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Acute cortisol effects on immediate free recall and recognition of nouns depend on stimulus valence
Author(s) -
Tops Mattie,
Pompe Gieta Van Der,
Baas Daan,
Mulder Lambertus J. M.,
Den Boer Johan A.,
Meijman Theo F.,
Korf Jacob
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/1469-8986.00018
Subject(s) - psychology , stimulus (psychology) , recall , arousal , valence (chemistry) , mood , recognition memory , free recall , noun , audiology , developmental psychology , cognition , cognitive psychology , clinical psychology , neuroscience , medicine , physics , quantum mechanics , linguistics , philosophy
Abstract The present study investigated the acute effects of cortisol administration in normal healthy male volunteers on immediate free recall and recognition of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral nouns using a between‐subjects double‐blind design. Two hours after cortisol (10 mg) or placebo administration, impaired recall and recognition of neutral and pleasant words was found in the treatment group, whereas recall and recognition of unpleasant words was similar in both groups. The interaction between treatment and stimulus valence was not mediated by “semantic cohesion,” nor does it seem to have been mediated by stimulus arousal. Cortisol did not change mood. The changes with cortisol in recall and recognition of pleasant and unpleasant words parallel those found in depression, a condition that is often accompanied by elevated basal cortisol levels.