scholarly journals Cortisol Responses to a Laboratory Challenge: The Moderating Role of Cognitive Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 362-362
Author(s):  
Elise Grimm ◽  
Stefan Agrigoroaei
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Caffeine Consumption ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Recent theoretical and empirical studies have considered higher cognitive performance as a protective factor with respect to reactivity, recovery and habituation to acute stressors. The goal of our study was to examine the individual role of inhibition, working memory, processing speed, reasoning, and category fluency in the regulation of the cortisol response to a laboratory challenge. Younger, middle-aged, and older participants (N =109, aged 22-84, M=55.90, SD=16.35) were invited to a laboratory session comprising a driving simulation and a set of cognitive tasks. At least one week in advance, baseline cognitive performance was measured using the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT). Throughout the lab session, five saliva samples were taken, which allowed for the computation of a global measure of cortisol release (area under the curve (AUC)). Cortisol AUC was regressed on the individual BTACT cognitive tests, while controlling for age, sex, education, body mass index, physical activity, and time since awakening. The results revealed that inhibition and working memory significantly accounted for the cortisol response. These associations remained significant when other factors such as smoking, caffeine consumption, and medication use were included as covariates. The contributions of reasoning and speed of processing approached significance. Our findings contribute to the emerging evidence that cognitive functioning modulates stress responses to acute stressors. The findings are discussed in the context of cognitive interventions with transfers and implications for stress processes and healthy aging.

scholarly journals Eye contact effect: The role of vagal regulation and reactivity, and self-regulation of attention

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicja Niedźwiecka
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Autonomic Regulation ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Contact Effect ◽  
The Individual

AbstractEye contact is a crucial aspect of social interactions that may enhance an individual’s cognitive performance (i.e. the eye contact effect) or hinder it (i.e. face-to-face interference effect). In this paper, I focus on the influence of eye contact on cognitive performance in tasks engaging executive functions. I present a hypothesis as to why some individuals benefit from eye contact while others do not. I propose that the relations between eye contact and executive functioning are modulated by an individual’s autonomic regulation and reactivity and self-regulation of attention. In particular, I propose that individuals with more optimal autonomic regulation and reactivity, and more effective self-regulation of attention benefit from eye contact. Individuals who are less well regulated and over- or under-reactive and who do not employ effective strategies of self-regulation of attention may not benefit from eye contact and may perform better when eye contact is absent. I present some studies that justify the proposed hypothesis and point to a method that could be employed to test them. This approach could help to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying the individual differences in participant’s cognitive performance during tasks engaging executive functions.

scholarly journals Effects of Blood Pressure on Cognitive Performance in Aging: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 919
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Forte ◽  
Maria Casagrande
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
High Blood Pressure ◽  
Pressure Measurement ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Blood Pressure Measurement ◽  
Cross Sectional

Introduction: Cognitive functions play a crucial role in daily functioning. Unfortunately, some cognitive abilities decline in the process of healthy aging. An increasing body of evidence has highlighted the role of lifestyle habits and cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure, in increasing the risk of cognitive decline. Surprisingly, although hypertension is a modifiable risk factor for cerebrovascular damage, the role of hypertension on cognitive impairment development is not still clear. Several key questions remain unresolved, and there are many inconsistent results in studies considering this topic. This review is aimed to systematically analyze the results found by the studies that investigated whether high blood pressure, in both hypertensive and healthy people, is related to cognitive performance. Furthermore, it points to evaluate the role of age in this relationship. Method: The review process was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. Restrictions were made, selecting the studies in English and published in peer-review journals, including at least one cognitive measure and blood pressure measurement. Studies that included participants with medical conditions, dementia, psychiatric disorders, strokes, and brain injury were excluded. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies were analyzed separately. Finally, blood pressure measured at young life (18–39 years), midlife (age 40–64 years), elderly (65–74 years), and old age (≥75 years) were considered. Results: The review allows 68 studies to be selected, which include 154,935 participants. The results provided evidence of an adverse effect of exposure to high blood pressure on cognitive performance. High blood pressure in midlife was linked with poorer cognitive functioning; this evidence was found in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. However, this association declines with increasing age and tends to become inconsistent. In older people, the relationship between blood pressure and cognitive performance is non-linear, highlighting a beneficial effect of high blood pressure on cognition. Conclusions: Despite some limitations, this review showed that cardiovascular and neuro-cognitive systems do not operate in isolation, but they are related. Blood pressure can be considered an early biomarker of cognitive impairment, and the necessity of early blood pressure measurement and control was underlined.

scholarly journals Working Memory Performance Under Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-139
Author(s):  
Petra Luers ◽  
Malgorzata Schloeffel ◽  
Jens C. Prüssner
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Function

Abstract. Acute stress and chronic stress change the physiology and function of the individual. As one facet, stress and its neuroendocrine correlates – with glucocorticoids in particular – modulate memory in a concerted action. With respect to working memory, impairing effects of acute stress and increased levels of glucocorticoids could be expected, but empirical evidence on moderating effects of cortisol on working memory is ambiguous in human studies. In the current study, we thus aimed to investigate cortisol stress responses and memory performance. Older men and women (32 men, 43 women, aged 61–67 years) underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and performed the 2-back task before and after exposure to acute stress. In line with theoretical assumptions, we found that higher cortisol stress responses led to a decline of working memory performance in men. However, the opposite was evident for women, who appeared to benefit from higher stress responses. This effect was evident for accuracy, but not for reaction time. In conclusion, cortisol might mediate working memory alterations with stress in a sex-specific manner in older people. Possible mechanisms and causes for these sex differences put a focus on endocrine changes in the aging population that might lead to differential effects across the lifespan.

scholarly journals Caffeine as a Factor Influencing the Functioning of the Human Body—Friend or Foe?

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 3088
Author(s):  
Kamil Rodak ◽  
Izabela Kokot ◽  
Ewa Maria Kratz
Keyword(s):  
Human Body ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Caffeine Consumption ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Disease Entities ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Available Information ◽  
The Impact

Nowadays, caffeine is one of the most commonly consumed substances, which presents in many plants and products. It has both positive and negative effects on the human body, and its activity concerns a variety of systems including the central nervous system, immune system, digestive system, respiratory system, urinary tract, etc. These effects are dependent on quantity, the type of product in which caffeine is contained, and also on the individual differences among people (sex, age, diet etc.). The main aim of this review was to collect, present, and analyze the available information including the latest discoveries on the impact of caffeine on human health and the functioning of human body systems, taking into account the role of caffeine in individual disease entities. We present both the positive and negative sides of caffeine consumption and the healing properties of this purine alkaloid in diseases such as asthma, Parkinson’s disease, and others, not forgetting about the negative effects of excess caffeine (e.g., in people with hypertension, children, adolescents, and the elderly). In summary, we can conclude, however, that caffeine has a multi-directional influence on various organs of the human body, and because of its anti-oxidative properties, it was, and still is, an interesting topic for research studies including those aimed at developing new therapeutic strategies.

scholarly journals A fine-tuned interplay of three A. thaliana UDP glucosyltransferases orchestrates salicylic acid homeostasis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibylle Bauer ◽  
Elisabeth Georgii ◽  
Birgit Lange ◽  
Rafał P. Maksym ◽  
Robert Janowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salicylic Acid ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Combinatorial Set ◽  
Resistance To Infection ◽  
Stress Related Genes ◽  
The Individual

AbstractSalicylic acid (SA) is a central signaling molecule in development and defense, therefore its levels are tightly controlled. One control mechanism is conjugation with sugar moieties by UDP glucosyltransferases (UGTs). In Arabidopsis, UGT76B1, UGT74F1, and UGT74F2 are known to glucosylate SA. We show that these are the main SA UGTs in leaves, since only marginal levels of SA glucosides were found in a triple loss-of-function mutant. Analyzing transcriptomes, metabolite levels, and phenotypes of a full combinatorial set of loss-of-function mutants, we resolved the mutual relationships and the individual roles of these enzymes in SA homeostasis. The strongest gene expression changes were observed for the ugt76b1 ugt74f1 double mutant, which downregulated developmental genes and most pronouncedly upregulated cell death-related genes. Among the single mutants, ugt76b1 specifically exhibited increased production of reactive oxygen species, increased resistance to infection, and early senescence. Likewise, higher-order mutations confirmed the dominant role of UGT76B1 in controlling SA levels and thereby the expression of biotic stress response genes. Both UGT74F1 and UGT74F2 affected UGT76B1 expression. However, while UGT76B1 and UGT74F1 produced SA-2-O-β-glucoside, UGT74F2 did not contribute there substantially. Instead, UGT74F2 acted independently of UGT74F1, decreasing steady-state SA levels by producing salicyloyl glucose ester. Remarkably, this did not restrict defense responses. In contrast, UGT74F1 interacted with UGT76B1 in suppressing defense responses. Nevertheless, a benzothiadiazole-triggered defense scenario induced only UGT76B1, whereas UGT74F1 was linked to controlling abiotic stress responses. All three enzymes form a network that, in concert with other UGTs, regulates expression of developmental and stress-related genes.One sentence summaryThe salicylic acid glucosylating enzymes of Arabidopsis leaves are crucial for salicylic acid homeostasis and combinatorially impact defense responses and developmental processes.

Characteristics of Healthy Older Adults that Influence Self-rated Cognitive Function

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryce P. Mulligan ◽  
Colette M. Smart ◽  
Sidney J. Segalowitz ◽  
Stuart W.S. MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Function

AbstractObjectives: We sought to clarify the nature of self-reported cognitive function among healthy older adults by considering the short-term, within-person association (coupling) of subjective cognitive function with objective cognitive performance. We expected this within-person coupling to differ between persons as a function of self-perceived global cognitive decline and depression, anxiety, or neuroticism. Methods: This was an intensive measurement (short-term longitudinal) study of 29 older adult volunteers between the ages of 65 and 80 years without an existing diagnosis of dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Baseline assessment included neuropsychological testing and self-reported depression, anxiety, and neuroticism, as well as self- and informant-reported cognitive decline (relative to 10 years previously). Intensive within-person measurement occasions included subjective ratings of cognitive function paired with performance on a computerized working memory (n-back) task; each participant attended four or five assessments separated by intervals of at least one day. Statistical analysis was comprised of multilevel linear regression. Results: Comparison of models suggested that both neuroticism and self-rated cognitive decline explained unique variance in the within-person, across-occasion coupling of subjective cognitive function with objective working memory performance. Conclusions: Self-ratings of cognition may accurately reflect day-to-day variations in objective cognitive performance among older adults, especially for individuals lower in neuroticism and higher in self-reported cognitive decline. Clinicians should consider these individual differences when determining the validity of complaints about perceived cognitive declines in the context of otherwise healthy aging. (JINS, 2018, 24, 57–66)

Longitudinal Antecedents of School Bonding in Adolescence

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gill Terrett ◽  
Meredith O'Connor ◽  
Mary T. Hawkins ◽  
Ann Sanson ◽  
Diana Smart
Keyword(s):  
Psychosocial Development ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
School Bonding ◽  
Adolescent Outcomes ◽  
Australian Sample ◽  
The Individual

School bonding has been identified as a protective factor for a broad range of adolescent outcomes, and it is thus important to identify factors that foster positive relationships with school. The ecological perspective suggests the importance of both individual and contextual antecedents across developmental periods, yet previous research has tended to examine only a narrow selection of school bonding correlates. This study sought to identify longitudinal influences on school bonding, examining the role of both individual and contextual factors over childhood and early adolescence. We draw on data from 1,308 participants (51% female) in the Australian Temperament Project, a large representative Australian sample that has followed the psychosocial development of participants from infancy to adulthood, and thus provides a rare opportunity to address this gap in the literature. Path analysis was conducted to examine individual and contextual predictors of school bonding at 15–16 years. The individual characteristics of higher academic achievement and sociability, and lower hyperactivity predicted school bonding. Contextual factors also made a significant contribution, including the parent–child relationships and maternal education. The results indicate that both individual and contextual factors make unique contributions to school bonding in adolescence, suggesting a number of potential targets for intervention.

scholarly journals Morphosyntactic Production and Verbal Working Memory: Evidence From Greek Aphasia and Healthy Aging

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1171-1187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valantis Fyndanis ◽  
Giorgio Arcara ◽  
Paraskevi Christidou ◽  
David Caplan
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Nonlocal Conditions ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Tense And Aspect ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Agrammatic Aphasia ◽  
The Individual

Purpose The present work investigated whether verbal working memory (WM) affects morphosyntactic production in configurations that do not involve or favor similarity-based interference and whether WM interacts with verb-related morphosyntactic categories and/or cue–target distance (locality). It also explored whether the findings related to the questions above lend support to a recent account of agrammatic morphosyntactic production: Interpretable Features' Impairment Hypothesis (Fyndanis, Varlokosta, & Tsapkini, 2012). Method A sentence completion task testing production of subject–verb agreement, tense/time reference, and aspect in local and nonlocal conditions and two verbal WM tasks were administered to 8 Greek-speaking persons with agrammatic aphasia (PWA) and 103 healthy participants. Results The 3 morphosyntactic categories dissociated in both groups (agreement > tense > aspect). A significant interaction emerged in both groups between the 3 morphosyntactic categories and WM. There was no main effect of locality in either of the 2 groups. At the individual level, all 8 PWA exhibited dissociations between agreement, tense, and aspect, and effects of locality were contradictory. Conclusions Results suggest that individuals with WM limitations (both PWA and healthy older speakers) show dissociations between the production of verb-related morphosyntactic categories. WM affects performance shaping the pattern of morphosyntactic production (in Greek: subject–verb agreement > tense > aspect). The absence of an effect of locality suggests that executive capacities tapped by WM tasks are involved in morphosyntactic processing of demanding categories even when the cue is adjacent to the target. Results are consistent with the Interpretable Features' Impairment Hypothesis (Fyndanis et al., 2012). Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6024428

scholarly journals Peculiarities of psychological assistance in overcoming the consequences COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (S4) ◽  
pp. 1600-1620
Author(s):  
Tetiana Melnychuk ◽  
Tamara Grubi ◽  
Svitlana Alieksieieva ◽  
Svitlana Maslich ◽  
Vitalii Lunov
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The World ◽  
Life Circumstances ◽  
Psychological Assistance ◽  
The Individual

The urgency of the study is due to the appearing of an emergency caused by an extremely dangerous outbreak of the COVID -19 pandemic. Every emergency, especially one which threatens health, is characterized by increased anxiety and depression among the population, causes chronic emotional disorders and requires providing psychological and psychosocial assistance to the individual. In this regard, this article aims to disclose and summarize theoretical and empirical research that will help identify the factors that shape the appropriate resource strategies for the development of resilience in overcoming the consequences of COVID - 19. At the same time, this study revealed the role of resilience as a potential protective factor for mental health during an outbreak of the COVID - 19 pandemic. The leading method of research is theoretical and methodological analysis, comprehension, comparison, classification and generalization of the main provisions of bibliographic sources that are relevant to the problem and purpose of the study. The article presents the factors influencing resilience in the individualovercoming the consequences of COVID - 19 taking into account the world experience. The main approaches to providing psychological assistance to a person in difficult life circumstances caused by a pandemic are identified.

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