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Related Experiment Videos

Acute stress, memory, attention and cortisol.

K Vedhara1, J Hyde, I D Gilchrist

  • 1MRC Health Services Research Collaboration, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Clifton, UK. k.vedhara@bristol.ac.uk

Psychoneuroendocrinology
|June 7, 2000
PubMed
Summary
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Exam stress surprisingly lowered cortisol levels, enhancing short-term memory but impairing attention. Cortisol

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Acute stress, such as examination stress, can impact cognitive functions like memory and attention.
  • Cortisol, a key stress hormone, plays a complex role in modulating these cognitive processes.
  • Understanding the selective effects of cortisol on different memory and attention systems is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between acute changes in salivary cortisol and cognitive performance during examination stress.
  • To examine the effects of examination stress on self-reported stress, cortisol levels, short-term memory, selective and divided attention, and auditory verbal working memory.

Main Methods:

  • Sixty students underwent cognitive assessments (short-term memory, attention, working memory) and provided saliva samples for cortisol measurement.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Assessments were conducted during both a non-exam period and an exam period to compare conditions.
  • Self-reported stress levels were also recorded.

    • Main Results:

    • Examination stress increased perceived stress but significantly reduced salivary cortisol levels compared to the non-exam period.
    • Reduced cortisol levels were associated with enhanced short-term memory recall.
    • Impaired attention and a diminished primacy effect (a hippocampal-dependent memory measure) were observed alongside reduced cortisol.

    Conclusions:

    • Cortisol levels can be acutely modulated by naturalistic stressors like exams.
    • The cognitive effects of corticosteroids are selective, impacting certain memory and attention functions while sparing others.
    • These findings support the view that cortisol dynamically modulates cognitive processes in response to stress.