University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Psychiatry, Madison, WI 53719, USA.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2012 May;37(5):693-701. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.08.014. Epub 2011 Sep 28.
Acute emotional arousal moderates the effects of cortisol on memory. However, it is currently unknown how stable inter-individual differences (i.e., traits) moderate cortisol's effects on memory. In two studies using within-subjects designs - 31 healthy males in Study 1 and 42 healthy subjects (22 female) in Study 2 - we measured trait negative affect (NA) and presented emotional and neutral pictures. In Study 1, we manipulated endogenous cortisol levels using a speech stressor following encoding. In Study 2, using a randomized placebo-controlled design, we pharmacologically manipulated cortisol levels prior to encoding (0.1mg/kg hydrocortisone vs. saline infused over 30min). Free recall for pictures was subsequently assessed. Trait NA repeatedly moderated the relationship between cortisol and memory formation. Findings suggested the speculative conclusion that the direction of effects may vary by sex. In males, cortisol was related to memory facilitation in subjects with lower Trait NA. Conversely, females with higher Trait NA showed greater cortisol-related increases in memory. Trait NA may be a stable inter-individual difference predicting neurocognitive effects of cortisol during stressors.
急性情绪唤醒调节皮质醇对记忆的影响。然而，目前尚不清楚个体间稳定差异（即特质）如何调节皮质醇对记忆的影响。在两项使用内-被试设计的研究中 - 研究 1 中的 31 名健康男性和研究 2 中的 42 名健康受试者（22 名女性） - 我们测量了特质负性情绪（NA）并呈现了情绪和中性图片。在研究 1 中，我们在编码后使用言语应激源来操纵内源性皮质醇水平。在研究 2 中，我们使用随机安慰剂对照设计，在编码前（在 30 分钟内输注 0.1mg/kg 氢化可的松与生理盐水）药理学地操纵皮质醇水平。随后评估了对图片的自由回忆。特质 NA 反复调节皮质醇与记忆形成之间的关系。研究结果表明，这种推测的结论是，效应的方向可能因性别而异。在男性中，皮质醇与Trait NA 较低的受试者的记忆促进有关。相反，Trait NA 较高的女性表现出与皮质醇相关的记忆增强。特质 NA 可能是一种稳定的个体间差异，可预测应激期间皮质醇对神经认知的影响。
