Table 4. Rodent Studies of Post-Encoding Corticosterone Effects on Memory.
Studies are arranged by the direction of the primary effects observed, with post-encoding corticosterone administration studies that showed a benefit on subsequent memory coming first. A visual examination of the table shows that for the majority of studies where the animals were not habituated to the learning environment, there was a positive effect of post-encoding administration of corticosterone.
| Authors | Drug Administration | Drug Delay | % Male | Strain/species | Retrieval Test | Test Delay | Habituated? | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okuda et al. (2004) | IV Cort. 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Sprague-Dawley rats | Object recognition | 24 hours | No | + | Benefit only for 1 mg/kg dose |
| Roozendaal et al. (2006), Exp. 1 | IV Cort. 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Sprague-Dawley rats | Object recognition | 24 hours | No | + | Benefit for 1 & 3 mg/kg dose. Propranolol in BLA blocked the effect |
| Roozendaal et al. (2006), Exp. 3 | IV Cort. 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Sprague-Dawley rats | Object recognition | 24 hours | No | + | Benefit for 1 & 3 mg/kg dose. Propranolol in BLA blocked the effect |
| Roozendaal et al. (2006), Exp. 4 | IV Cort. 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Sprague-Dawley rats | Object recognition | 24 hours | No | + | Benefit for all doses. Propranolol in HC did not block the effect |
| Roozendaal et al. (2010) | IV Cort. 1.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Sprague-Dawley rats | Object and location | 24 hours | No | + | |
| Roozendaal et al. (2010) | IV Cort. 1.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | C57BL/6J mice | Object and location | 24 hours | Yes | + | Strain of mice needs to be habituated to do task |
| Sandi et al. (1997), Exp. 1 | IV Cort. 5.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Wistar rats | Water maze (warm) | 24 hours | No | + | Cort given after each training session (3 days) |
| Okuda et al. (2004) | IV Cort. 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Sprague-Dawley rats | Object recognition | 24 hours | Yes | o | |
| Roozendaal et al. (2006), Exp. 2 | IV Cort. 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Sprague-Dawley rats | Object recognition | 24 hours | Yes | o | Yohimbine in BLA enhanced memory only for 1 mg/kg dose |
| Sandi et al. (1997), Exp. 2 | IV Cort. 5.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Wistar rats | Water maze (cold) | 24 hours | No | o | Cort given after each training session (3 days) |
| Ruetti et al. (2014) | IV Cort. 1.0, 3.0, or 5.0 mg/kg | 0min | 100 | Wistar rats | Taste recognition | 24 hours | No | - | Impairment only for 5 mg/kg dose. |
Note: + represents an enhancing effect of corticosterone on memory, o represents a null effect, and - represents an impairing effect.