Associations between Attention and Implicit Associative Learning in Healthy Adults: The Role of Cortisol and Salivary Alpha-Amylase Responses to an Acute Stressor

In this study, we investigated the associations between implicit associative learning with the cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) stress response to an acute stressor as well as their associations with attention. Eighty one healthy adults (25 male) participated and either performed the socially evaluated cold-pressor test (SECPT) or a warm-water control task (WWT). Either prior to or immediately after the SECPT/WWT, participants implicitly learned digit-symbol pairs. A not-previously announced recall test was conducted about 20 min after the SECPT/WWT. Attention was assessed by means of a Stroop task at nine time points over the course of the experiment. Memory recall performance was not significantly associated with the acquisition time point (pre or post stressor) and did not significantly differ between the responder groups (i.e., non-responders, sAA-and-cortisol responders, only sAA responders, and only cortisol responders). Attentional performance increased throughout the experiment (i.e., reaction times in the Stroop task decreased). No differences in the attentional time course were found between the responder groups. However, some associations were found (puncorrected < 0.05) that did not pass the multiple comparison adjusted alpha level of αadjusted = 0.002, indicating different associations between attention and implicit learning between the responder groups. We conclude that the associations of sAA and cortisol responses with implicit learning are complex and are related to each other. Further studies in which both (sAA and cortisol responses) are selectively (de-) activated are needed. Furthermore, different learning tasks and less—potentially stressful—attentional assessments should be used in future research. Moreover, field studies are needed in which the associations between acute stress and implicit associative learning are investigated in everyday life.

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Developmental differences in infant salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol responses to stress

Psychoneuroendocrinology ◽

10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.02.001 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 795-804 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Elysia Poggi Davis ◽

Douglas A. Granger

Keyword(s):

Developmental Differences ◽

Alpha Amylase ◽

Salivary Alpha Amylase ◽

Cortisol Responses

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Salivary alpha amylase and cortisol responses to different stress tasks: Impact of sex

International Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.02.008 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 69 (1) ◽

pp. 33-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 118

Author(s):

Anda H. van Stegeren ◽

Oliver T. Wolf ◽

Merel Kindt

Keyword(s):

Alpha Amylase ◽

Salivary Alpha Amylase ◽

Cortisol Responses

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Salivary alpha-amylase as a biomarker for the osmopressor response in healthy adults

Biomarkers ◽

10.3109/1354750x.2013.816778 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 509-515 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hsin Chu ◽

You-Hsiang Chu ◽

Herng-Sheng Lee ◽

Shung-Tai Ho ◽

Che-Se Tung ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Adults ◽

Alpha Amylase ◽

Salivary Alpha Amylase

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Perceived chronic stress influences the effect of acute stress on cognitive flexibility

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-03101-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Katherine Knauft ◽

Alexander Waldron ◽

Mishali Mathur ◽

Vrinda Kalia

Keyword(s):

Chronic Stress ◽

Cognitive Flexibility ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Interactive Effect ◽

Cold Pressor Test ◽

Alpha Amylase ◽

Stress Exposure ◽

Salivary Alpha Amylase ◽

Perseverative Errors ◽

The Relationship

AbstractExecutive functions are cognitive processes that facilitate goal-directed behavior by enabling us to direct and control our thoughts. Cognitive flexibility is an executive function characterized by the ability to mentally shift between rules, strategies, or tasks. Several studies have reported that acute (brief) stress impairs cognitive flexibility. Even though an individual’s perception of their chronic stress levels is shown to influence effects of future stressors, the interactive effect of acute and perceived chronic stress on cognitive flexibility is not known. We conducted two experiments to address this gap. In both studies, perceived chronic stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale. Acute stress was induced using the Cold Pressor Test. Number of perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test was used as an indicator of cognitive flexibility. In Study 2, we also measured salivary alpha amylase as a marker of the physiological stress response. Data from our two studies are consistent with the hypothesis that an individual’s perception of their chronic stress level may impact the effect of acute stress on perseveration. In Study 1, we observed a significant interaction between acute and perceived chronic stress on perseverative errors, such that only individuals who reported high levels of perceived chronic stress prior to acute stress exposure showed no change in perseveration following the acute stress manipulation. This effect did not differ based on participant sex. In Study 2, we found a similar interaction effect of acute and perceived chronic stress on perseverative errors in an all-woman sample. After identifying salivary alpha amylase responders and non-responders, we observed a strong, negative correlation between perceived chronic stress and perseverative errors amongst the responders only. Our data highlight the value in studying salivary alpha amylase in response to acute stress exposure. Additionally, perceived chronic stress emerged as a key variable in the relationship between acute stress and cognitive flexibility. Overall, our work suggests that future research interested in interrogating moderators in the relationship between acute stress and cognition would benefit from inclusion of measures of chronic stress.

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Evaluation of the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) in the general population

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27658v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Linda Becker ◽

Ursula Schade ◽

Nicolas Rohleder

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Cold Pressor ◽

Alpha Amylase ◽

Salivary Alpha Amylase ◽

Group Test ◽

Cortisol Responses ◽

Cortisol Increase

Background. In stress research, economic instruments for introducing acute stress responses are needed. In this study, we investigated whether the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) induces salivary alpha-amylase and/or cortisol responses in the general population and whether it is associated with anthropometric, experimental, and lifestyle factors. Methods. A total of 91 participants was recruited. Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels were assessed prior (t0), immediately after (t1), and ten minutes after the SECPT-G (t2). Results. A strong cortisol increase was found immediately after the SECPT-G, which further increased between t1 and t2. This was independent of most of the control variables. However, men showed stronger cortisol increases than women. No sAA responses were found at all. Conclusions. We conclude that the SECPT-G is a good means of an acute stress test when cortisol – but not necessarily sAA – responses are intended.

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