title: The effects of long-term stress on neural dynamics of working memory processing: An investigation using ERP.
abstract: This study examined the neural dynamics of working memory (WM) processing under long-term stress. Forty participants who had been exposed to a long period of major exam preparation (six months) and twenty-one control participants performed a numerical n-back task (n = 1, 2) while electroencephalograms were recorded. Psychological and endocrinal measurements confirmed significantly higher levels of long-term stress for participants in the exam group. The exam group showed significantly increased P2 amplitude in the frontal-central sites in the 1-back and 2-back conditions, whereas other ERP components, including the P1, N1 and P3 and behavioral performance, were unchanged. Notably, the P2 effect was most pronounced in participants in the exam group who reported perceiving high levels of stress. The perceived stress scores positively correlated with the P2 amplitude in the 1-back and 2-back conditions. These results suggest that long-term stress has an impact on attention and the initiation of the updating process in WM.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yiran
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University, Alberta, T6G 2G4, Canada.|Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Ontario, Toronto, M6A 2E1, Canada.
authors.forename: Ada W S
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Hongxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Kan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jianhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, China.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Shaozheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone