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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Impairing Effect of Emotion on Cognition

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Impairing Effect of Emotion on Cognition

Published on: February 1, 2012

Hydrocortisone reduces emotional distracter interference in working memory.

Nicole Y L Oei¹, Marieke S Tollenaar, Philip Spinhoven

¹Leiden University - Institute for Psychological Research, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands. Noei@FSW.LeidenUniv.nl

Psychoneuroendocrinology

|April 29, 2009

Summary

Cortisol, a stress hormone, unexpectedly improved working memory (WM) performance in men, enhancing processing speed and reducing errors. It also decreased distraction from emotional stimuli, challenging previous findings.

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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Impairing Effect of Emotion on Cognition

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Eye Tracking, Cortisol, and a Sleep vs. Wake Consolidation Delay: Combining Methods to Uncover an Interactive Effect of Sleep and Cortisol on Memory

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A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychology
Endocrinology

Background:

Stress and glucocorticoids are known to impair prefrontal-dependent working memory (WM).
Working memory involves attending to tasks and maintaining information while ignoring distractions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if stress hormones impair WM by affecting the ability to suppress distracting stimuli.
To examine the effects of hydrocortisone on WM performance with neutral and emotional distracters.

Main Methods:

Young, healthy men received either hydrocortisone (35 mg) or a placebo.
Participants performed a Sternberg WM task with irrelevant neutral and emotional distracters during the delay phase.

Main Results:

The hydrocortisone group showed enhanced WM performance, including faster processing speed and fewer errors, compared to the placebo group.
Hydrocortisone significantly reduced the impact of emotional stimuli as distracters.
Findings contrast with previous research suggesting cortisol impairs WM.

Conclusions:

Cortisol's effects on WM are complex and not uniformly impairing.
Hydrocortisone may enhance WM by improving the suppression of irrelevant emotional information.
Further dose-response studies are needed to clarify glucocorticoid modulation of distraction suppression.