Stress-induced shift from declarative to procedural learning; interindividual differences and neuronal mechanisms

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Lars Schwabe
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2014 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 262098807

Stressful experiences affect not only the quantitative performance of a single memory system, but also the relative contributions of multiple, anatomically and functionally distinct systems to learning and memory. In particular, recent evidence shows that stress promotes in dual-solution tasks a shift from declarative, goal-directed memory processes to procedural, habitual memory processes. However, not all individuals show this shift from declarative to procedural learning after stress and the question is which factors are responsible for these interindividual differences. This question is of particular interest because the shift from declarative to procedural memory has been suggested to play a part in stress-related psychiatric disorders. In the present study, magnetic resonance imaging will be combined with behavioral genetics, cognitive and differential psychological approaches to identify influences contributing to the interindividual differences in the effects of stress on the use of multiple memory systems and to examine the brain processes involved in these influences. Here, the focus will be on ADRA2B, the gene encoding the alpha2-adrenergic receptor. It is expected that a common variant of this gene may, mediated by increased amygdala activity, augment the shift towards more procedural learning after stress. Beyond their relevance for basic science, the results of the present project may also have some important clinical implications.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Martin Reuter