title: No effects of psychosocial stress on memory retrieval in non-treated young students with Generalized Social Phobia.
abstract: Generalized Social Phobia (GSP) is a common anxiety disorder that produces clear social life disruptions. There is no consensus on the specific processes involved in its development, but the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been suggested. This study analyzed the effects of the cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) on the memory retrieval of pictures with different emotional valences in 45 non-treated young students with GSP and 50 non-anxious (NA) subjects (mean=19.35years, SD=0.18). No differences were found in the cortisol response of GSP and NA subjects to the TSST and control sessions. In addition, psychosocial stress impaired memory retrieval in both the GSP and NA groups, with no differences between them. Regarding the sex factor, no effects were found in the cortisol response to the TSST. However, during the encoding session, GSP men had higher cortisol levels than GSP women and NA subjects. There was also a significant interaction between sex and stress exposure on memory retrieval. Women recognized more unpleasant and neutral pictures than men; however, under stress, the women's advantage disappeared, and the men's performance improved. Sex also interacted with social phobia on positive mood, with GSP women exposed to the TSST showing the lowest positive mood. These results suggest that GSP subjects do not present an HPA axis sensitization to psychosocial stress, and they emphasize the importance of Sex in understanding stress effects on memory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: lespin@um.es.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Espín
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marquina
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cognitive Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology, IDOCAL, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Vanesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cognitive Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology, IDOCAL, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salvador
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy and Psychobiology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gómez-Amor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D000072861:Phobia, Social / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Generalized Social Phobia; Memory retrieval; Salivary cortisol; Sex differences; TSST