Psychopharmacology and memory

Glannon, Walter

doi:10.1136/jme.2005.012575

Cited by 80 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Furthermore, the effects of cortisol on physiological responses to emotional memories in clinical groups should still be explored, in addition to its effect on declarative memory retrieval. More knowledge on the mechanisms behind propranolol and cortisol in treating disorders like PTSD and phobias might lead to more efficient and safe use of these drugs (for discussions, see Glannon 2006;van Stegeren 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychophysiological responding to emotional memories in healthy young men after cortisol and propranolol administration

et al. 2009

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Rationale Propranolol is found to reduce physiological hyper-responsiveness in post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), possibly by affecting reconsolidation after the reactivation of traumatic memories. Cortisol is found to attenuate declarative memory retrieval, but it is unknown whether it also reduces physiological responses to emotional memories. Objectives To examine whether the effects of propranolol on physiological responding to emotional memories can also be found in healthy controls and to investigate the immediate and prolonged effects of cortisol on physiological responding to emotional memories, we tested these effects in 79 healthy young men. Materials and methods After preparing a script of a negative disturbing memory, participants were instructed to imagine this event 1 week later after ingestion of either 35 mg cortisol, 80 mg propranolol, or a placebo. Physiological responding to the script-driven imagery was recorded. Another week later, after washout, the imagery was repeated again. During all three sessions as well as 8 months later, subjective emotional reactions to the memories were assessed. ResultsThe emotionality of the memories was reduced over time, which was not affected by the treatments, however. The personal emotional script did evoke higher skin conductance responses than a neutral story, which decreased 1 week later, but no effects were found of either propranolol or cortisol on this responsiveness. Conclusions Whereas healthy males do show psychophysiological responding to personal emotional scripts, the effects of cortisol and propranolol on physiological responses to emotional memories might be specific to clinical groups characterized by hyper-responsiveness, like PTSD. Future studies using longer-acting doses and more elaborate reactivation procedures in both healthy men and women could shed more light on the effects of cortisol and propranolol on psychophysiological responding to emotional memories.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychophysiological responding to emotional memories in healthy young men after cortisol and propranolol administration

et al. 2009

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“…The idea that memories can be rewritten or erased by extinction is exciting from a theoretical and clinical standpoint, but the literature is mixed and suggests that the effects of extinction recency are better explained by associative and nonassociative learning accounts. Moreover, approaches that improve inhibitory learning may be beneficial to patients as they leave their memories and experiences intact while giving them the ability to learn from and cope with these powerful life events (Glannon 2006;Henry et al 2007). Thus, advancing these basic findings into the clinic requires more work to determine the conditions and neural circuits that strengthen the learning that occurs during extinction without necessarily appealing to erasure mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to a fearful context during periods of memory plasticity impairs extinction via hyperactivation of frontal-amygdalar circuits

et al. 2013

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An issue of increasing theoretical and translational importance is to understand the conditions under which learned fear can be suppressed, or even eliminated. Basic research has pointed to extinction, in which an organism is exposed to a fearful stimulus (such as a context) in the absence of an expected aversive outcome (such as a shock). This extinction process results in the suppression of fear responses, but is generally thought to leave the original fearful memory intact. Here, we investigate the effects of extinction during periods of memory lability on behavioral responses and on expression of the immediate -early gene c-Fos within fear conditioning and extinction circuits. Our results show that long-term extinction is impaired when it occurs during time periods during which the memory should be most vulnerable to disruption (soon after conditioning or retrieval). These behavioral effects are correlated with hyperactivation of medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala subregions associated with fear expression rather than fear extinction. These findings demonstrate that behavioral experiences during periods of heightened fear prevent extinction and prolong the conditioned fear response.

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“…Eine weitere Zielsetzung betrifft das Abschwächen der Intensität problematischer Gedächt-nisinhalte oder das Verhindern des Entstehens traumatischer Gedächtnisinhalte, beispielsweise durch Beta-Blocker [31,32,33].…”

Section: Beispiel: Neuropharmakaunclassified

Autonomy in medicine. Self-determination, self-design and shaping one’s own life

Hildt

2008

Bundesgesundheitsbl.

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Autonomy is a central and multifaceted concept of ethical reflection with many nuances of meaning. Central to the concept are the ability and opportunity to self-determine and self-design, as well as the potential to shape the course of one's own life significantly. However, there is generally a narrow understanding of the concept in the debate on patient autonomy and informed consent in a medico-therapeutic context, to which the possibility to a free decision-making process based on concrete treatment scenarios is central. In contrast, the present article discusses the diversity of autonomy-related aspects in non-therapeutic areas of medicine, while underlining the need to further develop and differentiate the concept of autonomy.

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Psychopharmacology and memory

Cited by 80 publications

References 16 publications

Psychophysiological responding to emotional memories in healthy young men after cortisol and propranolol administration

Psychophysiological responding to emotional memories in healthy young men after cortisol and propranolol administration

Exposure to a fearful context during periods of memory plasticity impairs extinction via hyperactivation of frontal-amygdalar circuits

Autonomy in medicine. Self-determination, self-design and shaping one’s own life

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