Author: Plessow, F.; Schade, S.; Kirschbaum, C.; Fischer, R.
Description: A major control demand in successful dual-task performance is the task-specific separation of task-goal representations and of the related stimulus-response translation processes. In the present study, we investigated how these cognitive control processes of task shielding are affected by acute psychosocial stress. Fifty-six healthy participants were exposed to either an acute psychosocial stressor (the Trier Social Stress Test) or a standardized control situation prior to a dual task. Task shielding was assessed by analyzing the interference of Task 2 processing on prioritized Task 1 performance. Following successful stress induction, as indicated by increases in salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and cortisol that reflect increases in sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, respectively, stressed individuals displayed reduced task shielding relative to controls. This result was further substantiated by a correlation between treatment-related increase in cortisol, but not sAA, and between-task interference, suggesting a potential role of the HPA stress response for the development of the observed effects. As an additional finding, when the volunteers were categorized with regard to their action-state orientation, their orientation did not interact with stress but did reveal generally increased between-task interference, and thus inferior task shielding, for state-oriented as compared to action-oriented individuals.
Subject headings: Adolescent; Adult; Attention; Cognition; Executive Function; Female; Humans; Hydrocortisone/metabolism; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/physiopathology; Male; Neuropsychological Tests; Pituitary-Adrenal System/physiopathology; Reaction Time; Saliva/metabolism; Salivary alpha-Amylases/metabolism; Stress, Psychological/physiopathology/psychology; Task Performance and Analysis
Publication year: 2012
Journal or book title: Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience
Volume: 12
Issue: 3
Pages: 557-570
Find the full text :Â https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13415-012-0098-6
Find more like this one (cited by): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=10125506100591656204&as_sdt=1000005&sciodt=0,16&hl=en
Type: Journal Article
Serial number: 2102