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Suppressing the Morning Cortisol Rise After Memory Reactivation at 4 A.M. enhances Episodic Memory Reconsolidation in Humans.
- Source :
- Journal of Neuroscience; 8/25/2021, Vol. 41 Issue 34, p7259-7266, 8p
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Evidence from animal and human research shows that established memories can undergo changes after reactivation through a process called reconsolidation. Alterations of the level of the stress hormone cortisol may provide a way to manipulate reconsolidation in humans. Here, in a double-blind, within-subject design, we reactivated a 3-d-old memory at 3:55 A.M. in sixteen men and four women, immediately followed by oral administration of metyrapone versus placebo, to examine whether metyrapone-induced suppression of the morning cortisol rise may influence reconsolidation processes during and after early morning sleep. Crucially, reactivation followed by cortisol suppression versus placebo resulted in enhanced memory for the reactivated episode tested 4 d after reactivation. This enhancement after cortisol suppression was specific for the reactivated episode versus a non-reactivated episode. These findings suggest that when reactivation of memories is immediately followed by suppression of cortisol levels during early morning sleep in humans, reconsolidation processes change in a way that leads to the strengthening of episodic memory traces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 02706474
- Volume :
- 41
- Issue :
- 34
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Neuroscience
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 152138871
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0096-21.2021