Acute Stress Attenuates Cognitive Flexibility in Males Only: An fNIRS Examination.

ABSTRACT: Cognitive processes that afford us the ability to control thoughts and achieve goal-directed behavior are known as executive functions. Empirical evidence in the past few years has demonstrated that executive functions can be influenced by acute stress. The impact of acute stress on cognitive flexibility, a key aspect of executive functions, has received little attention in the literature. We present the results of two experiments conducted to examine the effect of acute stress on cognitive flexibility. Acute stress was induced using the cold pressor task. Cognitive flexibility was assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Across both experiments acute stress had an attenuating effect on task switching on the WCST. Our findings also indicate that this effect was moderated by t

SUBMITTER: Kalia V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6221931 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature