Even mild stress can stop memories forming
1 November 2004
by Richard
Conan-Davies
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Being stressed out even mildly during the day may be enough to stop some memories forming in your brain. This may also help to explain why sometimes we don't remember stressful events in our lives very well. According to researchers from the US National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) they discovered a biochemical pathway called protein kinase C (PKC) that is over active in the brain during stressful times. It seems to be mostly in the area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, an area that deals with thoughts, emotions and behaviour. Dr. Amy Arnsten who led the research explained to the NIMH that "PKC activation led to a reduction in memory-related cell firing, the code cells use to hold information in mind from moment-to-moment. Exposure to mild stress activated PKC and resulted in prefrontal dysfunction, while inhibiting PKC protected cognitive function." This work seems particularly relevant to treatments of bipolar disorder (manic depression) in which a person swings from very sad to over excited. It is thought that by using a drug that targets this biochemical pathway may reduce sudden manic thinking. The work is reported in the Journal Science |
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