ArticlePsychopharmacology2016
Cortisol effects on fear memory reconsolidation in women.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Navigating the garden of forking paths for data exclusions in fear conditioning research.eLife · 2019Pooled it
- Modulation of naturalistic maladaptive memories using behavioural and pharmacological reconsolidation-interfering strategies: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical and 'sub-clinical' studies.Psychopharmacology · 2018Pooled it
- Sex-dependent role of the dorsolateral septum in shaping contextual cocaine memory strength.Neuropharmacology · 2025Article
- Dorsal raphe to basolateral amygdala corticotropin-releasing factor circuit regulates cocaine-memory reconsolidation.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Article
- The impact of extinction timing on pre-extinction arousal and subsequent return of fear.Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) · 2024Article
- Dorsal Raphe to Basolateral Amygdala Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Circuit Regulates Cocaine-Memory Reconsolidation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Targeting Human Glucocorticoid Receptors in Fear Learning: A Multiscale Integrated Approach to Study Functional Connectivity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Suppressing the Morning Cortisol Rise After Memory Reactivation at 4 A.M. enhances Episodic Memory Reconsolidation in Humans.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2021Article
- The neurobiological basis of sex differences in learned fear and its inhibition.The European journal of neuroscience · 2020Review
- Pharmacological interventions during the process of reconsolidation of aversive memories: A systematic review.Neurobiology of stress · 2019Review
- Interfering with emotional processing resources upon associative threat memory reactivation does not affect memory retention.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Reactivation of the Unconditioned Stimulus Inhibits the Return of Fear Independent of Cortisol.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2019Article
- Stress, glucocorticoids and memory: implications for treating fear-related disorders.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2017Review
- No Effect of Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Fear Memory in Healthy Human Subjects.Brain sciences · 2016Article
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Relationship Between the Fear Response and Chronic Stress.Chronic stress (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationalePrevious work from our group has shown that cortisol enhances fear reconsolidation in men. Whether similar effects can be observed in women remains an open question.
objectivesThe effects of cortisol on the reconsolidation of fear memories were investigated in women. Based on results in men, we expected a specific enhancing effect of cortisol administration on the reactivated fear memory. In addition, possible interactions with oral contraceptive use were tested.
methodsWe incorporated a differential fear conditioning paradigm in a 3-day reconsolidation design. A fear memory, which was created on the first day, was reactivated on the second day following cortisol administration in the target group. One control group was given cortisol without reactivation, and the other participated in the reactivation session following placebo intake. On the third day, the return of fear for all stimuli following reinstatement was tested. Skin conductance response served as measure of conditioned response.
resultsIn contrast to the hypothesis, cortisol in combination with reactivation did not enhance fear reconsolidation. No differences between the three experimental groups were apparent. In addition, hormonal contraceptive use had no effect on any of the learning phases and did not interact with the cortisol manipulation.
conclusionsThe lack of an effect in women might be the result of alternating concentrations of sex hormones during different phases of the menstrual cycle or following oral contraceptive use. Considering the higher vulnerability of women to stress-related mental disorders, further investigations in women are of great importance for both theory and treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.