Acute cortisol effects on immediate free recall and recognition of nouns depend on stimulus valence

• Published in: Psychophysiology 2003-03, Vol.40 (2), p.167-173
• Main Authors: Tops, Mattie, Pompe, Gieta Van Der, Baas, Daan, Mulder, Lambertus J. M., Den Boer, Johan A., Meijman, Theo F., Korf, Jacob
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Affect; Arousal - physiology; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition - drug effects; Cortisol; Double-Blind Method; Emotional memory; Emotions - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hormones and behavior; Human; Humans; Hydrocortisone - pharmacology; Learning. Memory; Male; Memory; Mental Recall - drug effects; Positivity bias; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Saliva - metabolism; Verbal free recall; Verbal recognition
• ISSN: 0048-5772; 1469-8986; 1540-5958
• DOI: 10.1111/1469-8986.00018

The present study investigated the acute effects of cortisol administration in normal healthy male volunteers on immediate free recall and recognition of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral nouns using a between‐subjects double‐blind design. Two hours after cortisol (10 mg) or placebo administration, impaired recall and recognition of neutral and pleasant words was found in the treatment group, whereas recall and recognition of unpleasant words was similar in both groups. The interaction between treatment and stimulus valence was not mediated by “semantic cohesion,” nor does it seem to have been mediated by stimulus arousal. Cortisol did not change mood. The changes with cortisol in recall and recognition of pleasant and unpleasant words parallel those found in depression, a condition that is often accompanied by elevated basal cortisol levels.