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Contents
- Abstract
- Method
- Subjects
- Procedure and Tests
- Procedure
- Cortisol assessment
- CPS and control condition
- Subjective rating of discomfort
- WM Testing
- Operation span
- Digit span
- Statistical Analysis
- Results
- Behavioral Effects of the CPS
- Emotional and Cortisol Response to the CPS
- Influence of the Duration of Cold Water Exposure on the Subjective, Endocrine, and WM Data
- Effects of the CPS on WM
- Relationship Between Cortisol Response, Subjective Feeling of Discomfort, and WM
- Discussion
- Stress and O-Span Task
- Stress and Digit Span
- Associations Between WM Performance and Cortisol Response
- Stress Effects on WM: Possible Neuronal Correlates
- Limitations
- Conclusion
Figures and Tables
Abstract
The current study investigated the effects of cold pressor stress (CPS) on 2 working memory (WM) tasks differing in the demand they put on maintenance and executive processing. For this purpose 72 healthy young men were exposed either to a stress group or a nonstressful control group. Subsequently, WM performance on the O-Span task (Turner & Engle, 1989) and the digit span task was assessed. Salivary cortisol was measured before and 2 times after the treatment as a marker of hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Results revealed a significant performance impairment of the O-Span and the digit span task backward in stressed subjects that correlated negatively with CPS-induced cortisol increases. Digit span forward was neither affected by CPS nor related to the ensuing cortisol increases. These results indicate that acute stress impairs WM performance for task requiring executive functions that operate on the stored material but not for WM tasks that only require maintenance.
Recently an increasing number of studies suggested that stress not only affects declarative memory functions and its associated brain regions (hippocampus and amygdala; Diamond, Campbell, Park, Halonen, & Zoladz, 2007; Joels, Pu, Wiegert, Oitzl, & Krugers, 2006; Roozendaal, 2002) but also influences working memory (WM; Lupien, Gillin, & Hauger, 1999; Oei, Everaerd, Elzinga, van Well, & Bermond, 2006; Schoofs, Preuss, & Wolf, 2008). In their seminal work, Baddeley and Hitch (1974; Baddeley, 2001, 2003) conceptualized WM not as a unitary entity, but as a theoretical concept that includes distinguishable processes such as the temporary maintenance and executive functions as updating and manipulation of stored...