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Cited by 562Stress Responses and CortisolMemory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and Influences

Stress hormones and human memory function across the lifespan

Lupien, Sonia J., Fiocco, Alexandra, Wan, Nathalie, Maheu, Francoise, Lord, Catherine, Schramek, Tania, Tu, Mai Thanh·2005·Psychoneuroendocrinology
DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2004.08.003
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Abstract

In this paper, we summarize the data obtained in our laboratory showing the effects of glucocorticoids on human cognitive function in older adults, young adults and children. We first present data obtained in the aged human population which showed that long-term exposure to high endogenous levels of glucocorticoids is associated with both memory impairments and a 14% smaller volume of the hippocampus. We then report on studies showing that in older adults with moderate levels of glucocorticoids, memory performance can be acutely modulated by pharmacological manipulations of glucocorticoids. In young adults, we present data obtained in our laboratory showing that cognitive processing sustained by the frontal lobes is also sensitive to acute increases of glucocorticoids. We also summarize studies showing that just as in older adults, memory performance in young adults can be acutely modulated by pharmacological manipulations of glucocorticoids. We then present a study in which we showed a differential involvement of adrenergic and glucocorticoid hormones for short- and long-term memory of neutral and emotional information. In the last section of the paper, we present data obtained in a population of young children and teenagers from low and high socioeconomic status (SES), where we showed that children from low SES present significantly higher levels of basal cortisol when compared to children from high SES. We then present new data obtained in this population showing that children and teenagers from low and high SES do not process the plausibility of positive and negative attributes in the same way. Children from low SES tended to process positive and negative attributes on a more negative note than children from high SES, and this type of processing was significantly related to basal cortisol at age 10, 12 and 14. Altogether, the results of these studies show that both bottom-up (effects of glucocorticoids on cognitive function), and top-down (effects of cognitive processing on glucocorticoid secretion) effects exist in the human population.

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  • Both endogenous and exogenous glucocorticoid excess acting on mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors expressed by neurons in the central nervous system have been shown to directly alter the structure and functioning of the brain.

    “Both endogenous and exogenous glucocorticoid excess on MR and GR expressed by neurons in the CNS have been shown directly alter the structure and functioning of the brain (429–431).”

    From Signalling cognition: The gut microbiota and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (2023) · cites this paper as [431]

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Authors
Lupien, S. J., Fiocco, A., Wan, N., Maheu, F., Lord, C., Schramek, T., & Tu, M. T.
Affiliations
Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CA)
Corresponding author
Lupien, Sonia J.
ORCID
Venue
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2005-04
Volume
30
Issue
3
Pages
225-242
ISSN
0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2004.08.003
OpenAlex
W2008112018
Cited by
562
References
115
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 35 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 35
FWCI
10.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
Keywords
glucocorticoids, stress hormones, memory, hippocampal volume, aging, cortisol, socioeconomic status, children, adolescents, emotional memory, cognitive processes, frontal lobe, top-down effects, bottom-up effects
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aging, Animals, Child, Cognition, Frontal Lobe, Glucocorticoids, Hippocampus, Humans, Memory, Middle Aged, Organ Size, Stress, Physiological, Rats

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