How does racial discrimination as a chronic stressor impact what we remember?

Chronic stress, which is defined as being constant and long-term, has a prominent impact on physiological, biological, and metabolic systems. Historical and present racial discrimination in the U.S. has been associated with long-term stress and related to mental and physical health. Individuals subjected to early life stressors (ELS) have higher chances of experiencing mental illnesses and other difficulties with cognitive functions later in life. Building upon prior human and nonhuman animal studies that demonstrate heightened sensitivity of certain brain areas to chronic stress, our research aims to examine perceived racial discrimination as a chronic stressor. Our current investigation focuses on understanding how perceived racial discrimination as a chronic stressor impacts cognition and the microstructure and function of memory brain systems. To achieve this, we assess changes in cellularity and brain activity using imaging techniques such as Restriction Spectrum Imaging (RSI) and functional MRI, respectively. We also utilize behavioral measures to examine memory systems (e.g., working memory and recognition memory) of youth who endorse perceived racial discrimination in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.