Cold pressor stress impairs performance on working memory tasks requiring executive functions in healthy young men.

Schoofs, Daniela; Wolf, Oliver T.; Smeets, Tom

doi:10.1037/a0016980

Cited by 270Stress Responses and CortisolNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesCognitive Abilities and Testing

Cold pressor stress impairs performance on working memory tasks requiring executive functions in healthy young men.

Schoofs, Daniela, Wolf, Oliver T., Smeets, Tom·2009·Behavioral Neuroscience

DOI 10.1037/a0016980

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Abstract

The current study investigated the effects of cold pressor stress (CPS) on 2 working memory (WM) tasks differing in the demand they put on maintenance and executive processing. For this purpose 72 healthy young men were exposed either to a stress group or a nonstressful control group. Subsequently, WM performance on the O-Span task (Turner & Engle, 1989) and the digit span task was assessed. Salivary cortisol was measured before and 2 times after the treatment as a marker of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Results revealed a significant performance impairment of the O-Span and the digit span task backward in stressed subjects that correlated negatively with CPS-induced cortisol increases. Digit span forward was neither affected by CPS nor related to the ensuing cortisol increases. These results indicate that acute stress impairs WM performance for tasks requiring executive functions that operate on the stored material but not for WM tasks that only require maintenance.

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From Dose-dependent effects of endotoxin on neurobehavioral functions in humans (2011) · cites this paper as [47]

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Peters, M. J. V., Smeets, T., Giesbrecht, T., Jelícic, M., & Merckelbach, H. L. G. J. (2007) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0b013e318142cc02 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-citation
The effects of acute stress on human prefrontal working memory systems.
Porcelli, A. J., Cruz, D., Wenberg, K., Patterson, M. D., Biswal, B. B., & Rypma, B. (2008) · Physiology and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.04.027 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Noise Stress Impairs Prefrontal Cortical Cognitive Function in Monkeys: Evidence for a Hyperdopaminergic Mechanism
Arnsten, A. F. T., & Goldman-Rakic, P. S. (1998) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.55.4.362 · Cited by 6 · see citing works

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Sorted by citations

The neural bases of emotion regulation
Etkin, A., Büchel, C., & Gross, J. J. (2015) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn4044 · Cited by 1,244 · see citing works
Conclusions about interventions, programs, and approaches for improving executive functions that appear justified and those that, despite much hype, do not
Diamond, A., & Ling, D. S. (2016) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2015.11.005 · Cited by 1,177 · see citing works
“Stress or a depressed mood impairs EFs (Arnsten, 1998; Liston et al., 2009; Schoofs et al., 2009).”
Background
Dynamic adaptation of large-scale brain networks in response to acute stressors
Hermans, E. J., Henckens, M. J. A. G., Joëls, M., & Fernández, G. (2014) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/j.tins.2014.03.006 · Cited by 937 · see citing works
Decision making under stress: A selective review
Starcke, K., & Brand, M. (2012) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.02.003 · Cited by 892 · see citing works
The effects of acute stress on core executive functions: A meta-analysis and comparison with cortisol
Shields, G. S., Sazma, M. A., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2016) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.06.038 · Cited by 818 · see citing works
Remember the Future: Working Memory Training Decreases Delay Discounting Among Stimulant Addicts
Bickel, W. K., Yi, R., Landes, R. D., Hill, P. F., & Baxter, C. (2011) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.08.017 · Cited by 704 · see citing works
“However, clarification of these various outcomes will await further examination with alternative measures of working memory such as the O-Span Working Memory measure, which has been shown to be more sensitive to interventions (42).”
Working-memory capacity protects model-based learning from stress
Otto, A. R., Raio, C. M., Chiang, A., Phelps, E. A., & Daw, N. D. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1312011110 · Cited by 472 · see citing works
“At the same time, a different line of work examining central executive function under acute stress reveals how neurophysiological stress response engenders WM capacity impairment (22, 23) and reduction of WM-related activity in the PFC as assessed by neuroimaging (24).”
Background
The effects of acute stress on episodic memory: A meta-analysis and integrative review.
Shields, G. S., Sazma, M. A., McCullough, A. M., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2017) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000100 · Cited by 450 · see citing works
Cognitive emotion regulation fails the stress test
Raio, C. M., Orederu, T. A., Palazzolo, L., Shurick, A. A., & Phelps, E. A. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1305706110 · Cited by 302 · see citing works
“This finding is consistent with work both in animals (20, 21, 29) and humans (23, 27, 29, 30, 33, 43) showing that elevated noradrenaline levels during stress lead to rapid alterations in executive functioning and impair the PFC.”
Result
Dose-dependent effects of endotoxin on neurobehavioral functions in humans
Grigoleit, J.-S., Kullmann, J. S., Wolf, O. T., Hammes, F., Wegner, A., Jablonowski, S., Engler, H., Gizewski, E., Oberbeck, R., & Schedlowski, M. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028330 · Cited by 241 · see citing works
“In humans experimental or pharmacological stress studies have reported inconsistent effects with impairments as well as enhancements being reported [42,46,47].”
BackgroundSelf-citation
Neural and psychophysiological correlates of human performance under stress and high mental workload
Mandrick, K., Peysakhovich, V., Rémy, F., Lepron, E., & Causse, M. (2016) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.10.002 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
The influence of acute stress on attention mechanisms and its electrophysiological correlates
Sänger, J., Bechtold, L., Schoofs, D., Blaszkewicz, M., & Wascher, E. (2014) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00353 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
“Beside these findings the P3, a later ERP component that is largely insensitive to sensory modality, has been conceptualized as an index of selective attention that reflects processes involved in evaluating targets to engage appropriate goal-directed responses (Nieuwenhuis et al., 2005; Polich,…”
BackgroundSelf-citation
Stress alters personal moral decision making
Youssef, F. F., Dookeeram, K., Basdeo, V., Francis, E., Doman, M., Mamed, D., Maloo, S., Degannes, J., Dobo, L., Ditshotlo, P., et al. (2011) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.07.017 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
“Beyond the neurobiology, acute stress has been shown to affect cognitive and behavioural responses including working memory (Duncko et al., 2009; Porcelli et al., 2008; Schoofs et al., 2009) and episodic memory (Jelici et al., 2004; Stawski et al., 2009).”
Background
Reminiscing about positive memories buffers acute stress responses
Speer, M. E., & Delgado, M. R. (2017) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-017-0093 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Does stress alter everyday moral decision-making?
Starcke, K., Polzer, C., Wolf, O. T., & Brand, M. (2010) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.07.010 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Self-citation
Prefrontal cortex executive processes affected by stress in health and disease
Girotti, M., Adler, S. M., Bulin, S. E., Fucich, E. A., Paredes, D., & Morilak, D. A. (2018) · Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.07.004 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Does cortisol influence core executive functions? A meta-analysis of acute cortisol administration effects on working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting
Shields, G. S., Bonner, J. C., & Moons, W. G. (2015) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.04.017 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
“…and executive function revious research consistently indicates that stress tends o impair performance on tasks that make use of working emory (e.g., Schoofs et al., 2008, 2009) and set-shifting e.g., Alexander et al., 2007; Plessow et al., 2011), although he effects of stress on inhibition are…”
Background
Autonomic Nervous System Reactivity During Speech Repetition Tasks: Heart Rate Variability and Skin Conductance
Mackersie, C. L., & Calderon-Moultrie, N. (2016) · Ear and Hearing · doi:10.1097/aud.0000000000000305 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
“There is evidence that both acute and chronic stress impair working memory and aspects of executive function that are relevant to spoken language processing (Lupien et al. 2007; Qin et al. 2009; Schoofs et al. 2009; Sindi et al. 2013).”
Background
Implications of psychosocial stress on memory formation in a typical male versus female student sample.
Cornelisse, S., van Stegeren, A. H., & Joëls, M. (2011) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.09.002 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
“Overall, these findings contrast with some (Elzinga and Roelofs, 2005; Oei et al., 2006; Luethi et al., 2008; Schoofs et al., 2008; Schoofs et al., 2009) but are in agreement with other studies on the effects of stress on working memory (Kuhlmann et al., 2005; Duncko et al., 2009; Oei et al., 2009;…”
Transcranial Stimulation of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Prevents Stress-Induced Working Memory Deficits
Bogdanov, M., & Schwabe, L. (2016) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3687-15.2016 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
“Specifically, working memory processes are among those cognitive functions that are most sensitive to the effects of stress and stress hormones, with most studies reporting impaired working memory after stress (Diamond et al., 1999; Lupien et al., 1999; Roozendaal et al., 2004; Elzinga and Roelofs, 2005; Schoofs et al…”
Background
When Does Stress Help or Harm? The Effects of Stress Controllability and Subjective Stress Response on Stroop Performance
Henderson, R. K., Snyder, H. R., Gupta, T., & Banich, M. (2012) · Front. Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00179 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
“Stress is ubiquitous, and previous research suggests it can have both negative (Oei et al., 2006; Schoofs et al., 2008, 2009) and positive (Duncko et al., 2009; Weerda et al., 2010) effects on cognitive function.”
BackgroundInfluential
Stereotypes and the Achievement Gap: Stereotype Threat Prior to Test Taking
Appel, M., & Kronberger, N. (2012) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-012-9200-4 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
“The physiological stress response, the monitoring of the self and situation as well as the suppression of negative thoughts and feelings consume cognitive resources that are unavailable for whatever cognitive activity a person under stereotype threat undertakes (e.g., Kirschbaum et al. 1996; Schoofs et al. 2009).”
Background
Stress Effects on Mood, HPA Axis, and Autonomic Response: Comparison of Three Psychosocial Stress Paradigms
Giles, G. E., Mahoney, C. R., Brunyé, T. T., Taylor, H. A., & Kanarek, R. B. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113618 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
“While some studies have found that stress impairs working memory performance [15, 17, 18, 27, 28] others found no effects [17, 29].”
MethodResultInfluential
Working memory is differentially affected by stress in men and women
Schoofs, D., Pabst, S., Brand, M., & Wolf, O. T. (2012) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2012.12.004 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Self-citation
Stress matters: randomized controlled trial on the effect of probiotics on neurocognition
Papalini, S., Michels, F., Kohn, N., Wegman, J., van Hemert, S., Roelofs, K., Arias-Vasquez, A., & Aarts, E. (2019) · Neurobiology of Stress · doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.100141 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
“For example, the socially evaluated cold pressor test (SECPT) (Lovallo, 1975) specifically influenced backwards digit span (DS) performance, which involves control functions to operate on the stored material instead of just working memory maintenance (Schoofs et al., 2009).”
Background
Acute stress affects risk taking but not ambiguity aversion
Buckert, M., Schwieren, C., Kudielka, B. M., & Fiebach, C. J. (2014) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2014.00082 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
“Furthermore, stress seems not to affect working memory as assessed with simple tasks like the digit span forward task that was used in our study (Schoofs et al., 2009).”
Method
Probiotics-induced changes in gut microbial composition and its effects on cognitive performance after stress: exploratory analyses
Bloemendaal, M., Szopinska-Tokov, J., Belzer, C., Boverhoff, D., Papalini, S., Michels, F., van Hemert, S., Arias Vasquez, A., & Aarts, E. (2021) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-021-01404-9 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Effects of chronic stress on cognitive function – From neurobiology to intervention
Girotti, M., Bulin, S. E., & Carreno, F. R. (2024) · Neurobiology of Stress · doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100670 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
High-intensity stress elicits robust cortisol increases, and impairs working memory and visuo-spatial declarative memory in Special Forces candidates: A field experiment
Taverniers, J., Ruysseveldt, J. V., Smeets, T., & von Grumbkow, J. (2010) · Stress · doi:10.3109/10253891003642394 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Self-citation
Cognitive function, stress hormones, heart rate and nutritional status during simulated captivity in military survival training
Lieberman, H. R., Farina, E. K., Caldwell, J. A., Williams, K. W., Thompson, L., Niro, P. J., Grohmann, K., & McClung, J. P. (2016) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.06.037 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
A Randomized Trial on Mineralocorticoid Receptor Blockade in Men: Effects on Stress Responses, Selective Attention, and Memory
Cornelisse, S., Joëls, M., & Smeets, T. (2011) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/npp.2011.162 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Self-citation
Stress modulates reinforcement learning in younger and older adults.
Lighthall, N. R., Gorlick, M. A., Schoeke, A., Frank, M. J., & Mather, M. (2012) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/a0029823 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
“Others have found similar stress-related impairment to working memory tasks without reinforcement (e.g., Schoofs et al., 2008; Schoofs et al., 2009).”
HPA Axis Interactions with Behavioral Systems
Packard, A. E. B., Egan, A. E., & Ulrich‐Lai, Y. M. (2016) · Comprehensive physiology · doi:10.1002/cphy.c150042 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
The influence of acute stress on the regulation of conditioned fear
Raio, C. M., & Phelps, E. A. (2015) · Neurobiology of Stress · doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2014.11.004 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
“…executive functions including working memory capacity (Duncko et al., 2009; Elzinga and Roelofs, 2005; Luethi et al., 2009; Roozendaal et al., 2004; Schoofs et al., 2009), cognitive flexibility (Alexander et al., 2007; Plessow et al., 2011), and goal-directed behavior (Otto et al., 2013), and…”
Background
Socioeconomic risk moderates the link between household chaos and maternal executive function.
Deater-Deckard, K. D., Chen, N., Wang, Z., & Bell, M. A. (2012) · Journal of Family Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0028331 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
“Our rationale for examining executive function was that it is an important component of calm nonreactive parenting that is susceptible to impairment by stress, fatigue, and distraction (Barrett & Fleming, 2011; Boksem et al., 2005; Deater-Deckard et al., 2010; Schoofs et al., 2009; Wahler & Dumas, 1989)—conditions tha…”
Increasing optimism abolishes pain-induced impairments in executive task performance
Boselie, J. J. L. M., Vancleef, L. M. G., Smeets, T., & Peters, M. L. (2013) · Pain · doi:10.1016/j.pain.2013.10.014 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
“Higher cortisol levels have been associated with larger decrements in executive task performance after a cold pressor task [47].”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citation
Interventions and Approaches Targeting Early Self-Regulation or Executive Functioning in Preschools: A Systematic Review
Muir, R. A., Howard, S. J., & Kervin, L. K. (2023) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-023-09740-6 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
“Movement may help to not only consolidate SR/EF gains, through practice and collaborative co-regulation, but may additionally mitigate detrimental factors such as stress (Liston et al., 2009; Schoofs et al., 2009).”
Background
Better not to deal with two tasks at the same time when stressed? Acute psychosocial stress reduces task shielding in dual-task performance
Plessow, F., Schade, S., Kirschbaum, C., & Fischer, R. (2012) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-012-0098-6 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Parents' Executive Functioning and Involvement in Their Child's Education: An Integrated Literature Review
Wilson, D. M., & Gross, D. A. (2018) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/josh.12612 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Effects of acetazolamide on cognitive performance during high-altitude exposure
Wang, J., Ke, T., Zhang, X., Chen, Y., Liu, M., Chen, J., & Luo, W. (2012) · Neurotoxicology and Teratology · doi:10.1016/j.ntt.2012.12.003 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Psychosocial stress exposure impairs memory retrieval in children
Quesada, A. A., Wiemers, U. S., Schoofs, D., & Wolf, O. T. (2011) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.05.013 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
“We recently observed that stress selectively impaired performance in the digit span backward task (Schoofs et al., 2009).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citation
Stress attenuates the flexible updating of aversive value
Raio, C. M., Hartley, C. A., Orederu, T. A., Li, J., & Phelps, E. A. (2017) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1702565114 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
The effect of moderate acute psychological stress on working memory-related neural activity is modulated by a genetic variation in catecholaminergic function in humans
Qin, S., Cousijn, H., Rijpkema, M., Luo, J., Franke, B., Hermans, E. J., & Fernández, G. (2012) · Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnint.2012.00016 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
“…situations (i.e., higher levels of cortisol induced) has been found to result generally in detrimental effects on WM processing (Oei et al., 2006; Schoofs et al., 2008, 2009), particularly when high levels of cortisol and noradrenergic activity occurred concurrently (Elzinga and Roelofs, 2005;…”
Background
Automatic avoidance tendencies in patients with Psychogenic Non Epileptic Seizures
Bakvis, P., Spinhoven, P., Zitman, F. G., & Karin Roelofs, A. (2011) · Seizure · doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2011.06.006 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
The effects of emotion on pilot decision-making: A neuroergonomic approach to aviation safety
Causse, M., Dehais, F., Péran, P., Sabatini, U., & Pastor, J. (2012) · Transportation Research Part C Emerging Technologies · doi:10.1016/j.trc.2012.04.005 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
“Indeed, the change in decision-making criterion entailed by the financial incentive was subserved by a shift from a cerebral region dedicated to reasoning, the DLPFC, to a region involved in emotional processing, the VMPFC.”
BackgroundInfluential
I’m going to fail! Acute cognitive performance anxiety increases threat-interference and impairs WM performance
Angelidis, A., Solis, E. C., Lautenbach, F., van der Does, W. A. J., & Putman, P. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0210824 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Acute stress impairs set-shifting but not reversal learning
Butts, K. A., Floresco, S. B., & Phillips, A. G. (2013) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2013.06.007 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Stress and Cognitive Flexibility: Cortisol Increases Are Associated with Enhanced Updating but Impaired Switching
Goldfarb, E. V., Froböse, M. I., Cools, R., & Phelps, E. A. (2016) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01029 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
“…shown that the magnitude of stress-induced cortisol correlated with reduced flexibility (Plessow et al., 2011) as well as changes in working memory performance (Schoofs, Wolf, & Smeets, 2009; Oei, Everaerd, Elzinga, van Well, & Bermond, 2006) and delayed recall (Elzinga, Bakker, & Bremner, 2005).”
The effect of stress induction on working memory in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures
Bakvis, P., Spinhoven, P., Putman, P., Zitman, F. G., & Karin Roelofs, A. (2010) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.08.026 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Stress and cognition: A user’s guide to designing and interpreting studies
Shields, G. S. (2020) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104475 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Cortisol responses enhance negative valence perception for ambiguous facial expressions
Brown, C., Raio, C. M., & Neta, M. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14846-3 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Interplay of good bacteria and central nervous system: cognitive aspects and mechanistic considerations
Salami, M. (2021) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2021.613120 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Why is working memory performance unstable? A review of 21 factors
Blasiman, R. N., & Was, C. A. (2018) · Europe’s Journal of Psychology · doi:10.5964/ejop.v14i1.1472 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
“Schoofs, Wolf, and Smeets (2009) found that administering a cold pressor test (i.e. immersing one hand in ice water) impairs executive functioning in a WM task.”
Background
Subjective cognitive complaints and the role of executive cognitive functioning in the working population: a case-control study
Stenfors, C. U. D., Marklund, P., Magnusson Hanson, L. L., Theorell, T., & Nilsson, L.-G. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083351 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
“Executive functions like WM and attentional shifting seem to be particularly vulnerable to detrimental effects from both acute [34-39] and chronic [40-44] stress exposures, which may be particularly relevant when considering SCC among individuals in the work force.”
Background
Control when it counts: Change in executive control under stress predicts depression symptoms.
Quinn, M. E., & Joormann, J. (2015) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000089 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Alterations in cognitive flexibility in a rat model of post-traumatic stress disorder
George, S. A., Rodriguez-Santiago, M., Riley, J., Abelson, J. L., Floresco, S., & Liberzon, I. (2015) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2015.02.051 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
The effect of nonrecurring alcohol administration on pain perception in humans: a systematic review
Horn‐Hofmann, C., Büscher, P., Lautenbacher, S., & Wolstein, J. R. (2015) · Journal of Pain Research · doi:10.2147/jpr.s79618 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“…that is rather different from clinical pain; 31 the cold pressor test elicits an intense cardiovascular stress response in addition to pain; 33–35 and von Frey hairs is a specific tool for the diagnosis of mechanical hyperalgesia, which activates low-threshold mechanoreceptors in addition to…”
Working memory performance is reduced in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Browne, W. V., Hindmarsh, P. C., Pasterski, V., Hughes, I. A., Acerini, C. L., Spencer, D., Neufeld, S., & Hines, M. (2015) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.11.014 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
“In addition, in humans, this impairment has been seen with particular consistency for working memory as assessedwith the Digit Span test (Elzinga and Roelofs, 2005; Schoofs et al., 2009; Vaz et al., 2011;Wolf et al., 2001).”
Influential
Two Strategies for Response to 14°C Cold-Water Immersion: Is there a Difference in the Response of Motor, Cognitive, Immune and Stress Markers?
Brazaitis, M., Eimantas, N., Daniusevičiūtė, L., Mickevičienė, D., Steponavičiūtė, R., & Skurvydas, A. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109020 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“motor and cognitive performance [59,18,35,51,7], and working memory [19,54]; increases spinal reflex excitability [14,47]; and”
Background
Acute Stress Attenuates Cognitive Flexibility in Males Only: An fNIRS Examination
Kalia, V., Vishwanath, K., Knauft, K. M., Vellen, B. V. D., Luebbe, A. M., & Williams, A. L. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02084 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Stress & executive functioning: A review considering moderating factors
Plieger, T., & Reuter, M. (2020) · Neurobiology of Learning and Memory · doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107254 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation among Nursing Students: Investigating the Mediation Effect of Working Memory Capacity
Dubert, C. J., Schumacher, A. M., Locker, L., Gutierrez, A. P., & Barnes, V. A. (2016) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0544-6 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
The COMT Val158Met polymorphism modulates working memory performance under acute stress
Buckert, M., Kudielka, B. M., Reuter, M., & Fiebach, C. J. (2012) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.03.014 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
“While most studies addressed the effects of stress on hippocampus-dependent declarative memory, some recent studies have begun to analyze stress effects on working memory (Hoffman and al’Absi, 2004; Elzinga and Roelofs, 2005; Kuhlmann et al., 2005; Oei et al., 2006; Sliwinski et al., 2006; Smeets et al., 2006; Stawski…”
Background
Actions and interactions of estradiol and glucocorticoids in cognition and the brain: Implications for aging women
Herrera, A. Y., & Mather, M. (2015) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.04.005 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
“, 1990b), and impairments in cognitive performance (Alexander et al., 2007; Duncko et al., 2009; Elzinga and Roelofs, 2005; Luethi et al., 2009; Oei et al., 2006; Schoofs et al., 2009; Young et al., 1999).”
Influential
Sympathetic arousal, but not disturbed executive functioning, mediates the impairment of cognitive flexibility under stress
Marko, M., & Riečanský, I. (2018) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2018.02.004 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Stress and strategic decision-making in the beauty contest game
Leder, J., Häusser, J. A., & Mojzisch, A. (2013) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.12.016 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
“, 2008), and impairments of executive functioning (Porcelli and Delgado, 2009; Schoofs et al., 2009).”
Background
Memory and the operational witness: Police officer recall of firearms encounters as a function of active response role.
Hope, L., Blocksidge, D., Gabbert, F., Sauer, J. D., Lewinski, W., Mirashi, A., & Atuk, E. (2016) · Law and Human Behavior · doi:10.1037/lhb0000159 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Poverty, early care, and stress reactivity in adolescence: Findings from a prospective, longitudinal study in South Africa
Fearon, P. R. M., Tomlinson, M., Kumsta, R., Skeen, S., Murray, L., Cooper, P., & Morgan, B. E. (2017) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579417000104 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Moderate stress enhances immediate and delayed retrieval of educationally relevant material in healthy young men.
Hupbach, A., & Fieman, R. (2012) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/a0030489 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Hydrocortisone impairs working memory in healthy humans, but not in patients with major depressive disorder
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“Therefore, contrary to what has been observed in most studies with young adults (e.g. Duncko et al., 2009; Luethi et al., 2009; Oei et al., 2006; Schoofs et al., 2009), neither a stress-induced cortisol and SNS response nor high circulating cortisol levels after stress affect the executive…”
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Authors: Schoofs, D., Wolf, O. T., & Smeets, T.
Affiliations: Ruhr University Bochum (DE)
Maastricht University (NL)
ORCID: Wolf, Oliver T.
Smeets, Tom
Venue: Behavioral Neuroscience
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2009
Volume: 123
Issue: 5
Pages: 1066-1075
ISSN: 0735-7044 (ISSN-L)
1939-0084
DOI: 10.1037/a0016980
OpenAlex: W2108185849
Semantic Scholar: 60872208c24875db360921d60e3be7bad2aff910
Cited by: 269
References: 97
Citations by year: 2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 15
FWCI: 4.96
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Behavioral Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion)
Funders: German Research Foundation (WO 733/6 –2)
Topics: Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
Keywords: cold pressor stress, acute stress, working memory, executive function, digit span, salivary cortisol, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, stress-induced cognitive impairment, memory maintenance
MeSH terms: Analysis of Variance, Cold Temperature, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Neuropsychological Tests, Pain Measurement, Saliva, Stress, Physiological, Area Under Curve, Young Adult

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Cold pressor stress impairs performance on working memory tasks requiring executive functions in healthy young men.

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