Impaired cognitive performance under psycho-social stress in cannabis-dependent males is mediated by attenuated precuneus activity

AbstractBackgroundDeficient regulation of stress plays an important role in the escalation of substance use, addiction and relapse. Accumulating evidence suggests dysregulations in cognitive and reward-related processes and the underlying neural circuitry in cannabis dependence. However, despite the important regulatory role of the endocannabinoid system in the stress response, associations between chronic cannabis use and altered stress processing on the neural level have not been systematically examined.MethodsAgainst this background, the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)study examined psycho-social stress processing in cannabis-dependent males (n = 28) and matched controls (n = 23) using an established stress-induction paradigm (Montreal Imaging Stress Task) that combines computerized (adaptive) mental arithmetic challenges with social evaluative threat.ResultsDuring psycho-social stress exposure, but not the no-stress condition, cannabis users demonstrated impaired performance relative to controls. In contrast, levels of experienced stress and cardiovascular stress responsivity did not differ from controls. Functional MRI data revealed that stress-induced performance deteriorations in cannabis users were accompanied by decreased precuneus activity and increased connectivity of this region with the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex.LimitationsOnly male cannabis-dependent users were examined, the generalizability in female users remains to be determined.ConclusionTogether, the present findings provide first evidence for exaggerated stress-induced cognitive performance deteriorations in cannabis users. The neural data suggest that deficient stress-related dynamics of the precuneus may mediate the deterioration of performance on the behavioral level.

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Beta-adrenergic Modulation of Cognitive Flexibility during Stress

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2007.19.3.468 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 468-478 ◽

Cited By ~ 146

Author(s):

Jessica K. Alexander ◽

Ashleigh Hillier ◽

Ryan M. Smith ◽

Madalina E. Tivarus ◽

David Q. Beversdorf

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Flexibility ◽

Social Stress ◽

Public Speaking ◽

Mental Arithmetic ◽

Stress Test ◽

Locus Ceruleus ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Beta Adrenergic ◽

Impaired Performance ◽

Remote Associates Test

Stress-induced activation of the locus ceruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system produces significant cognitive and behavioral effects, including enhanced arousal and attention. Improvements in discrimination task performance and memory have been attributed to this stress response. In contrast, for other cognitive functions that require cognitive flexibility, increased activity of the LC-NE system may produce deleterious effects. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of pharmacological modulation of the LC-NE system on stress-induced impairments in cognitive flexibility performance in healthy individuals. Cognitive performance, plus psychological and physiological parameters for 16 adults without any history of anxiety disorders, was assessed during four test sessions: stress and no-stress, with each condition tested after administration of propranolol and placebo. The Trier Social Stress Test, a public-speaking and mental arithmetic stressor, was presented to participants for the stress sessions, whereas a similar, but nonstressful, control task (reading, counting) was utilized for the no-stress sessions. Tests of cognitive flexibility included lexical-semantic and associative problem-solving tasks (anagrams, Compound Remote Associates Test). Visuo-spatial memory and motor processing speed tests served as control tasks. Results indicate that (1) stress impaired performance on cognitive flexibility tasks, but not control tasks; (2) compared to placebo, cognitive flexibility improved during stress with propranolol. Therefore, psychological stress, such as public speaking, negatively impacts performance on tasks requiring cognitive flexibility in normal individuals, and this effect is reversed by beta-adrenergic antagonism. This may provide support for the hypothesis that stress-related impairments in cognitive flexibility are related to the noradrenergic system.

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Heart rate and high frequency heart rate variability during stress as biomarker for clinical depression. A systematic review

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291718001988 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (2) ◽

pp. 200-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Carmen Schiweck ◽

Deborah Piette ◽

Daniel Berckmans ◽

Stephan Claes ◽

Elske Vrieze

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Remote Monitoring ◽

High Frequency ◽

Social Stress ◽

Mental Arithmetic ◽

Clinical Depression ◽

Clear Cut ◽

Stress Task

AbstractThe interaction of physical and mental vulnerability and environmental constraints is thought to foster the development of psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD). A central factor in the development of psychopathology is mental stress. Despite some evidence for parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic overactivity in MDD, the psychophysiological response to stress in depression is not clear-cut. Given the growing interest in heart rate and heart rate variability as indicators for remote monitoring of patients, it is important to understand how patients with MDD react to stress in a laboratory-controlled environment. We conducted a systematic review of studies using electrocardiography to derive heart rate and heart rate variability during stress in patients with clinical depression. We focused on well-validated stress tasks- the mental arithmetic stress task, the Trier social stress task and public speaking task- to minimize confounding effects due to the nature of the stressor. The majority of studies found hypo-reactivity during stress as a hallmark of depression as evidenced by lower fluctuation in heart rate and heart rate variability in the high-frequency band. We address the potential underlying biological mechanisms, the influence of covariates on these measures and briefly discuss the specificity and potential for remote monitoring by using these variables.

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Effortful control as predictor of adolescents' psychological and physiological responses to a social stress test: The Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579411000095 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 679-688 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Albertine J. Oldehinkel ◽

Catharina A. Hartman ◽

Esther Nederhof ◽

Harriëtte Riese ◽

Johan Ormel

Keyword(s):

Inhibitory Control ◽

Social Stress ◽

Effortful Control ◽

Mental Arithmetic ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Laboratory Session ◽

Stress Task ◽

Adaptive Action ◽

Focus Sample

AbstractEffortful control is thought to foster adaptive action in defensive contexts and may thereby protect individuals against anxious inhibition and focus on their own distress. We examined if effortful control predicted adolescents' perceived arousal, unpleasantness, and control as well as autonomic (heart rate [HR]) and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (cortisol) responses during social stress. The data came from a focus sample of the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey, a prospective population study of Dutch adolescents (N = 715, 50.9% girls; mean age = 16.11, SD = 0.59), who participated in a laboratory session including a social stress task (public speaking and mental arithmetic). Perceived and physiological stress measures were assessed before, during, and after the social stress task. Effortful control was measured using various questionnaires and informants, as well as by means of a reaction time (RT) task assessing response inhibition. Overall, adolescents with high questionnaire-based effortful control tended to feel more relaxed, pleasant, and in control during the laboratory session than adolescents with lower levels of control and had stronger HR responses to the stress test. Adolescent girls with high inhibitory control as measured by the RT task also had strong HR responses, but inhibitory control was associated with high rather than low perceived arousal. Our results suggest that both questionnaire and RT measures of effortful control predict strong HR responses to challenging situations, but associational patterns diverge with regard to perceived stress measures.

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The Effects of Visual Displays in Attenuating Discrepancies Between Self-Reported and Physiological Indexes of Stress

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000587 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Jenny J. W. Liu ◽

Julia Gervasio ◽

Kenneth Fung ◽

Kristin Vickers

Keyword(s):

Social Stress ◽

Visual Display ◽

Physiological Measures ◽

Response Strategies ◽

Subjective Evaluations ◽

Stress Task ◽

Physiological Indexes ◽

Physiological Outcomes ◽

Physiological Markers ◽

The Relationship

Abstract. This study examined whether the relationship between subjective and physiological outcomes of stress, and the responsivity to stressors, are affected by whether participants can see a visual display of their physiological output. Participants were randomly assigned to have a visible view of their physiological output readings, or to a condition in which physiological output readings were out of view. Participants individually completed a 30-min laboratory study including the modified Trier Social Stress Task. Both physiological markers of stress (heart rate and blood pressure) and subjective evaluations of stress (visual analog scale) were measured. Results found little congruency across subjective and physiological measures of stress. The visible visual display condition had elevated physiological arousal, while no group differences were observed in self-reported stress. Findings from the study provide insight into the use of visual physiological displays and hold practical implications for both the measurement of stress in research, and the development of wearable technologies without accompanying response strategies.

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Increased neuronal activation and cognitive performance by detemir as compared to human insulin upon a working memory task – an fMRI study

Pharmacopsychiatry ◽

10.1055/s-0031-1292561 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 44 (06) ◽

Author(s):

B Willenborg ◽

M Nagel ◽

K Jauch-Chara ◽

C Erdmann ◽

H Lehnert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Human Insulin ◽

Memory Task ◽

Neuronal Activation ◽

Fmri Study

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The long-term associations between parental behaviors, cognitive function and brain activation in adolescence

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-90474-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Orwa Dandash ◽

Nicolas Cherbuin ◽

Orli Schwartz ◽

Nicholas B. Allen ◽

Sarah Whittle

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Performance ◽

Early Adolescence ◽

Maternal Behavior ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Late Adolescence ◽

Parenting Behavior ◽

Vital Role ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Fmri Study

AbstractParenting behavior has a vital role in the development of the brain and cognitive abilities of offspring throughout childhood and adolescence. While positive and aggressive parenting behavior have been suggested to impact neurobiology in the form of abnormal brain activation in adolescents, little work has investigated the links between parenting behavior and the neurobiological correlates of cognitive performance during this age period. In the current longitudinal fMRI study, associations between parenting behaviors and cognitive performance and brain activation across mid- and late-adolescence were assessed. Observed measures of maternal aggressive and positive behavior were recorded in early adolescence (12 years) and correlated with fMRI activation and in-scanner behavioral scores on the multi-source interference task (MSIT) during mid- (16 years; 95 participants) and late-adolescence (19 years; 75 participants). There was a significant reduction in inhibitory-control-related brain activation in posterior parietal and cingulate cortices as participants transitioned from mid- to late-adolescence. Positive maternal behavior in early-adolescence was associated with lower activation in the left parietal and DLPFC during the MSIT in mid-adolescence, whereas maternal aggressive behavior was associated with longer reaction time to incongruent trials in late-adolescence. The study supports the notion that maternal behavior may influence subsequent neurocognitive development during adolescence.

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Effect of short-term mental stress on time- domain indices of heart rate variability in obese individuals – A case- control study

Biomedicine ◽

10.51248/.v41i2.795 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 274-277

Author(s):

Priya S.A. ◽

R. Rajalakshmi

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Neuronal Activity ◽

Time Domain ◽

Mental Stress ◽

Mental Arithmetic ◽

High Body Mass Index ◽

Control Group ◽

Stress Task ◽

The Individual

Introduction and Aim: Mental stress may impact dramatically on dynamic autonomic control on heart. Many studies have demonstrated association of high body mass index (BMI) with greater risk for cardiovascular disease with disturbance in autonomic neuronal activity. Analysis of Heart rate variability (HRV)during acute mental stress assesses the autonomic status of the individual. Hence, we aimed to study the effect of acute mental stress on time domain measures in obese adults. Materials and Methods:Sixty male volunteers of 30 each in study group (obese individuals) and control group (non-obese individuals) were recruited for the study. A basal recording of ECG in lead II was done on all the individuals. Then they underwent mental arithmetic stress task for 5 minutes during which again ECG was recorded. The change in time domain measures of HRV during rest and stress task was analyzed and compared between both the groups. Results: Analysis of time domain measures of HRV revealed a statistically significant increase (p ? 0.001) in mean heart rate in both obese and non-obese individuals, while rMSSD(root mean square differences of successive RR interval) and SDNN (standard deviation of all NN intervals) showed a statistically significant (p? 0.001) decrease in obese individuals and non-obese individuals did not show any statistically significant change during the mental stress task. Conclusion: In response to acute mental stress there was increased heart rate in both the groups. But the autonomic neuronal activity differed by way of sympathetic dominance in non-obese individuals and parasympathetic withdrawal in obese individuals.

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Do Reward-Related Distractors Impair Cognitive Performance? Perhaps Not

Collabra Psychology ◽

10.1525/collabra.169 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dorottya Rusz ◽

Erik Bijleveld ◽

Michiel A. J. Kompier

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Mental Arithmetic ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Arithmetic Task ◽

Bayesian Analyses ◽

Monetary Rewards ◽

Mental Arithmetic Task ◽

Task Irrelevant ◽

Math Problems

Over a hundred prior studies show that reward-related distractors capture attention. It is less clear, however, whether and when reward-related distractors affect performance on tasks that require cognitive control. In this experiment, we examined whether reward-related distractors impair performance during a demanding arithmetic task. Participants (N = 81) solved math problems, while they were exposed to task-irrelevant stimuli that were previously associated with monetary rewards (vs. not). Although we found some evidence for reward learning in the training phase, results from the test phase showed no evidence that reward-related distractors harm cognitive performance. This null effect was invariant across different versions of our task. We examined the results further with Bayesian analyses, which showed positive evidence for the null. Altogether, the present study showed that reward-related distractors did not harm performance on a mental arithmetic task. When considered together with previous studies, the present study suggests that the negative impact of reward-related distractors on cognitive control is not as straightforward as it may seem, and that more research is needed to clarify the circumstances under which reward-related distractors harm cognitive control.

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