Transfaculty Research Platform, University of Basel, CH-4055, Basel, Switzerland.
Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, CH-4055, Basel, Switzerland.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2019 Jan;236(1):183-199. doi: 10.1007/s00213-018-5116-0. Epub 2019 Jan 4.
Extensive evidence from both animal model and human research indicates that glucocorticoid hormones are crucially involved in modulating memory performance. Glucocorticoids, which are released during stressful or emotionally arousing experiences, enhance the consolidation of new memories, including extinction memory, but reduce the retrieval of previously stored memories. These memory-modulating properties of glucocorticoids have recently received considerable interest for translational purposes because strong aversive memories lie at the core of several fear-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. Moreover, exposure-based psychological treatment of these disorders relies on successful fear extinction. In this review, we argue that glucocorticoid-based interventions facilitate fear extinction by reducing the retrieval of aversive memories and enhancing the consolidation of extinction memories. Several clinical trials have already indicated that glucocorticoids might be indeed helpful in the treatment of fear-related disorders.
大量来自动物模型和人类研究的证据表明，糖皮质激素在调节记忆表现方面起着至关重要的作用。糖皮质激素在应激或情绪激动的经历中释放，增强新记忆的巩固，包括遗忘记忆，但减少先前储存记忆的检索。由于强烈的厌恶记忆是几种与恐惧相关的障碍（包括创伤后应激障碍和恐惧症）的核心，糖皮质激素的这些记忆调节特性最近引起了人们的极大关注。此外，这些障碍的基于暴露的心理治疗依赖于成功的恐惧遗忘。在这篇综述中，我们认为糖皮质激素干预通过减少厌恶记忆的检索和增强遗忘记忆的巩固来促进恐惧遗忘。几项临床试验已经表明，糖皮质激素在治疗与恐惧相关的障碍方面可能确实有帮助。
