Context-dependent enhancement of declarative memory performance following acute psychosocial stress
Open accessAbstract
Studies on how acute stress affects learning and memory have yielded inconsistent findings, with some studies reporting enhancing effects while others report impairing effects. Recently, Joëls et al. [Joëls, M., Pu, Z., Wiegert, O., Oitzl, M.S., Krugers, H.J., 2006. Learning under stress: how does it work? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10, 152-158] argued that stress will enhance memory only when the memory acquisition phase and stressor share the same spatiotemporal context (i.e., context-congruency). The current study tested this hypothesis by looking at whether context-congruent stress enhances declarative memory performance. Undergraduates were assigned to a personality stress group (n=16), a memory stress group (n=18), or a no-stress control group (n=18). While being exposed to the acute stressor or a control task, participants encoded personality- and memory-related words and were tested for free recall 24h later. Relative to controls, stress significantly enhanced recall of context-congruent words, but only for personality words. This suggests that acute stress may strengthen the consolidation of memory material when the stressor matches the to-be-remembered information in place and time.
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Fundamental memory research more often indicates that encoding stress benefits recall performance.
“More often, fundamental memory research indicates that encoding stress bene fi ts recall performance (e.g., Smeets et al., 2007; Wolf, 2012; Zoladz et al., 2014).”
From The effects of acute stress on eyewitness memory: An integrative review for eyewitness researchers (2021) · cites this paper as Smeets et al., 2007
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“To check whether the use of oral contraceptives influenced cortisol responses (e.g., Kirschbaum et al., 1999), cortisol data from the personality stress and memory stress group were collapsed and subjected to an independent samples t-test.”
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Andreano, J. M., & Cahill, L. (2006) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01729.x · Cited by 270 · see citing works
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The stressed synapse: the impact of stress and glucocorticoids on glutamate transmission
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Vogel, S., & Schwabe, L. (2016) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.04.027 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
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Smeets, T. (2010) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.02.015 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Self-citationSleep, cognition and cortisol in addison’s disease: a mechanistic relationship
Henry, M., Thomas, K. G. F., & Ross, I. L. (2021) · Frontiers in Endocrinology · doi:10.3389/fendo.2021.694046 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
The effects of acute stress on eyewitness memory: An integrative review for eyewitness researchers
Marr, C., Sauerland, M., Otgaar, H., Quaedflieg, C. W. E. M., & Hope, L. (2021) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658211.2021.1955935 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“More often, fundamental memory research indicates that encoding stress benefits recall performance (e.g., Smeets et al., 2007; Wolf, 2012; Zoladz et al., 2014).”
Background
- Authors
- Smeets, T., Giesbrecht, T., Jelicic, M., & Merckelbach, H.
- Affiliations
- Maastricht University (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Smeets, T.
- Venue
- Biological Psychology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-09
- Volume
- 76
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 116-123
- ISSN
- 0301-0511 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1975097653
- Cited by
- 115
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Biological Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (452-02-006)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- acute psychosocial stress, declarative memory, memory consolidation, free recall, word encoding
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Affect, Arousal, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Personality, Mental Recall, Retention, Psychology, Semantics, Stress, Psychological, Verbal Learning
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