It is well known that the hormones released by the adrenal glands (adrenaline and glucocorticoids) during an emotional or stressfull situation can improve memory consolidation, an effect that depends on the noradrenergic activation of the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala. The corticosterone hormone acts in different brain regions, including the hippocampus and the insular cortex, to increase the consolidation of various types of memory tasks, such as inhibitory avoidance and contextual fear conditioning. Some evidences indicate that the hippocampus has a limited temporal role in the processing of memories, which, over time, become stabilized and stored in the neocortex, with a consequent reduction in their specificity. Despite emotional memories being always referred to as well- remembered for long periods of time, few studies have investigated the temporal dynamics of stress-induced modulation of memory accuracy. In this talk I will present some data showing an involvement of the insular cortex in regulating glucocorticoid effects on memory consolidation of the inhibitory avoidance in rats. Moreover, the role of glucocorticoids and the noradrenergic system in modulating memory specificity over time will be discussed.