Effects of acute prednisone administration on memory, attention and emotion in healthy human adults

We conducted a double-blind study in order to examine the effects of high d oses of prednisone on memory, attention and emotion in humans. A total of 2 4 healthy undergraduate males self-administered either 160 mg of prednisone (n = 12) or a placebo (n = 12) for 4 consecutive days. We examined group d ifferences in mood, regional brain electrical activity (EEG), the startle e yeblink response, memory recall and performance on an attention task after 4 days of treatment. We found significant group differences on measures of mood and frontal EEG alpha activity on 4-day treatment. Subjects treated wi th prednisone exhibited a significantly greater increase in self-reported n egative emotion and greater relative right frontal EEG alpha activity on 4- day treatment compared with adults in the placebo group. We also found that subjects treated with prednisone recalled fewer objects on the memory task following treatment. No significant group differences were found on poster ior EEG activity, the startle eyeblink measure, or the attention measure. T hese findings suggest that administration of high doses of exogenous predni sone may facilitate the experience of negative emotion and shifts in fronta l EEG activity, and impair some aspects of cognitive functioning in humans. The multiple roles of glucocorticoids in memory, attention and emotion are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.