Neuroendocrine modulators of infant memory

压力荷尔蒙有能力增强或破坏大脑形成新记忆的能力，尤其是在情绪激动的情况下。在过去的几十年里，我们对与年龄相关的记忆变化的理解有了很大的进展，最近，在记忆发展的神经相关方面也有了很大的进展。相比之下，关于压力荷尔蒙如何影响婴儿的记忆，以及荷尔蒙与记忆发展的关系，人们知之甚少。我的研究项目通过调查一岁的压力和记忆之间的关系来解决这些空白。我使用适合年龄的方法来研究压力、情绪和记忆，使用一种研究设计来区分压力对记忆的特定阶段（即编码、巩固和检索）的影响。我在测试一个假设适度的诱导压力能提高记忆力。我也在研究情绪和自主觉醒在学习和记忆中的作用，通过验证这样一个假设，即在压力下更频繁地表达愤怒而不是悲伤，与一种增强学习和记忆的压力反应模式有关。我的研究项目要解决的另一个问题是压力和记忆之间关系的性别差异。基于动物研究，我正在测试一个假设，即压力对记忆的影响在男孩和女孩中是不同的。最后，我正在评估第一年压力激素的正常发育变化，以确定这些变化是否能预测记忆表现。我正在测试这样一个假设，即从3个月到6个月到9个月，基础皮质醇水平会出现发育下降，而基础应激激素的发育下降幅度越大，记忆力就越好。这种研究婴儿压力的新方法正在推进我们对压力如何影响认知的理解，它为婴儿调节压力的能力如何影响他们记忆所学知识的能力提供了重要的见解。该研究项目将显著提高我们对婴儿时期压力在记忆中的作用的认识，从而为儿童保健、育儿和早期教育的循证实践奠定重要基础。

Stress hormones have the capacity to enhance or disrupt the brain's capacity to form new memories, especially under conditions of emotional arousal. Over the past few decades, there has been much progress in our understanding of age-related changes in memory, and, more recently, in the neural correlates of memory development. In contrast, there is sparse knowledge about how stress hormones affect memory in infants or about the hormonal correlates of memory development. My research program addresses these gaps by investigating the relationship between stress and memory in the first year of life. I use age-appropriate methods to study stress, emotion, and memory using a research design that differentiates the effects of stress on specific stages of memory (i.e., encoding, consolidation, and retrieval). I am testing the hypothesis that moderate induced stress enhances memory. I am also examining the role of emotional and autonomic arousal in learning and memory by testing the hypothesis that more frequent expressions of anger rather than sadness during stress is associated with a pattern of stress reactivity that enhances learning and memory. Another question that my research program addresses is sex differences in the relationship between stress and memory. Based on animal studies, I am testing the hypothesis that the impact of stress on memory differs in boys and girls. Finally, I am evaluating normal developmental changes in stress hormones over the first year in order to determine whether these changes predict memory performance. I am testing the hypothesis that there will be a developmental decline in basal cortisol levels from 3 to 6 to 9 months, and that a greater developmental decline in basal stress hormones will be related to better memory performance. This novel approach to the study of stress in infants is advancing our understanding of how stress affects cognition, and it offers critical insight into how infant's ability to regulate stress affects their ability to remember what they have learned. This research program will significantly enhance our knowledge of the role of stress in memory during infancy, thus laying crucial groundwork for evidence-based practices in pediatric health care, parenting, and early education.