ERIC Number: EJ882539
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Apr
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1072-0502
EISSN: N/A
Suppressing the Morning Rise in Cortisol Impairs Free Recall
Rimmele, Ulrike; Meier, Flurina; Lange, Tanja; Born, Jan
Learning & Memory, v17 n4 p186-190 Apr 2010
Elevated glucocorticoid levels impair memory retrieval. We investigated whether retrieval under naturally elevated glucocorticoid levels, i.e., during the morning rise in cortisol can be improved by suppressing cortisol. In a crossover study 16 men retrieved emotional and neutral texts and pictures (learned 3 d earlier) 30 min after morning awakening, following administration of the cortisol synthesis inhibitor metyrapone or placebo. Unexpectedly, the metyrapone-induced cortisol suppression significantly impaired free recall of both materials. Recognition remained unaffected. Thus, not only high, but also very low glucocorticoid levels impair retrieval, with the latter effect possibly reflecting insufficient occupation of hippocampal/amygdalar mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs).
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A