Stress May Negatively Affect Memory And Could Even Lead To Brain Shrinkage, According To Study

Nov 05, 2018 by apost team

De-stressing could be an important factor in preventing memory loss and brain shrinkage, according to a recent study in the Neurology Journals.

According to Dr. Sugha Seshadri, a UT Health San Antonio professor of neurology, the study showed that the stress hormone cortisol appeared to be a predictor of brain function, performance, and size on cognitive tests. Young people with high levels of cortisol show signs of memory loss and brain shrinkage well before many other, more traditional factors, appeared.

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Cortisol plays a role in how people react to stressful or scary situations. It plays a role in the four Fs: fight, flight, freeze and fawn. Many refer to this response as the "fight or flight" response. When a person is on high alert or is stressed, higher levels of cortisol are produced by their adrenal glands, and this hormone begins shutting down various bodily functions that might interfere with survival.

These high levels should drop after a crisis or scare has passed, which allows the various systems in the body to return to normal. However, as cortisol is also released during stressful periods, which might last for days, weeks, or even longer, the production of the hormone does not drop like it would following an emergency or a sudden startle.

Instead, a person's body stays in a state of alarm that can cause the body to malfunction in a number of ways. Some of these are well known, like depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, headaches, heart disease, and weight gain. However, stress can also impact memory and concentration problems, which the study indicates may have longer-lasting impacts than originally believed.

Keith Fargo, director of the Alzheimer's Association's scientific programs and outreach, notes that the brain requires massive amounts of nutrients and oxygen to stay healthy and functioning optimally. Lengthy periods of high cortisol levels could potentially starve the brain of these needed nutrients and impact brain health.

The Framingham Heart Study, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, is not the first study to show a connection between memory loss and high or long-lasting stress. However, past studies have focused on the elderly or been limited to the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain.

This study researched a far younger cross-section of men and women, who had an average age of 48, and used MRI technology to study the entire brain. The study of 2,000 participants included no one who was already demonstrating signs of dementia, yet the results showed markers of memory loss in the participants.

This study is part of a larger study that monitors and follows the health of the town of Framingham, Massachusetts, and it has done so since 1948. This allowed researchers to conduct follow-up testing eight years after initial studies done on residents' brains.

Although scientists expected to find some interaction between high cortisol levels and cognitive tasks, they did not expect the results to be long-lasting.

The scientists did not expect to see a correlation between high cortisol and negative impacts on participants' brain structure. High levels of the hormone, caused by stress, were associated with greater damage to the components of the brain that move and share information across parts of the brain and between the hemispheres of the brain.

Additionally, women with higher levels of cortisol also had smaller cerebrums than those with normal or low levels of the hormone; the cerebrum made up 88.5 percent of the brains of those with high levels of cortisol, while it made up 88.7 percent for those with normal levels of the hormone. The cerebrum is the portion of the brain that is responsible for thought, speech, emotions, and muscle function. This difference in cerebrum size did not appear to impact men.

Scientists noted that, if this structural change is occurring at midlife, there could be longer-lasting ramifications as people age.

Although there are theories that cortisol might cause the brain to starve from necessary nutrients, this hasn't been confirmed. Scientists have not been able to prove if the cortisol is, itself, the cause or if those who suffer from memory loss or changes in brain structure are also more prone to higher levels of cortisol.

Nevertheless, scientists recommend that people take steps to reduce stress in their lives. As noted above, there are a number of physical and mental health consequences for constant, high levels of stress. Finding ways to de-stress can not only impact these health conditions, but it may have a long-lasting impact on memory and cognitive function.

Are you going to take this article to heart and start finding ways to de-stress? Let us know in the comments and show this article to your stressed out family and friends to warn them against the effects of too much stress!

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!