The Effects of Stress on Memory in Older Adults
Studies suggest that stress—both short-term and chronic—play a negative role
in the memory performance of older adults. Moderate amounts of stress, such
as driving to an unfamiliar location to take a memory test, can produce test
results similar to those of a patient with Alzheimer’s. A recent study
carried out by Sophia Lupien’s team at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress
(CSHS) of the Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital, in affiliation with Université de
Montréal, demonstrates that when seniors are tested under stressful
circumstances, the release of stress hormones (cortisol) causes a rapid
decline in memory performance. In the study, seniors took memory tests in
both inconvenient locations, and familiar locations. Interestingly, when
these same exams took place in familiar locations, their memory performance
rivaled that of young adults.
Long-term stress can have a negative impact on memory performance, and may
play a role in the development of age-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s.
During stressful periods, the adrenal glands secrete cortisol, which travels
to the memory and learning centers of the brain (hippocampus) and to the
amygdala (emotional gateway for memory). Exposure to high levels of
glucocorticoids (the main class of stress hormones) throughout life can damage
brain cells. As we age, our biological systems slow, causing cortisol levels
to remain higher longer, and the effects of stress to last longer. Recent
studies by Finnish researchers have found that the long-term effects of stress
may be the biggest cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Those with both high blood
pressure and high cortisol levels are more than three times as likely to
develop Alzheimer’s as older adults without those symptoms.
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