Acute stress and working memory: The role of sex and cognitive stress appraisal.
Sex is considered a moderating factor in the relationship between stress and cognitive performance. However, sex differences and the impact of cognitive stress appraisal on working memory performance have not received much attention. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of physiological responses (heart rate and salivary cortisol) and cognitive stress appraisal in Working Memory (WM) performance in males and females. For this purpose, we subjected a comparable number of healthy young adult males (N=37) and females (N=45) to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and we evaluated WM performance before and after the stress task. Females performed better on attention and maintenance after the TSST, but males did not. Moreover, we found that attention and maintenance performance presented a negative relationship with cortisol reactivity in females, but not in males. Nevertheless, we observed that only the females who showed a cortisol decrease after the TSST performed better after the stress task, whereas females and males who showed an increase or no change in cortisol levels, and males who showed a cortisol decrease, did not change their performance over time. In females, we also found that the global indexes of cognitive stress appraisal and cognitive threat appraisal were negatively related to attention and maintenance performance, whereas the Self-concept of Own Competence was positively related to it. However, these relationships were not found in males.
Research Institute on Personnel Psychology, Organizational Development and Quality of Working Life (IDOCAL), Department of Social Psychology, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, F-401, 46010 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: zandara@uv.es.
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Zandara
Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology and IDOCAL, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, F-401, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
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Garcia-Lluch
Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology and IDOCAL, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, F-401, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
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Pulopulos
Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology and IDOCAL, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, F-401, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
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Hidalgo
Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology and IDOCAL, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, F-401, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
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Villada
Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology and IDOCAL, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, F-401, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
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Salvador
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D057566:Self Report; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
D006854:Hydrocortisone
Acute stress; Cognitive stress appraisal; Salivary cortisol; Sex differences; Working memory