Working Memory Is More Sensitive Than Declarative Memory to the Acute Effects of Corticosteroids: A Dose-Response Study in Humans

The effects of various doses (40 μg/kg/hr, 300 μg/kg/hr, 600 μg/kg/hr or placebo) of hydrocortisone on tasks assessing working and declarative memory function were measured in 4 groups of 10 young men. During the infusion, participants were given an item-recognition working memory task, a paired-ass...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral neuroscience 1999-06, Vol.113 (3), p.420-430
Main Authors: Lupien, Sonia J, Gillin, Christian J, Hauger, Richard L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone - blood
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Anti-Inflammatory Agents - adverse effects
Arousal - drug effects
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Blood Glucose - metabolism
Declarative Knowledge
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Drug Dosages
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hormones and behavior
Human
Humans
Hydrocortisone
Hydrocortisone - adverse effects
Hydrocortisone - blood
Male
Memory
Memory - drug effects
Memory, Short-Term - drug effects
Mental Recall - drug effects
Neuropsychological Tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychomotor Performance - drug effects
Short Term Memory
Word Association Tests
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Summary:The effects of various doses (40 μg/kg/hr, 300 μg/kg/hr, 600 μg/kg/hr or placebo) of hydrocortisone on tasks assessing working and declarative memory function were measured in 4 groups of 10 young men. During the infusion, participants were given an item-recognition working memory task, a paired-associate declarative memory task, and a continuous performance task used to control possible concomitant effects of corticosteroids on vigilance. The results revealed significant acute effects of the highest dose of hydrocortisone on working memory function, without any significant effect on declarative memory function or arousal-vigilance performance. These results suggest that working memory is more sensitive than declarative memory to the acute elevations of corticosteroids, which could explain the detrimental effects of corticosteroids on acquisition and consolidation of information, as reported in the literature.
ISSN:0735-7044
1939-0084
DOI:10.1037/0735-7044.113.3.420