Children's memory for a mild stressor: The role of sympathetic activation and parasympathetic withdrawal

Although numerous studies have examined the relations between stress and memory in children, few studies have investigated physiological responses as predictors of children's memory for stressful events. In this study, 4‐ to 8‐year‐olds completed laboratory challenges and experienced a fire‐ala...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychobiology 2006-12, Vol.48 (8), p.686-702
Main Authors: Quas, Jodi A., Carrick, Nathalie, Alkon, Abbey, Goldstein, Lauren, Boyce, W. Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Aging - physiology
Aging - psychology
Arousal
Child
Child, Preschool
children
Female
Humans
Income
Male
memory
Memory - physiology
Parasympathetic Nervous System - physiology
psysiological reactivity
Regression Analysis
stress
Stress, Psychological
Surveys and Questionnaires
Sympathetic Nervous System - physiology
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Summary:Although numerous studies have examined the relations between stress and memory in children, few studies have investigated physiological responses as predictors of children's memory for stressful events. In this study, 4‐ to 8‐year‐olds completed laboratory challenges and experienced a fire‐alarm incident while their sympathetic and parasympathetic reactions were monitored. Shortly afterward, children's memory of the alarm incident was tested. As children's age and family income increased, memory performance improved. High sympathetic activation during the laboratory challenges was associated with enhanced memory. Also, a trend indicated that, among older children, greater general parasympathetic withdrawal was associated with poorer memory, but among younger children, parasympathetic withdrawal was unrelated to memory. Findings highlight the need to measure both sympathetic and parasympathetic responses when evaluating children's memory for mild stressors and to include a wide age range so that developmental changes in the relations between stress and memory in childhood can be identified. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 48: 686–702, 2006.
ISSN:0012-1630
1098-2302
DOI:10.1002/dev.20184