.affiliation: University of Geneva, Department of Psychology, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Babett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Voigt
authors.affiliation: Technische Universität Dresden, Department of Psychology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Technische Universität Dresden, Department of Psychology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stalder
authors.affiliation: Technische Universität Dresden, Department of Psychology, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kirschbaum
authors.affiliation: University of Geneva, Department of Psychology, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kliegel
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: CAR; Children; Cognitive functioning; Cortisol awakening response; Prospective memory