We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Noradrenergic Stimulation Impairs Memory Generalization in Women.
- Authors
Kluen, Lisa Marieke; Agorastos, Agorastos; Wiedemann, Klaus; Schwabe, Lars
- Abstract
Memory generalization is essential for adaptive decisionmaking and action. Our ability to generalize across past experiences relies on medial-temporal lobe structures, known to be highly sensitive to stress. Recent evidence suggests that stressful events may indeed interfere with memory generalization. Yet, the mechanisms involved in this generalization impairment are unknown. We tested here whether a pharmacological elevation of major stress mediators--noradrenaline and glucocorticoids--is sufficient to disrupt memory generalization. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, healthymen andwomen received orally a placebo, hydrocortisone, the a2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine that leads to increased noradrenergic stimulation, or both drugs, before they completed an associative learning task probing memory generalization. Drugs left learning performance intact. Yohimbine, however, led to a striking generalization impairment in women, but not in men. Hydrocortisone, in turn, had no effect on memory generalization, neither in men nor in women. The present findings indicate that increased noradrenergic activity, but not cortisol, is sufficient to disrupt memory generalization in a sex-specific manner, with relevant implications for stress-related mental disorders characterized by generalization deficits.
- Subjects
NORADRENERGIC mechanisms; NEURAL stimulation; MEMORY disorders; WOMEN'S mental health; GLUCOCORTICOIDS
- Publication
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2017, Vol 29, Issue 7, p1279
- ISSN
0898-929X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1162/jocn_a_01118