Abstract

TOBAR SOTO, Leticia Cecilia. Hypercortisolemia and stress. Impact on cognitive functions. RCUISRAEL [online]. 2022, vol.9, n.1, pp.139-157.  Epub Apr 10, 2022. ISSN 2631-2786.  https://doi.org/10.35290/rcui.v9n1.2022.497.

The purpose of this article is to report the findings of a systematic document review of studies published between 2013 and 2021. The objective of the research was to establish the relationship between the effects and alterations produced by high and sustained cortisol over time on cognitive functions. To achieve this objective, 73 documents were reviewed, which were subjected to a formal and content analysis, in an orderly sequence, guided by the research objectives, selecting 36 neuroscientific investigations. The documents found correspond to primary and secondary sources, associated to the topics, cortisol in terms of definition, function and alteration; sustained hypercortisolemia, stress and brain structures; identification of damages and alterations in brain structures, such as the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, as well as cognitive functions such as: attention, memory, social cognition and planning, considered as prerequisites for the development of learning. The study allowed concluding that high cortisol levels, for prolonged periods due to physical and psychological stress, generate a negative impact on the organism, producing a neurotoxic condition for brain structures, modifying their volume and favoring neuronal dysfunction, generating as a consequence alterations in cognitive functions, such as: failure in the arousal system, alertness, concentration, as well as episodic and spatial memory, which as a whole affect information processing and learning.

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