Hydrocortisone and stress reduction - implications for PTSD - Post-stress hydrocortisone reduces intrusive memories

People watching movie

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A single 30 mg dose of hydrocortisone, given in a double-blind experimental setting two hours after viewing of a stressful movie, resulted in a reduction in intrusive memories for the hydrocortisone-treated group compared to a placebo-treated group, in the days following the movie. This reduction was seen in both men and women.

“The findings suggest that hydrocortisone promotes an accelerated degradation of sensory-perceptual representations underlying traumatic intrusive memories.”1

 

One hundred and twenty healthy young adult volunteers, 18-35 years of age, were shown a stressful movie, intended to serve as a substitute for a real-life traumatic experience. The volunteers were randomly assigned to either a treatment or placebo group, with the treatment group receiving the hydrocortisone.

The model structuring the experiment describes intrusive memories as the result of memory consolidation occurring in the hours and days after emotionally significant memories. The experimental hypothesis was that modifying this consolidation process would alter the resultant long-term memory of the event.

Existing evidence suggested that the stress hormone cortisol can interfere with the formation of posttraumatic intrusive memories (hydrocortisone is an oral form of cortisol). In this experiment, the frequency of intrusive memories decreased in the days following viewing of the movie, but this decrease was faster in the hydrocortisone-treated group.2

This has potential implications for treating traumatic-stress-impacted populations worldwide, because while traumatic stress is common and widespread, access to post-trauma treatment is not.

The next step in this research is investigation of this drug effect in a large scale real-world population.

References

Hedrih, V. (2022, November 30). Taking hydrocortisone immediately after a traumatic event may help prevent PTSD. PsyPost. https://www.psypost.org/2022/11/taking-hydrocortisone-immediately-after-a-traumatic-event-may-help-prevent-ptsd-64410

Hennessy, V. E., Troebinger, L., Iskandar, G., Das, R. K., & Kamboj, S. K. (2022). Accelerated forgetting of a trauma-like event in healthy men and women after a single dose of hydrocortisone. Translational Psychiatry, 12(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-02126-2

Notes

  1. Hennessy, V. E., et al. (2022). ^

  2. Hedrith, V. (2022). ^

 

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