Vedhara K, Hyde J, Gilchrist I D, Tytherleigh M, Plummer S
MRC Health Services Research Collaboration, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Clifton, UK.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2000 Aug;25(6):535-49. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4530(00)00008-1.
An investigation was conducted to explore the relationship between acute changes in cortisol and memory and attention in the context of an acute naturalistic stressor, namely, examination stress. Sixty students (36 male, 24 female) participated in an assessment of self-reported levels of stress, salivary cortisol, short term memory, selective and divided attention and auditory verbal working memory. Assessments were conducted during a non-exam and exam period. The results revealed that the exam period was associated with an increase in perceived levels of stress, but also a significant reduction in levels of salivary cortisol, compared with the non-exam period. This reduction in cortisol was associated with enhanced short-term memory (as measured by the total number of words recalled in a free recall task), impaired attention and an impairment in the primacy effect (a hippocampal-specific index of short term memory), but no significant effects on auditory verbal working memory. It was concluded that the results support the view that cortisol can modulate cognitive processes and that the effects of corticosteroids on cognitive function are selective.
在急性自然应激源（即考试压力）的背景下，开展了一项调查，以探究皮质醇的急性变化与记忆及注意力之间的关系。60名学生（36名男性，24名女性）参与了自我报告的压力水平、唾液皮质醇、短期记忆、选择性及分散注意力以及听觉言语工作记忆的评估。评估在非考试期间和考试期间进行。结果显示，与非考试期间相比，考试期间的压力感知水平有所增加，但唾液皮质醇水平显著降低。皮质醇的这种降低与短期记忆增强（通过自由回忆任务中回忆的单词总数衡量）、注意力受损以及首因效应受损（短期记忆的海马体特异性指标）相关，但对听觉言语工作记忆没有显著影响。研究得出结论，这些结果支持皮质醇可调节认知过程的观点，且皮质类固醇对认知功能的影响具有选择性。
