169379 20260225105429.0 doi 10.3390/app16031306 sideral 148326 ART-2026-148326 eng Garces-Arilla, Sara Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-6285-8158 Memory retrieval after an acute academic stressor: an exploratory analysis of anticipatory cortisol and DHEA responses 2026 The relationship between hormonal reactivity to acute stress and memory is well established, but the role of anticipatory cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels remains underexplored. This study aimed to assess the psychobiological responses (anxiety, affect, cortisol and DHEA) to an academic examination, subsequent memory performance and associations between anticipatory hormonal response and memory retrieval. Seventy-nine undergraduates (10 males) completed an acquisition session involving picture encoding and immediate free recall. Forty-eight hours later, during the recall session, they sat a written examination followed by delayed free recall and recognition tasks. Results showed higher anticipatory anxiety, negative affect and cortisol levels in the recall session than in the acquisition session. Participants showed poorer delayed recall performance and reduced recognition of neutral pictures. In addition, after correction for multiple comparisons, exploratory hierarchical regression analyses indicated that anticipatory cortisol levels and the cortisol/DHEA ratio assessed prior to the recall session were negatively associated with total delayed free recall performance, with the cortisol/DHEA ratio also being negatively associated with delayed free recall of negative pictures. In the absence of a control group, these findings cannot be used to make causal inferences. However, they are consistent with theoretical accounts of DHEA’s anti-glucocorticoid role and highlight associations between cortisol/DHEA balance and delayed free recall performance, particularly for negative emotional material. Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/S31-23R info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/NextGenerationEU/INVESTIGO-067-38 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/UZ/EQUZ2022-SOC-06 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Hidalgo, Vanesa Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-3920-1099 Fidalgo, Camino Peiró, Teresa Salvador, Alicia Mendez-Lopez, Magdalena Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-4249-602X 4009 620 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Psicología y Sociología Área Metod.Ciencias Comportam. 4009 725 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Psicología y Sociología Área Psicobiología 16, 3 (2026), 1306 [21 pp.] Appl. sci. Applied Sciences (Switzerland) 2076-3417 1239608 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/169379/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2427011 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/169379/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:169379 articulos driver 2026-02-24-14:47:53 ARTICLE