The Impairing Role of Stress on Autobiographical Memory Reconsolidation

Despite some studies indicating improving role of stress on memory consolidation, very few animal and human studies show that stress impairs reconsolidation of memories. This study aimed to determine the effect of stress on autobiographical memory reconsolidation. The present study was done with an experimental method (Solomon Four-Group design). The statistical society of this study was all undergraduate female students in 2009-2010 academic year at Tabriz University. Forty students were selected using random cluster sampling, and we ensure about their physical and mental health by GHQ-28 and interview. Tools for this study were cueing autobiographical memory test, SECPT (for raising blood pressure and stress induction), autobiographical memory test, PANAS and general health questionnaire (GHQ-28). MANOVA was used for data analysis by SPSS-17. The results show that stress after activation of memory impairs memory for neutral events (p<0.001), while there was no such effect on the memory for emotional events (p>0.05). None of stress and memory activation alone had effect on memory performance (p>0.05). These findings indicate that stress impairs autobiographical memory reconsolidation, which is opposite to its effects on memory consolidation, so it supports the view that consolidation and reconsolidation are separate process.