hormones

Theory:

Hormones: chemical messenger released by glands in endocrine system that influence behavior in response to environment

Process:

• Hormones secreted into blood stream 

• Bind to specific hormone receptors on target cells to produce response 

Example (cortisol):

• Released from adrenal glands in response to stress 

  • Cortisol leads to release of glucose into blood stream used for energy and memory formation 

One study that investigates cortisol in memory formation is Newcomer et al

Study: Newcomer et al

Aim: investiagte how different levels of cortisol affects verbal declarative memory 

Method:

• Participants split into 3 groups 

  • High, low, placebo group 

Procedure 

• Tested memory recall for baseline 

• Participants told to read paragraphs and recall it for a few days

Results:

• High cortisol: inaccurate recall 

• Low cortisol and placebo: same accuracy with constant improvement due to practice 

evaluation/link:

• Higher cortisol level decreased verbal memory