Stress and Memory Flashcards
What is Hans Selye’s definition of stress?
the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it, whether caused by or results in pleasant or unpleasant experiences
What are some external stressors?
physical conditions; pain/heat
psychological environments; abusive relationship
What are some internal stressors?
physical; infection/inflammation
psychological; intense worry
What factors can affect a persons stress response?
genetic predisposition gender and hormones perception of a stressor social support early life adversity
What is cortisol?
a steroid/hormone which is released by the hypothalamus in response to stress
What is the effect of acute cortisol administration?
enhanced long term memory consolidation of emotional stimuli but impairing neutral stimuli
What is the Trier social stress test?
a psychological procedure that allows experimenters to induce stress under lab conditions
What did Buchanan and Lovallo find in relation to cortisol?
elevated cortisol levels during memory encoding enhanced long term recall performance of emotionally arousing pictures
What effect does cortisol have on retrieval?
it impairs declarative memory retrieval as it induces a decrease in cerebral blood flow
What is the relationship between cortisol and depression?
depression is linked with cortisol hypersecretion
What effect does cortisol have on memory; encoding, consolidation and retrieval
encoding; improves
consolidation; improves
retrieval; impairs
How do cortisol levels change throughout the day?
morning; high basal conc’s
afternoon; low basal conc’s
What are some symptoms of PTSD?
avoidance
negative cognitions and mood
changes in arousal and reactivity
How can a traumatic memory affect PTSD?
an increased propensity to endorse traumatic event predicts PTSD; people with no memory for a traumatic events were significantly less likely to develop PTSD
How can memory for an emotional event be enhanced?
increased epinephrine enhances memory and in excess can cause fear conditioning
