Cortisol & memory loss

[Guest Lynne*]

I posted this elsewhere (yes, it's me - Lynne Clemens, Lynne Clemens 1, Lynne C, etc).

 

 

I found this article while looking for links on memory disorders. ?It deals more with alzheimers, but it's interesting to see what cortisol does to your brain.

 

 

Many people expect increasing memory loss as they age, but impaired memory has more to do with stress, according to a McGill research project.

 

Specifically, the project looks at the hormone cortisol, which occurs naturally in response to stress.

 

"Cortisol is a stress hormone, and there are receptors for cortisol in the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for memory," McGill psychiatry professor Sonia Lupien explains. "Long-term exposure to these hormones can cause atrophy of the hippocampus, leading to memory impairment." Lupien adds that hippocampal damage is one of the early signs of Alzheimer's.

 

 

The study goes on to say that in the future, testing cortisol levels may become commonplace for older people. ?Wouldn't it be great if cortisol testing was commonplace for everyone?

 

Here's another good article:

 

http://www.fi.edu/brain/stress/memory.html

[~SuziQ~]

Hi Lynne...  whichever Lynne you may be at the moment.   hehe.gif  I printed and read the article in the link.  What intrigued me was the following:

 

stress hormones can damage the hippocampus, the very part of the brain that's supposed to signal when to shut-off production of these hormones - creating a vicious cycle that degenerates the brain and diminishes the quality of life.

 

The hippocampus, however, is the area most damaged by cortisol.

 

This really hit home.  When I think of all the years (at least 12) that all this cortisol was flowing so freely in my body, I can't help but wonder how much damage has been done.  I get so frustrated when I can't remember the simplest of things.

 

Thanks for sharing this (I think).  :B:

 

Hugs,

Suz :B: