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Stress hinders memory, learning WebPosted Mon Mar 20 17:16:30 2000 WASHINGTON - If you've forgotten a few things lately, a new study offers an excuse — stress impairs memory and learning. Scientists gave volunteers cortisol, a hormone released during stress. Participants exposed to it were less able to remember things they had recently learned. Researchers say their findings show why people quickly forget things they learned while cramming for exams. This study also may cast doubt on testimony given in court or in other stressful situations. Dominique de Quervain of the University of Zurich in Switzerland and colleagues at the University of California at Irvine looked at 18 women and the same number of men, aged 20 to 40. They asked them to look at 60 German nouns for four seconds each and memorize them. The volunteers were tested for free recall by writing down as many words as they could remember. Researchers also asked whether participants could recognize the nouns they had learned on a longer list. These were done immediately after memorizing the list or one day later. The participants were then given tablets of cortisone, which would simulate the effects of stress in people. The tablets, which the body processes into cortisol, did not affect the volunteers' ability to recall in a test given immediately after memorization. And when given immediately before the 24-hour-later test, the tablets had no effect on recognition. But they did impair recall a day later, the researchers found. Based on their findings, scientists say that high glucocorticoid levels may bring about the inability to retrieve information in such stressful situations as exams, job interviews, combat and courtroom testimony. The study was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. CBC Newsworld Online http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2000/03/20/stress000320 janet paterson 53 now / 41 dx / 37 onset a new voice: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/ 613 256 8340 PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario Canada K0A 1A0