Acute Stress Manipulation for Memory Loss

(M&M Project Trial)

Overseen By Jodi A Quas, Ph.D.

Age: < 18

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of California, Irvine

Must not be taking: Steroid treatments

Disqualifiers: Cognitive impairments, head injuries, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 3

400 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial explores how stress affects memory in teenagers, focusing on those who have experienced child maltreatment. Researchers aim to determine if stressful situations impact the ability of maltreated youth to remember personal experiences compared to those without such backgrounds. Participants will engage in activities designed to induce varying levels of stress (acute stress manipulation), and their memory of certain images and activities will be tested over a month. This study is suitable for 12-17-year-olds who have either had contact with social services or always lived with a biological parent. The findings aim to improve understanding of memory in maltreated youth, potentially enhancing trust in their accounts and guiding better support strategies. As an unphased trial, this study offers a unique opportunity to contribute to important research that could lead to better support for affected youth.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications. However, if you are on steroid or hormonal treatments, you may not be eligible to participate.

What prior data suggests that this acute stress manipulation is safe for youth?

Research has shown that the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a common method for inducing short-term stress in research studies. It is considered the best method for this purpose due to its frequent use and well-understood effects.

Studies suggest that stress from the TSST can enhance long-term memory, although it might impair immediate recall. These studies report no serious side effects from the TSST, indicating it is generally well-tolerated.

Overall, the TSST has been safely used with many participants to study stress and memory, without significant harmful effects. This suggests that using it in a new study should be safe for participants. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about this trial because it explores how different levels of acute stress might influence memory. Unlike traditional treatments for memory loss, which often involve medications or cognitive training, this trial uses a psychological approach called the Trier Social Stress Test-Modified. The test manipulates stress levels to see how they impact memory, offering a potential new angle for understanding and managing memory-related conditions. By examining the effects of both low and high stress conditions, the study could uncover insights into how stress management techniques might be used to improve or protect memory function.

What evidence suggests that acute stress manipulation is effective for memory loss?

This trial will compare the effects of different stress levels on memory. Research has shown that stress can impair memory. Feeling stressed just before recalling something may make it more difficult. Many studies, including a detailed review, support this idea, demonstrating that stress can affect memory and thinking skills. However, evidence also suggests that strong memories—strengthened through specific practice methods—might help prevent these issues. Thus, while stress generally hinders memory, certain techniques might help maintain sharp memory even under stress. ^{6 7 8 9 10}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for maltreated and non-maltreated youth aged 12-17 who can participate in a study about how stress affects memory. The goal is to understand if those with a history of maltreatment remember stressful experiences better than their peers.

Inclusion Criteria

Half self-reported or documented prior contact with social services/dependency court

Half always lived with at least one biological parent

I am between 12 and 17 years old.

Exclusion Criteria

I have had a head injury.

I am currently taking steroids or hormonal treatments.

I have a neuroendocrine disease.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Initial Session

Youth are randomly assigned to complete standardized salient personal activities with varying stress levels, followed by an encoding task with images.

1 day

1 visit (in-person)

Memory Testing

Youth's memory is tested for images and personal activities through recognition and recall tasks.

4 weeks

2 visits (remote), 1 visit (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for memory performance and rumination over time.

4 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Acute stress manipulation

Trial Overview The study tests the impact of acute stress on memory by having participants engage in activities that induce varying levels of stress, followed by tasks to encode and later recall images and personal experiences over approximately one month.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Low Stress Condition Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Low stress condition of the Trier Social Stress Test-Modified

Group II: High Stress Condition Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

High stress condition of Trier Social Stress Test - Modified

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of California, Irvine

Lead Sponsor

Trials

580

Recruited

4,943,000+

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Collaborator

Trials

2,103

Recruited

2,760,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

Glucocorticoids (GCs) released during stressful tasks can enhance memory consolidation, but unrelated acute stress or GC treatment can impair performance, highlighting the complex role of stress hormones in memory function.

Chronic stress generally has negative effects on memory and brain health, particularly in the hippocampus, but also affects other brain regions like the prefrontal cortex, with similar patterns observed in both animals and humans.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

HPA axis and memory. Wolf, OT.[2019]

Acute stress can enhance memory formation by shifting attention towards high-priority information while reducing focus on less important details, leading to better recall of some features and poorer recall of others.

Individual differences, such as sex, age, and stress reactivity, significantly influence how acute stress affects memory, suggesting that understanding these factors is crucial for comprehending the complexities of memory under stress.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

What the Acute Stress Response Suggests about Memory. Thomas, AK., Wulff, AN.[2023]

Acute stress negatively impacts the retrieval of both spatial and recognition memory in rodents, regardless of whether the stress occurs before or after the learning process.

The effects of acute stress on memory are linked to the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and changes in glutamatergic synaptic plasticity, highlighting potential targets for new treatments for stress-related psychiatric disorders.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Converging effects of acute stress on spatial and recognition memory in rodents: a review of recent behavioural and pharmacological findings. Cazakoff, BN., Johnson, KJ., Howland, JG.[2019]

Immobilization stress combined with water immersion significantly impairs memory retention in rats, particularly when applied shortly before or after training, indicating that stress negatively affects early memory consolidation.

A low dose of amphetamine (1 mg) can help prevent memory impairment caused by stress if administered before retention testing, suggesting potential therapeutic effects of amphetamine on memory consolidation under stress conditions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of stress and of amphetamine on passive avoidance conditioning in rats. Trnecková, L., Hynie, S., Sída, P., et al.[2019]

Recent research has revealed that stress affects memory through a complex interaction of various stress mediators, including corticosteroids, catecholamines, and endocannabinoids, which leads to changes in neural networks over time.

These stress-induced changes can enhance the formation of specific memories related to stressful experiences but may also cause temporary difficulties in memory flexibility during and shortly after stress, suggesting potential targets for treating memory issues in stress-related disorders.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Mechanisms of memory under stress. Schwabe, L., Hermans, EJ., Joëls, M., et al.[2022]

A study found that using retrieval practice (taking practice tests) to learn information can protect memory performance from the negative effects of acute stress, unlike traditional restudying methods.

Participants who engaged in retrieval practice showed no memory impairment after experiencing stress, suggesting that stronger memory representations can help mitigate stress-related memory issues.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Retrieval practice protects memory against acute stress. Smith, AM., Floerke, VA., Thomas, AK.[2017]

Acute stress can negatively impact episodic memory retrieval by triggering neuromodulatory changes that impair the hippocampus, which is crucial for accessing past memories.

Stress not only affects memory retrieval but also biases attention and alters prefrontal cortical function, leading to a preference for quick, reflexive responses over flexible, goal-directed thinking.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Acute stress and episodic memory retrieval: neurobiological mechanisms and behavioral consequences. Gagnon, SA., Wagner, AD.[2018]

In a study of 40 healthy participants, those who experienced a cortisol response to stress showed reduced memory retrieval for both neutral and emotionally arousing pictures, indicating that cortisol may impair memory under stress.

Conversely, participants who did not have a cortisol response to stress demonstrated improved recall of unpleasant pictures, suggesting that stress can enhance memory for emotional stimuli when cortisol levels are low.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Stress and emotional memory retrieval: effects of sex and cortisol response. Buchanan, TW., Tranel, D.[2019]

In a study with 90 participants, stress exposure before memory consolidation improved true memory performance for emotional words, while stress before retrieval impaired true memory performance, highlighting the complex role of stress hormones in memory processes.

The effects of stress on memory were linked to cortisol levels and sympathetic activity, but stress did not influence the recall of false memories, indicating that stress hormones specifically enhance consolidation and impair retrieval of true emotional memories.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

True or false? Memory is differentially affected by stress-induced cortisol elevations and sympathetic activity at consolidation and retrieval. Smeets, T., Otgaar, H., Candel, I., et al.[2022]

Stress hormones like norepinephrine and glucocorticoids play a crucial role in enhancing memory retention for stressful events, which can be beneficial but may lead to issues like post-traumatic stress disorder in vulnerable individuals.

Recent research highlights that AMPA receptors are key targets for these stress hormones, suggesting that they strengthen and prolong the memory of stressful experiences through specific molecular mechanisms.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Hormonal regulation of AMPA receptor trafficking and memory formation. Krugers, HJ., Hoogenraad, CC.[2021]

Stressful life events can actually enhance certain types of learning, such as fear conditioning and learning about threats, rather than just hindering our ability to acquire new information.

The effects of stress on learning are influenced by factors like age and sex, and they involve complex interactions between stress hormones and brain regions like the hippocampus and amygdala.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Stressful experience and learning across the lifespan. Shors, TJ.[2023]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7879075/

Stress and long-term memory retrieval: a systematic review In fact, a recent meta-analysis has concluded that acute stress shortly prior to retrieval can significantly impair memory retrieval. Because stressful events ...

2. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304394017307012

Working memory performance impaired after exposure to ... These results revealed that acute social stress had a disruptive effect on both working memory behavioral performance and cognitive neural ...

3. frontiersin.org frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00507/full

The Effect of Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) on Item and ... To summarize, we suggest that acute stress increases cognitive load, resulting in memory impairment in healthy participants. This effect is more pronounced in ...

4. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5314443/

The Trier Social Stress Test: Principles and practice - PMC The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) provides such a testing platform. It induces stress by requiring participants to make an interview-style presentation.

5. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/phase-stress-and-memory-in-adolescence-2025-16dfc

Acute Stress Manipulation for Memory Loss Participants who engaged in retrieval practice showed no memory impairment after experiencing stress, suggesting that stronger memory representations can help ...

6. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030645301830605X

Memories of and influenced by the Trier Social Stress Test It was shown repeatedly that stress enhances long-term consolidation but impairs long term memory retrieval. However the TSST can also be used to assess ...

7. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5895062/

The Trier Social Stress Test and the ... The present study. The TSST is one of the most widely used tools and the gold standard to experimentally induce acute psychosocial stress [10].

8. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT07055555

Disrupted Connections: The Impact of Acute Stress on ... The goal of this study is to better understand how stress impacts people's ability to learn across their experiences and link new information to what they ...

9. biologicalpsychiatrycnni.org biologicalpsychiatrycnni.org/article/S2451-9022(24)00164-2/fulltext

Cognitive Training Prevents Stress-Induced Working ... Acute stress has been shown to impair working memory. This stress-induced working memory deficit has profound implications for cognitive ...

10. frontiersin.org frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00444/full

Prolonged Effects of Acute Stress on Decision-Making ... This study investigates the prolonged effects of physiological responses induced by acute stress on risk-taking in decision-making.