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Larra MF, Gajewski PD, Getzmann S, Wascher E, Metzler Y. Stress from early life to adulthood: Is there a protective role of cognitive control? Brain Cogn 2024; 178:106165. [PMID: 38759431 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 03/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
Early life events can have long-lasting effects that may impact the quality of life into adulthood. The link between childhood adversities and adult mental and physical health is well documented, however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Executive functions are assumed to be a key factor in successfully dealing with cognitive-emotional challenges thereby contributing to stress resilience and mental health across the lifespan. Here, we examined whether cognitive control moderates the link between early life adversity and depression. Data was available from a sample of 424 participants aged 20-70 years (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05155397). They performed in the Stroop task and behavior as well as frontal theta power were recorded. Negative childhood experiences were assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), chronic stress was measured with the Trier Inventory for Chronic Stress (TICS) and depression symptoms with Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). The CTQ predicted symptoms of chronic stress and depression. Regression models pointed to the TICS as a crucial mediator in the relationship between CTQ and BDI. However, parameters of cognitive control demonstrated a rather weak effect as moderators. These results indicate that chronic stress is an important mediator linking childhood trauma to depression but suggest only a limited role for cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro F Larra
- IfADo - Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Department of Ergonomics, Dortmund, Germany.
| | - Patrick D Gajewski
- IfADo - Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Department of Ergonomics, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stephan Getzmann
- IfADo - Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Department of Ergonomics, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Edmund Wascher
- IfADo - Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Department of Ergonomics, Dortmund, Germany; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), partner site Bochum/Marburg, Germany
| | - Yannick Metzler
- IfADo - Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Department of Ergonomics, Dortmund, Germany
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Forbes PA, Nitschke JP, Hochmeister N, Kalenscher T, Lamm C. No effects of acute stress on monetary delay discounting: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Neurobiol Stress 2024; 31:100653. [PMID: 38933285 PMCID: PMC11201353 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Many everyday decisions, including those concerning our health, finances and the environment, involve choosing between a smaller but imminent reward (e.g., €20 now) and a later but larger reward (e.g., €40 in a month). The extent to which an individual prefers smaller imminent rewards over larger delayed rewards can be measured using delay discounting tasks. Acute stress induces a cascade of biological and psychological responses with potential consequences for how individuals think about the future, process rewards, and make decisions, all of which can impact delay discounting. Several studies have shown that individuals focus more on imminent rewards under stress. These findings have been used to explain why individuals make detrimental choices under acute stress. Yet, the evidence linking acute stress to delay discounting is equivocal. To address this uncertainty, we conducted a meta-analysis of 11 studies (14 effects) to systematically quantify the effects of acute stress on monetary delay discounting. Overall, we find no effect of acute stress on delay discounting, compared to control conditions (SMD = -0.18, 95% CI [-0.57, 0.20], p = 0.32). We also find that neither the gender/sex of the participants, the type of stressor (e.g., physical vs. psychosocial) nor whether monetary decisions were hypothetical or incentivized (i.e. monetary decisions were actually paid out) moderated the impact of acute stress on monetary delay discounting. We argue that establishing the effects of acute stress on the separate processes involved in delay discounting, such as reward valuation and prospection, will help to resolve the inconsistencies in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul A.G. Forbes
- Comparative Psychology, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
- Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Jonas P. Nitschke
- Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Nicole Hochmeister
- Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Tobias Kalenscher
- Comparative Psychology, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
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Shields GS, Hunter CL, Trudell EV, Gray ZJ, Perkins BC, Patterson EG, Zalenski PK. Acute stress influences the emotional foundations of executive control: Distinct effects on control-related affective and cognitive processes. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 162:106942. [PMID: 38218000 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Revised: 10/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
Acute stress is known to influence performance on various task outcomes indicative of executive functioning (i.e., the top-down, goal-directed control of cognition and behavior). The most common interpretation of these effects is that stress influences control processes themselves. Another possibility, though, is that stress does not impair control per se, but instead alters the affective dynamics underlying the recruitment of control (e.g., reducing the extent to which making an error is aversive), resulting in less recruitment of control and thus poor performance. To date, however, no work has examined whether stress effects on executive function outcomes are driven by affective dynamics related to the recruitment of control. In the current study, we found that acute stress influenced-and cortisol responses related to-both executive control-related performance outcomes (e.g., post-error slowing) and control-related affective dynamics (e.g., negative affect following recruitment of control) in a modified Stroop task, but that these effects appeared to be independent of each other: The effects of stress on, and associations of cortisol with, control-related cognitive outcomes were not statistically mediated by task- or control-related affective dynamics. These results thus suggest that although stress influences affective dynamics underlying executive function, the effects of stress on executive function outcomes appear to be at least partially dependent on nonaffective processes, such as control processes themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant S Shields
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, USA.
| | - Colton L Hunter
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, USA
| | | | - Zach J Gray
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, USA
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Laifer LM, Tomaso CC, Chang OD, Phillips EM, James TD, Nelson JM, Espy KA, Alex Mason W, Nelson TD. Early executive control buffers risk for adolescent psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Adolesc 2023; 95:1205-1219. [PMID: 37211897 PMCID: PMC10526894 DOI: 10.1002/jad.12195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a global impact on youth mental health, and there is a critical need for research examining individual factors that contribute to increased psychopathology during the pandemic. The current study explored whether executive control (EC) abilities in early childhood interact with COVID-related stress to attenuate risk for adolescent psychopathology during the first 6 months of the pandemic. METHODS Participants were 337 youth (49% female) living in a small midwestern city in the United States. Participants completed EC tasks when they were approximately 4.5 years old as part of a longitudinal study investigating cognitive development. At annual laboratory visits during adolescence and before the pandemic, participants (Mage = 14.57) reported on mental health symptoms. In July and August of 2020, participants (Mage = 16.57) reported on COVID-related stress and depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms. RESULTS COVID-related stress was associated with increased internalizing problems after controlling for prepandemic symptom levels. Further, the impact of COVID-related stress on adolescent internalizing problems was moderated by preschool EC, with higher levels of EC buffering the effects of COVID-related stress on adolescent internalizing problems. CONCLUSIONS Findings highlight the importance of promoting EC early in development, as well as screening for EC deficits and implementing targeted intervention strategies across the lifespan to help reduce the impact of stress on adolescent internalizing problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Laifer
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Cara C Tomaso
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Olivia D Chang
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Eric M Phillips
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Tiffany D James
- Office of Research and Economic Development, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Jennifer Mize Nelson
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
- Office of Research and Economic Development, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Kimberly Andrews Espy
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Long School of Medicine, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - W Alex Mason
- Department of Child, Youth, & Family Studies, Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Timothy D Nelson
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
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