The influence of glucose-related insulin release on stress responsivity and memory after psychosocial stress
These projects investigate the modulating role of blood glucose and insulin on the stress response and long-term memory.
In a first study, we focused on the effects of glucose specifically. Participants consumed a glucose drink or water and were exposed to psychosocial stress or a control task (the Trier Social Stress Test, a mock job interview). During the interview, target objects were placed in the room and the judges interacted with some of them. Later, participants learned positive, neutral and negative words. The next day, they were asked to recognise the objects and recall the words. Our analyses revealed that – even though glucose increased the cortisol stress response – it did not modulate the effect of stress on memory. In other words, glucose may play a less decisive role in the formation of LTM across stressful and non-stressful contexts. The full preprint can be found here.
Data of a second study following up on this one is currently collected, and several Bachelor’s and Master’s students are involved in data collection and analysis. The second study was funded by the Young Scholar Fund of the University of Konstanz and focuses on the role of insulin in this context.
We stay tuned for the final results!