Stress and memory: A selective review on recent developments in the understanding of stress hormone effects on memory and their clinical relevance.

Stress causes a neuroendocrine response cascade, leading to the release of catecholamines and glucocorticoids (GCs). GCs influence learning and memory by acting on the mineralocorticoid (MR) and glucocorticoid (GR) receptor. Typically, GCs enhance the consolidation of memory processing while at the same time impair the retrieval of memory of emotionally arousing experiences. The current selective review addresses four recent developments in this area. First, the role of the endocannabinoid system in mediating the rapid, non-genomic effects of GCs on memory is illustrated in rodents. Afterwards, studies on the impact of a selective stimulation of the MR on different memory processes in humans are summarized. In the third part a series of human experiments on the impact of stress or GC treatment on fear extinction and fear reconsolidation is presented. Finally, the clinical relevance of central GC effects is highlighted by the description of studies of patients with anxiety disorders demonstrating an enhancement of extinction-based therapies by GC pre-treatment. The review highlights the substantial progress in the mechanistic understanding but also in the clinical potential of the memory-modulating properties of GCs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.