Stress Impairs Intentional Memory Control through Altered Theta Oscillations in Lateral Parietal Cortex

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Neurobiology

Background:

• Forgetting can be an active, intentional process, not just passive decay.
• Understanding factors influencing intentional memory control is crucial, especially for mental health.
• Stress may disrupt the brain mechanisms underlying memory control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if acute stress disrupts intentional memory control.
• To explore the neural mechanisms behind stress-induced deficits in memory suppression.
• To examine the link between stress hormones, brain activity, and memory control.

Main Methods:

• Healthy participants underwent a stress or control procedure.
• Participants intentionally retrieved or suppressed learned cue-target pairs.
• Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and cortisol levels were measured.

Main Results:

• Stress abolished suppression-induced forgetting observed in controls.
• Altered theta activity in temporal and parietal cortex correlated with stress and cortisol.
• Reduced hippocampus-PFC connectivity was linked to increased cortisol.

Conclusions:

• Acute stress significantly impairs the capacity for intentional forgetting.
• Neural mechanisms involving parietal cortex activity and hippocampus-PFC connectivity are implicated in this deficit.
• Findings offer insights into memory dysfunction in stress-related disorders like PTSD.