Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2019 Jul;105:98-104. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.10.031. Epub 2018 Oct 29.
Psychosocial stress influences cognition, affect and behavior. This current review summarizes the impact of acute stress on human long-term memory taking a neuroendocrine perspective. In this respect the stress associated increase in activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are key. A special focus will be placed on findings obtained with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). This paradigm can be used to induce stress before or after a memory task. It was shown repeatedly that stress enhances long-term consolidation but impairs long term memory retrieval. However the TSST can also be used to assess memories of this stressful episode itself. The latter requires a standardized presentation of relevant stimuli during the TSST as well as a carefully designed control condition. Moreover special care has to be taken to control potential influences on visual exploration and working memory in order to correctly interpret observed effects on memory. The results obtained so far fit to the idea of enhanced encoding of salient information under stress. These findings are of relevance for educational, organizational and clinical applications.
心理社会应激会影响认知、情绪和行为。本综述从神经内分泌的角度总结了急性应激对人类长期记忆的影响。在这方面，与应激相关的交感神经系统（SNS）和下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴活性的增加是关键。特别关注的是使用特里尔社会应激测试（TSST）获得的发现。该范式可用于在记忆任务之前或之后引发应激。研究反复表明，应激会增强长期巩固，但会损害长期记忆检索。然而，TSST 也可用于评估该应激事件本身的记忆。后者需要在 TSST 期间对相关刺激进行标准化呈现，并设计精心的对照条件。此外，为了正确解释对记忆的观察到的影响，必须特别注意控制对视觉探索和工作记忆的潜在影响。迄今为止获得的结果符合应激下显著信息增强编码的观点。这些发现与教育、组织和临床应用有关。
