Glucocorticoids mediate stress-induced impairment of retrieval of stimulus-response memory.

Acute stress and elevated glucocorticoid hormone levels are well known to impair the retrieval of hippocampus-dependent 'declarative' memory. Recent findings suggest that stress might also impair the retrieval of non-hippocampal memories. In particular, stress shortly before retention testing was shown to impair the retrieval of striatal stimulus-response associations in humans.

Glucocorticoids boost stimulus-response memory formation in humans.

Stress affects memory beyond hippocampus-dependent spatial or episodic memory processes. In particular, stress may influence also striatum-dependent stimulus-response (S-R) memory processes. Rodent studies point to an important role of glucocorticoids in the modulation of S-R memory.

Sex differences in stress effects on response and spatial memory formation.

Stress and stress hormones are known to affect learning and memory processes. However, although effects of stress on hippocampus-dependent declarative learning and memory are well-documented, relatively little attention has been paid to the impact of stress on striatum-dependent stimulus-response (S-R) learning and memory. Recent evidence indicates that glucocorticoid stress hormones shortly after learning enhance S-R memory consolidation, whereas stress prior to retention testing impairs S-R memory retrieval.

Stress disrupts response memory retrieval.

Stress effects on memory are well-known. Most studies, however, focused on the impact of stress on hippocampus-dependent 'declarative' memory processes. Less is known about whether stress influences also striatum-based memory processes, such as stimulus-response (S-R) memory.