Hormones, Stress, and Cognition: The Effects of Glucocorticoids and Oxytocin on Memory

• Published in: Adaptive human behavior and physiology Vol. 1; no. 2; pp. 177 - 201
• Main Author: Wirth, Michelle M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-06-2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adrenal glands; Anthropology; Behavioral Sciences; Biological Psychology; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Evolutionary Biology; Glucocorticoids; Hormones; Human Physiology; Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; Hypothalamus; Laboratory animals; Learning; Long term memory; Memory; Nervous system; Neurons; Neurosciences; Original Article; Oxytocin; Peptides; Pituitary; Proteins; Short term memory; Social behavior; Social interactions; Social Sciences; Steroids; Learning; Human; HPA axis; Cortisol; Memory; Social cognition; cortisol; learning; memory; social cognition; human
• ISSN: 2198-7335; 2198-7335
• DOI: 10.1007/s40750-014-0010-4

Hormones have nuanced effects on learning and memory processes. The degree and direction of the effect (e.g., is memory impaired or enhanced?) depends on the dose, type and stage of memory, and type of material being learned, among other factors. This review will focus on two specific topics within the realm of effects of hormones on memory: (1) How glucocorticoids (the output hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) affect long-term memory consolidation, retrieval, and working memory, with a focus on neural mechanisms and effects of emotion; and (2) How oxytocin affects memory, with emphasis on a speculative hypothesis that oxytocin might exert its myriad effects on human social cognition and behavior via impacts on more general cognitive processes. Oxytocin-glucocorticoid interactions will be briefly addressed. These effects of hormones on memory will also be considered from an evolutionary perspective.