Explore the vast range of titles available.

Extensive evidence from both animal model and human research indicates that glucocorticoid hormones are crucially involved in modulating memory performance. Glucocorticoids, which are released during stressful or emotionally arousing experiences, enhance the consolidation of new memories, including extinction memory, but reduce the retrieval of previously stored memories. These memory-modulating properties of glucocorticoids have recently received considerable interest for translational purposes because strong aversive memories lie at the core of several fear-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. Moreover, exposure-based psychological treatment of these disorders relies on successful fear extinction. In this review, we argue that glucocorticoid-based interventions facilitate fear extinction by reducing the retrieval of aversive memories and enhancing the consolidation of extinction memories. Several clinical trials have already indicated that glucocorticoids might be indeed helpful in the treatment of fear-related disorders.

This study investigated the effects of a temporally confined naturalistic stressor (academic stress) on immune functions. Furthermore, moderating influences of a number of psychological variables were assessed. Five blood samples were obtained from 20 students during an observation period of 8 weeks, starting 4.5 weeks before an exam period up to 1 week following the last exam. The analysis of 45 immune parameters revealed several time-dependent changes attributable to examination stress. We observed a reduction in the absolute numbers of natural killer (NK) cells and monocytes in peripheral blood and a shift towards more immature and naïve cells within NK and T cell populations. In addition, IL-6 and TNF-α production by LPS-stimulated monocytes was increased. Psychological variables were grouped by means of factor analyses into two factors. One factor, which was interpreted as an indication of chronic stress, moderated the relationships between academic stress and percentages of mature CD57+ NK cells. This chronic stress factor was also associated with an increase in memory and a decrease in naïve CD8 T cells and increased serum levels of IL-17. The present study identifies important potential psychological mediators of stress-induced changes in specific immunological parameters.

Clinical and experimental evidence document that inflammation and increased peripheral cytokine levels are associated with depression-like symptoms and neuropsychological disturbances in humans. However, it remains unclear whether and to what extent cognitive functions like memory and attention are affected by and related to the dose of the inflammatory stimulus. Thus, in a cross-over, double-blind, experimental approach, healthy male volunteers were administered with either placebo or bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at doses of 0.4 (n = 18) or 0.8 ng/kg of body weight (n = 16). Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, norephinephrine and cortisol concentrations were analyzed before and 1, 1.75, 3, 4, 6, and 24 h after injection. In addition, changes in mood and anxiety levels were determined together with working memory (n-back task) and long term memory performance (recall of emotional and neutral pictures of the International Affective Picture System). Endotoxin administration caused a profound transient physiological response with dose-related elevations in body temperature and heart rate, increases in plasma interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), salivary and plasma cortisol, and plasma norepinephrine. These changes were accompanied by dose-related decreased mood and increased anxiety levels. LPS administration did not affect accuracy in working memory performance but improved reaction time in the high-dose LPS condition compared to the control conditon. In contrast, long-term memory performance was impaired selectively for emotional stimuli after administration of the lower but not of the higher dose of LPS. These data suggest the existence of at least two counter-acting mechanisms, one promoting and one inhibiting cognitive performance during acute systemic inflammation.

Theoretical frameworks of behavioral addictions mostly acknowledge the role of stress in the development and maintenance of these disorders, models of compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD) however rarely incorporated stress. The association between stress and CBSD has not been reviewed yet. A scoping review was conducted to evaluate empirical results on the association between stress and CBSD. A comprehensive search string was employed in three databases. 16 studies were included. Correlative studies suggested significant correlations between general perceived stress and CBSD symptom severity. Studies involving mean comparisons found higher general perceived stress levels in persons with problematic buying-shopping behavior/CBSD compared to control participants (large effects). Mixed results were found in studies involving regression/structural equation models and ecological momentary assessments. One study with a stress/negative mood induction observed more CBSD symptoms in a high stress group compared to a low stress group. The studies are heterogeneous concerning design, samples and measures. Only very few studies surpass the level of cross-sectional correlative data which limits the ability to draw clear conclusions. Future research should study the impact of experimentally induced stress on CBSD symptoms, examine the relationship between stress and CBSD longitudinally and assess objective stress markers. •Stress may act as vulnerability factor (pathway 1) of or trigger (pathway 2) for CBSD.•Studies on stress and CBSD are mostly correlational and cross-sectional.•Results from 13 studies referred to pathway 1, 3 studies to pathway 2.•Most studies esp. those using correlations/group comparisons supported pathway 1.•Mixed results were found for stress triggering CBSD symptoms/episodes (pathway 2).

Empathy is a multidimensional construct consisting of cognitive (inferring mental states) and emotional (empathic concern) components. Despite a paucity of research, individuals on the autism spectrum are generally believed to lack empathy. In the current study we used a new, photo-based measure, the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET), to assess empathy multidimensionally in a group of 17 individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) and 18 well-matched controls. Results suggested that while individuals with AS are impaired in cognitive empathy, they do not differ from controls in emotional empathy. Level of general emotional arousability and socially desirable answer tendencies did not differ between groups. Internal consistency of the MET’s scales ranged from .71 to .92, and convergent and divergent validity were highly satisfactory.

Studies in convenience, non-clinical samples of young adults suggest overlap between online compulsive buying-shopping disorder (OCBSD) and social-networks-use disorder (SNUD). Considering the dearth of research, this study investigated OCBSD and SNUD in clinical samples. Women with either OCBSD (n = 37) or SNUD (n = 41) were compared regarding sociodemographic variables, use time of the first-choice application, OCBSD/SNUD severity, general internet use, impulsivity, materialism, perceived chronic stress and the frequency of viewing posts of influencers and the urge to visit shopping websites or social networks after viewing influencer posts. Women in the OCBSD group were older, more often employed, had less often a qualification for university entrance, indicated a lower daily use time of the first-choice application and higher materialistic values as compared to those in the SNUD group. No group differences emerged regarding general internet use, impulsivity and chronic stress. Regression models indicate that chronic stress predicted the symptom severity in the SNUD but not in the OCBSD group. The SNUD group reported a higher frequency of viewing influencer posts as compared to the OCBSD group. The urge for online shopping or using social networks after viewing influencer posts did not significantly differ between both groups. The findings suggest commonalities and distinct features of OCBSD and SNUD which require further investigation. •Women with OCBSD were compared with women with SNUD.•Lower daily use time of the first-choice application in OCBSD than SNUD.•No differences between CBSD and SNUD in functional impairment/distress.•Higher materialistic values in OCBSD compared to SNUD.•Chronic stress predicted symptom severity in the SNUD but not in the OCBSD group.

•Distinct neural patterns distinguish memory preservation and degradation.•The engagement of the frontoparietal and cingulate networks facilitates the retention of original memories.•Weak conflict control, coupled with intensified visual integration processing of interfering information, promotes the updating of these original memories.•The visual cortex plays a pivotal role in memory modification within the framework of post-retrieval updating.•Utilizing high-precision tDCS to target the visual cortex during the memory retrieval interference phase can facilitate memory modification. This study investigates brain mechanisms in memory preservation and alteration using a three-phase design: memory encoding (Day 1), interference under fMRI (Day 2), and testing (Day 3). Thirty-one participants completed the core experiment, supplemented by a tDCS study (n = 118) targeting the visual cortex. Original memories were more susceptible to incorrect updating during old-background/new-object interference compared to relearning and no-retrieval conditions. Interference trials elicited heightened activation in the Inferior Parietal Lobe (IPL), Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC), and Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Gyrus (dACC) versus no-retrieval controls, and increased frontoparietal and Occipital Fusiform Gyrus (OFG) activation versus relearning. Analyzing interference trials by Day 3 outcomes revealed preserved memories correlated with stronger cingulo-opercular and frontoparietal activation (indicating effective conflict resolution), whereas updated memories showed elevated OFG activity (suggesting new sensory integration). Crucially, IPL/DLPFC activation during interference positively correlated with original memory accuracy, while OFG activation showed negative correlation. tDCS stimulation of the occipital cortex during memory reactivation significantly enhanced memory updating, confirming visual cortex involvement in contextual distortion. Findings demonstrate distinct neural profiles underlie memory outcomes: preserved memories require efficient conflict processing networks, while perceptual interference during reactivation promotes updates through sensory integration systems. This supports targeted neuromodulation approaches for memory modification, highlighting intervention potential through visual cortex engagement during critical memory phases.

Emotion regulation is crucial for coping with stressors but in turn can also be influenced by stress. Initial studies provided mixed evidence showing either beneficial or impairing stress effects on cognitive emotion regulation depending on stress timing, sex or the regulatory strategy. Here, we investigated the impact of acute stress on different emotion regulation strategies in men and women. N = 118 healthy participants were subjected to the Trier Social Stress Test or a control condition after which they completed an emotion regulation paradigm, requiring them to regulate their emotions in response to negative pictures using reappraisal or distraction. Cortisol levels were repeatedly measured to quantify changes in HPA axis activity. Affective ratings and pupil dilation served to measure emotion regulation success and the cognitive effort to regulate emotions. Stress reduced arousal and increased valence and success ratings for reappraisal in men, whereas no significant stress effects were found in women. Moreover, stressed men displayed a significant expansion of pupil diameter during reappraisal suggesting enhanced cognitive regulatory engagement, which ultimately may have led to better emotion regulation outcomes. Cortisol secretion positively correlated with subjective reappraisal success in men, suggesting a glucocorticoid-driven mechanism that may promote emotion regulatory performance in the aftermath of stress.

Stress is omnipresent in our everyday lives. It is therefore critical to identify potential stress-buffering behaviors that can help to prevent the negative effects of acute stress in daily life. Massages, a form of social touch, are an effective buffer against both the endocrinological and sympathetic stress response in women. However, for other forms of social touch, potential stress-buffering effects have not been investigated in detail. Furthermore, the possible stress-buffering effects of social touch on men have not been researched so far. The present study focused on embracing, one of the most common forms of social touch across many cultures. We used a short-term embrace between romantic partners as a social touch intervention prior to the induction of acute stress via the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test. Women who embraced their partner prior to being stressed showed a reduced cortisol response compared to a control group in which no embrace occurred. No stress-buffering effect could be observed in men. No differences between the embrace and control group were observed regarding sympathetic nervous system activation measured via blood pressure or subjective affect ratings. These findings suggest that in women, short-term embraces prior to stressful social situations such as examinations or stressful interviews can reduce the cortisol response in that situation.

How stress affects functional hemispheric asymmetries is relevant because stress represents a risk factor for the development of mental disorders and various mental disorders are associated with atypical lateralization. Using three lateralization tasks, we investigated whether functional hemispheric asymmetries in the form of hemispheric dominance for language (verbal dichotic listening task), emotion processing (emotional dichotic listening task), and visuo-spatial attention (line bisection task) were affected by acute stress in healthy adults. One hundred twenty right-handed men and women performed these lateralization tasks in randomized order after exposure to a mild online stressor (i.e., an online variant of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), TSST-OL) and a non-stressful online control task (friendly TSST-OL, fTSST-OL) in a within-subjects design. Importantly, the verbal and the emotional dichotic listening tasks were presented online whereas the line bisection task was completed in paper–pencil form. During these tasks, we found the expected hemispheric asymmetries, indicating that online versions of both the verbal and the emotional dichotic listening task can be used to measure functional hemispheric asymmetries in language and emotion processing remotely. Even though subjective and physiological markers confirmed the success of the online stress manipulation, replicating previous studies, we found no stress-induced effect on functional hemispheric asymmetries. Thus, in healthy participants, functional hemispheric asymmetries do not seem to change flexibly in response to acute stress.