Stress and the retrieval of transformed memories: temporal dynamics and neuronal correlates

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Lars Schwabe
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2015 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 274007358

Stress may hamper memory retrieval. This impairing effect of stress is mainly mediated by the hippocampus. Popular memory models assume that the role of the hippocampus in memory retrieval decreases over time or that retrieval becomes even independent of the hippocampus, thus raising the question whether the retrieval of remote memories is not or at least less affected by stress than the retrieval of recent memories. This question is of particular importance for the understanding of stress effects on memory processes and may also have relevant clinical implications because novel treatment approaches attempt to employ the disruptive effects of stress (hormones) to reduce dysfunctional memories in several psychiatric disorders. Therefore, the present study examines the influence of psychosocial stress (Trier Sociat Stress Test) on the retrieval of recent and remote memories as well as the underlying brain processes using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The findings of this project may have important implications for clinical applications of the stress-induced retrieval impairment. Moreover, this project will provide novel, important insights into human memory, in particular with respect to the role of the hippocampus for memory retrieval and memory transformation processes over time.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants