The Role of Endocrine Stress Systems and Sex Hormones in the Enhancing Effects of Stress on Mental Rotation Capabilities.

The possible effects of stress and neurobiological stress mechanisms on visuospatial abilities remain largely unknown. In the current study, we examined the combined effect of sex hormones and both the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-A) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) on stress-induced changes in visuospatial performance. A total of 107 participants completed a mental rotation task and were subsequently exposed to either to the Trier social stress test (TSST) or to a control condition before completing the mental rotation task again.

Interactive role of endocrine stress systems and reproductive hormones in the effects of stress on declarative memory.

The effects of stress on memory performance, and the neuroendocrine mechanisms mediating such effects, are not well understood. Given the interrelationship between reproductive hormones and both the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-A), we examined their combined effect on stress-induced modulation of declarative memory. Before and after exposure either to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) procedure or to a non-stress condition, 112 participants completed the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test.

Gonadal hormones modulate the HPA-axis and the SNS in response to psychosocial stress.

Exposure to stress activates both the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). A growing body of research points to the contribution of sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone), the end products of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, in modulating stress reactivity. The present study aimed at investigating the potential modulating role of sex hormones on HPA and SNS reactivity to psychosocial stress.