Blunted cortisol stress reactivity in low-income children relates to lower memory function

Psychoneuroendocrinology
Laurel RaffingtonYee Lee Shing

Abstract

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) environments are marked by higher stress that is hypothesized to alter cortisol secretion in children, thereby damaging hippocampal volume and memory performance. However, empirical evidence demonstrating these putative links is lacking. We assessed the diurnal cortisol awakening response (CAR) on two mornings and cortisol stress reactivity (CSR) with the Trier Social Stress Test for Children in 102 healthy, socio-demographically diverse 6-to-7-year-old children (46% female). Children performed a hippocampal-dependent item-location associative memory task and 60 of these children underwent structural MRI scanning for hippocampal volume. Cortisol values were modeled with latent-change structural equation models to represent overall levels and change. We found lower income is associated with a flatter CAR, blunted reactivity and recovery to acute stress, and smaller hippocampal volume. Furthermore, hyporeactivity in CSR was related to lower memory among lower-income children, whereas there was no reliable association of CSR and memory among higher-income children (an income x cortisol interaction). We found no evidence that smaller hippocampal volume in lower income was associated with poorer memo...Continue Reading

Citations

Aug 6, 2019·Frontiers in Psychology·Douglas MacDonald, Mark A Wetherell
Oct 5, 2019·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Leah Zilversmit PaoPierre Buekens
Mar 7, 2020·Journal of Youth and Adolescence·Daniel P MoriarityLauren B Alloy
Apr 17, 2019·Journal of Youth and Adolescence·Natasha Chaku, Lindsay T Hoyt
Mar 19, 2020·Scientific Reports·Attila KeresztesYee Lee Shing
Feb 20, 2021·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·Mamiko KoshibaHironobu Tokuno

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