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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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Published on: June 18, 2014

Corticosteroids operate as a switch between memory systems.

Lars Schwabe1, Hartmut Schächinger, E Ron de Kloet

  • 1University of Trier, Germany. Lars.Schwabe@rub.de

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|May 19, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Stress and corticosteroids can shift memory systems in mice. This switch from spatial to stimulus-response learning, mediated by mineralocorticoid receptors, can improve performance.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • Stress and corticosteroid hormones are recognized modulators of learning and memory.
  • The brain utilizes multiple memory systems, including hippocampus-based spatial learning and nucleus caudate-based stimulus-response learning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if stress and corticosteroids facilitate the switch between distinct memory systems.
  • To determine the role of the mineralocorticoid receptor in this stress-induced memory system transition.

Main Methods:

  • A novel task was developed to measure both stimulus-response and spatial learning strategies in mice.
  • Mice were subjected to stress or administered corticosterone, and their learning strategies were assessed.
  • The effect of a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist on strategy switching and performance was evaluated.

Main Results:

  • Stress or corticosterone administration induced a switch from spatial to stimulus-response strategies in 30-50% of mice.
  • This strategy switch was associated with improved performance, while persistence in the spatial strategy led to performance decline in stressed mice.
  • Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism blocked the switch to stimulus-response strategy and impaired hippocampus-dependent performance.

Conclusions:

  • Corticosteroids actively promote the transition from hippocampus-based spatial memory to nucleus caudate-based stimulus-response memory.
  • The mineralocorticoid receptor is a key mediator of this corticosteroid-driven shift in learning strategies.
  • Stress-induced switching between memory systems may serve a performance-rescuing function.