title: Cortisol reactivity and emotional memory after psychosocial stress in oral contraceptive users.
abstract: Oral contraceptive (OC) users typically show a blunted or no cortisol response to psychosocial stress. Although most OC regimens include both an inactive (dummy) and active pill phase, studies have not systematically investigated cortisol responses during these pill phases. Further, high levels of cortisol following a stressor diminish retrieval of emotional material, but the effects of stress on memory among OC users are poorly understood. We examined the effects of a psychosocial stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test, vs. a control condition on cortisol responsivity and emotional memory retrieval in women tested either during their active (n = 18) or inactive pill phase (n = 21). In secondary analyses, we quantitatively compared OC users with normally cycling women and showed a significant lack of cortisol response during both active and inactive pill phase. Emotional recall did not differ between active and inactive pill phases. Stress differentially diminished recall of negative words compared with positive or neutral words, but cortisol levels were unrelated to memory performance. These findings indicate that OC users have distinct cortisol and memory responses to stress that are similar between the active and inactive pill phases. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: VA Maryland Health Care System, Neuropsychology Section, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Kristen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Mordecai
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Leah H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Baruch College & The Graduate Center, CUNY, Department of Psychology, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eatough
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sundermann
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1160-9391
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Drogos
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, Illinois.|University of Illinois at Chicago, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Savarese
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, Illinois.|University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Pauline M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Maki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001245:Association Learning; D003276:Contraceptives, Oral / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003276:Contraceptives, Oral; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: cognition; emotion; oral contraceptives; sex steroid hormones