Does older adults' cognition particularly suffer from stress?:A systematic review of acute stress effects on cognition in older age

This literature review provides the first comprehensive qualitative and quantitative systematic synthesis of acute laboratory stress effects on older adults' cognition by specifying the direction and magnitude of those effects both overall and for different cognitive processes separately. A systematic literature search was performed, and effect sizes estimated whenever possible. We found meta-analytical evidence that stress has negative effects on older adults' verbal fluency (gadj = -0.53 (95% CI [-2.70, 1.63]), null-to-negative effects on episodic memory (gadj = -0.26 (95% CI [-0.44, -0.08]), null effects on executive functions (gadj = 0.07 (95% CI [-0.31, 0.46]), and enhancing effects on working memory (gadj = 0.16 (95% CI [-0.01, 0.33]). Relating these findings to those in young adults, notable differences emerged for some cognitive functions, such as opposing effects on working memory between age groups. Our review further reveals that stress effects on older adults' memory retention, associative memory, prospective memory, interference control or cognitive flexibility are heavily understudied. We provide a conceptual and methodological framework for future studies in older adults

Acute stress impacts reaction times in older but not in young adults in a flanker task

Acute psychosocial stress effects on inhibition have been investigated in young adults, but little is known about these effects in older adults. The present study investigated effects of the Trier Social Stress Test on cognitive inhibition (i.e., ability to ignore distracting information) using a cross-over (stress vs. control) design in healthy young (N = 50; 18-30 years; M age  = 23.06) versus older adults (N = 50; 65-84 years; M age  = 71.12). Cognitive inhibition was measured by a letter flanker task and psychophysiological measures (cortisol, heart rate, subjective stress) validated the stress induction. The results showed that while stress impaired overall accuracy across age groups and sessions, stress (vs. control) made older adults' faster in session 1 and slower in session 2. Given that session 2 effects were likely confounded by practice effects, these results suggest that acute psychosocial stress improved older adults' RTs on a novel flanker task but impaired RTs on a practiced flanker task. That is, the interaction between stress and learning effects might negatively affect response execution when testing older adults on flanker tasks. If confirmed by future research, these results might have important implications especially in settings where repeated cognitive testing is performed under acute stress. </p

Does older adults' cognition particularly suffer from stress?: A systematic review of acute stress effects on cognition in older age

This literature review provides the first comprehensive qualitative and quantitative systematic synthesis of acute laboratory stress effects on older adults' cognition by specifying the direction and magnitude of those effects both overall and for different cognitive processes separately. A systematic literature search was performed, and effect sizes estimated whenever possible. We found meta-analytical evidence that stress has negative effects on older adults' verbal fluency (gadj = -0.53 (95% CI [-2.70, 1.63]), null-to-negative effects on episodic memory (gadj = -0.26 (95% CI [-0.44, -0.08]), null effects on executive functions (gadj = 0.07 (95% CI [-0.31, 0.46]), and enhancing effects on working memory (gadj = 0.16 (95% CI [-0.01, 0.33]). Relating these findings to those in young adults, notable differences emerged for some cognitive functions, such as opposing effects on working memory between age groups. Our review further reveals that stress effects on older adults' memory retention, associative memory, prospective memory, interference control or cognitive flexibility are heavily understudied. We provide a conceptual and methodological framework for future studies in older adults

Adult age differences in the psychophysiological response to acute stress

Age-related differences in the psychophysiology of the acute stress response are poorly understood given the limited number of studies and the high heterogeneity of findings. The present study contributes by investigating age differences in both the psychological and physiological responses to acute stress in a sample of healthy younger (N = 50; 18-30; M age = 23.06; SD = 2.90) and older adults (N = 50; 65-84; M age = 71.12; SD = 5.02). Specifically, the effects of psychosocial stress (i.e., age-adapted Trier Social Stress Test) were investigated at numerous timepoints throughout the stress response phases (i.e., baseline, anticipation, reactivity, recovery) on cortisol, heart rate, subjective stress, and anticipatory appraisal of the stressful situation. The study was conducted in a between-subject (younger vs. older) cross-over (stress vs. control) design. Results revealed age-related differences in both physiological and psychological variables: older adults had overall lower salivary cortisol levels in the stress and control conditions and lower stress-induced cortisol increase (i.e., AUCi). In addition, older adults' cortisol reactivity was delayed compared to younger adults. Older adults showed a lower heart rate response in the stress condition while no age differences were observed in the control condition. Finally, older adults reported less subjective stress and a less negative stress appraisal during the anticipation phase than younger adults, which could potentially explain lower physiological reactivity in this age group. Results are discussed in relation to the existing literature, potential underlying mechanisms, and future directions for the field

Higher levels of neuroticism in older adults predict lower executive functioning across time:The mediating role of perceived stress

Neuroticism has been associated with individual differences across multiple cognitive functions. Yet, the literature on its specific association with executive functions (EF) in older adults is scarce, especially using longitudinal designs. To disentangle the specific influence of neuroticism on EF and on coarse cognitive functioning in old adulthood, respectively, we examined the relationship between neuroticism, the Trail Making Test (TMT) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in a 6-year longitudinal study using Bayesian analyses. Data of 768 older adults (M-age = 73.51 years at Wave 1) were included in a cross-lagged analysis. Results showed no cross-sectional link between neuroticism and TMT performance at Wave 1 and no longitudinal link between neuroticism at Wave 1 and MMSE at Wave 2. However, neuroticism at Wave 1 predicted TMT performance at Wave 2, indicating that the more neurotic participants were, the lower they performed on the TMT six years later. Additional analyses showed that this relation was fully mediated by participants' perceived stress. Our results suggest that the more neurotic older adults are the more stress they may perceive six years later, which in turn negatively relates to their EF. In sum, this study demonstrates that neuroticism may lead to lower EF in older age across six years. It further suggests older adults' perceived stress as mediator, thereby providing novel insights into the mechanisms underlying this relation. Possible intervention approaches to counter these effects are discussed

Do executive functions explain older adults’ health-related quality of life beyond event-based prospective memory ?

Previous work has shown that event-based prospective memory (EBPM) predicted health-related quality of life (HrQoL). In the pre- sent study, we aimed to examine whether the relationship between EBPM and HrQoL extended to life satisfaction, and whether it persisted after controlling for other cognitive functions related to EBPM, namely executive functions and retrospective memory. We tested two models using structural equation modeling with latent variables in a sample of older adults. In the first model, we assessed whether EBPM predicted life satisfaction and HrQoL; in the second model, we controlled for retrospective memory and executive func- tions. The first model indicated that EBPM was related to HrQoL. However, in the second model, this relationship was eliminated by executive functions; life satisfaction was not related to any of the cognitive variables. Findings corroborated the link between HrQoL and EBPM, suggesting that such relationship stems from executive functions rather than retrospective memory

Get real: Orbitofrontal cortex mediates the ability to sense reality in early adolescents

Introduction Orbitofrontal reality filtering (ORFi) is a memory mechanism that distinguishes whether a thought is relevant to present reality or not. In adults, it is mediated by the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). This region is still not fully developed in preteenagers, but ORFi is already active from age 7. Here, we probe the neural correlates of ORFi in early adolescents, hypothesizing that OFC mediates the sense of reality in this population.Methods Functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) were acquired in 22 early adolescents during a task composed of two runs: run 1 measuring recognition capacity; run 2 measuring ORFi; each containing two types of images (conditions): distractors (D: images seen for the first time in the current run) and targets (T: images seen for the second time in the current run). Group region of interest (ROI) analysis was performed in a flexible factorial design with two factors (run and condition) using SPM12.Results We found significant main effects for the experimental run and condition. The bilateral OFC activation was higher during ORFi than during the first run. Additionally, the OFC was more active while processing distractors than targets.Conclusion These results confirm, for the first time, the role of OFC in reality filtering in early adolescents