Working memory-related frontal theta activity is decreased under acute stress

Summary Acute stress impairs prefrontal cortex (PFC) function and has detrimental effects on working memory (WM) performance. Converging evidence from electrophysiological studies suggests a close link between WM processes and frontal theta (FT) activity (4–8 Hz). However, the effect of stress on WM...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychoneuroendocrinology 2014-05, Vol.43, p.105-113
Main Authors: Gärtner, Matti, Rohde-Liebenau, Lea, Grimm, Simone, Bajbouj, Malek
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute Disease
Acute stress
Adult
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
EEG
Electroencephalography
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Frontal Lobe - physiology
Frontal theta
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hormones and behavior
Humans
Hydrocortisone - metabolism
Male
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Middle Aged
Prefrontal cortex
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychomotor Performance
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Working memory
Young Adult
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Summary:Summary Acute stress impairs prefrontal cortex (PFC) function and has detrimental effects on working memory (WM) performance. Converging evidence from electrophysiological studies suggests a close link between WM processes and frontal theta (FT) activity (4–8 Hz). However, the effect of stress on WM-related FT activity has not been investigated yet. To shed light on this topic we acquired EEG data from 31 healthy male subjects who underwent a stressful and a neutral control condition. In both conditions, they performed an n-back WM task at two different difficulty levels. Our results showed that WM-related FT activity was decreased under stress. Behaviorally, we found performance impairments under stress in the difficult task condition that were related to FT decreases. Increased cortisol levels indicated a successful moderate stress induction. These findings indicate that FT is a potential neurobiological marker for intact PFC functioning during WM and further supports the recently made assumption that FT acts in the PFC to optimize performance.
ISSN:0306-4530
1873-3360
DOI:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.02.009