Does Stress Really Impair Memory?

Student’s Name：顏嘉賢School Number ： B9802033

QUESTION

How is stress related to memory?

– Enhance?

– Impair?

Why?

INFORMATION 1: ENHANCEMENT OF MEMORY

Stressful / emotionally arousing events

enhance the “consolidation” of memory

– Stress hormones

– stress-activated neurotransmitters

– Amygdala

INFORMATION 2: STRESS HORMONES

Glucocorticoids

– Cortisol

Stress cortisol receptor

Long-term exposure to cortisol

atrophy of hippocampus

naturally (In hippocampus)

Dendritic Spine

– Learning & memory

Synapses

synapse

INFORMATION 3: CRH &CRHR

CRH: corticotropin releasing hormone

– Secreted by hypothalamus

CRHR: CRH receptor

– Located in hippocampus

Acute Stress CRH release hippocampus

dendritic spines disintegration CRHR

impair memory

storage

collection“consolidation”

On the contrary…

CRH CRHR

BLOCK damage eliminated

binding

INFORAMTION 4: REVERSIBILITY

From Newcomer’s experiment:

– Memory impairment is reversible

– “the point of no return”

Controlling cortisol levels pharmacologically

THE SAME QUESTION

How is stress related to memory?

– Enhance?

– Impair?

THE ANSWER~~~~~

BOTH !!!!

However…

CONCLUSION

Stress itself is not harmful…

but the EXCESS of stress is!!!

Acute or chronic exposure to stress causes functional and morphological alterations in the brain impair memory consolidation

Thanks for your attention!