Abstract
Stress induces several temporally guided “waves” of psychobiological responses that differentially influence learning and memory. One way to understand how the temporal dynamics of stress influence these cognitive processes is to consider stress, itself, as a learning experience that influences additional learning and memory. Indeed, research has shown that stress results in electrophysiological and biochemical activity that is remarkably similar to the activity observed as a result of learning. In this review, we will present the idea that when a stressful episode immediately precedes or follows learning, such learning is enhanced because the learned information becomes a part of the stress context and is tagged by the emotional memory being formed. In contrast, when a stressful episode is temporally separated from learning or is experienced prior to retrieval, such learning or memory is impaired because the learning or memory is experienced outside the context of the stress episode or subsequent to a saturation of synaptic plasticity, which renders the retrieval of information improbable. The temporal dynamics of emotional memory formation, along with the neurobiological correlates of the stress response, are discussed to support these hypotheses.
Highlights
Specialty section: This article was submitted to Cognition, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
We will present the idea that when a stressful episode immediately precedes or follows learning, such learning is enhanced because the learned information becomes a part of the stress context and is tagged by the emotional memory being formed
Stress differentially impacts learning that is dependent on these brain areas, and when considering the different forms of stress-memory interactions, the most complex appears to be that of stress effects on hippocampus-dependent memory (Zoladz et al, 2014a), which will be the focus of this review
Summary
Stress is experienced during situations that pose a threat to an organism and leads to the activation of two major physiological systems, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamuspituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Stress response neurochemicals exert a profound effect on learning and memory by influencing cognitive brain areas, such as the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex (PFC), and amygdala. Both the hippocampus, which is crucial for the formation of declarative and spatial memories (Moser and Moser, 1998; Kaut and Bunsey, 2001; Broadbent et al, 2004; Eichenbaum, 2004; Squire et al, 2004; Broadbent et al, 2006), and the PFC, which is responsible for working memory and higher-order cognitive function (Rowe et al, 2001; Bechara, 2005; Nebel et al, 2005; Muller and Knight, 2006), have a high density of corticosteroid receptors Stress differentially impacts learning that is dependent on these brain areas, and when considering the different forms of stress-memory interactions, the most complex appears to be that of stress effects on hippocampus-dependent memory (Zoladz et al, 2014a), which will be the focus of this review
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