ASSESSMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND RELATIONSHIP TO STRESS REACTIVITY

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目及 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 相当多的研究集中在压力和认知表现之间的关系。 在人类中，由压力或糖皮质激素管理产生的高水平皮质醇对陈述性记忆，面部识别记忆和工作记忆有有害影响。 然而，很少有研究减少应激反应对认知表现的影响。 这类研究要么需要通过实验降低糖皮质激素水平，要么需要研究应激反应较低的人群。我们以前已经表明，与SIB猴子有较低的应激反应比对照组。 因此，我们在两组雄性恒河猴（10只SIB，8只对照）中测试了较低的应激反应可能增强认知表现的假设。 这些猴子被暴露于一个盒子转移任务，包括可见的，不可见的，没有转移试验。 一个实验者在三个盒子中的一个里藏了一个零食。然后，她把那个盒子移到另一个盒子旁边，把零食转移到猴子的视线内（可见）或视线外（不可见）;在一些试验中，她没有转移。实验者随后打开空盒子，让猴子去寻找食物。SIB猴子的整体表现优于对照组（p小于0.05），作为一个群体，在困难的无形转移上的表现明显优于偶然（p小于0.05）。 在SIB组中，在这种转移中表现优于机会的猴子的皮质醇水平显著低于那些没有表现的猴子（t=-2.45，p小于0.05）。 总体而言，成功的表现与血浆皮质醇水平呈负相关。 我们的数据表明，较低的下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺皮质反应性有利于认知能力。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Considerable research has focused on the relationship between stress and cognitive performance. In humans, high levels of cortisol produced by stressors or by administration of glucocorticoids have deleterious effects on declarative memory, face recognition memory, and working memory. However, there is little research on the impact of reduced stress reactivity on cognitive performance. Such research requires either reducing glucocorticoid levels experimentally or studying populations with lower stress reactivity. We have previously shown that monkeys with SIB have lower stress reactivity than controls. We therefore tested the hypothesis that lower stress reactivity might enhance cognitive performance in two groups of male rhesus monkeys (10 SIB, 8 Control). The monkeys were exposed to a box transfer task involving visible, invisible, and no transfer trials. An experimenter concealed a treat in one of three boxes. She then moved that box next to another one and transferred the treat either in sight of (visible) or out of view of the monkey (invisible); on some trials she made no transfer. The experimenter then revealed the empty box and allowed the monkey to search for the treat. SIB monkeys performed better than controls overall (p less than .05) and as a group performed significantly better than chance on the difficult invisible transfer (p less than .05). Within the SIB group, monkeys performing better than chance on this transfer had significantly lower cortisol levels than those that did not (t=-2.45, p less than .05). Overall, successful performance was negatively correlated with plasma cortisol levels. Our data suggest that lower hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical reactivity facilitates cognitive performance.