Duquennois, C. Effiicency A law for all seasons. Instructions and main cognitive abilities trained of each CMG are presented in Table 5.

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However, since there was no significant interaction between CTAS and WM load, this remains a speculation. In the present study, we developed an n -back task with emotional word distracters with the goal of increasing the ecological validity of the measurement in relation to CPA.

The main advantage of this task is the possibility to manipulate the cognitive load. This could be important considering that the manipulation of cognitive load limits the available cognitive resources for the task at hand, resulting in threat-interference, in accordance with the load theory [ 78 , 79 ].

As expected, we found stress-induced threat-interference only in the condition with higher cognitive load. As WM memory capacity differs across age, especially the ability to control task-irrelevant information e.

Moreover, in the n- back task, we used emotional word-distracters as they share the same modality with worry-related thoughts, and thus they both compete for resources of the phonological loop of WM capacity. According to Eysenck et al.

By using word-distracters, we also managed to use distracters that are thematically relevant to CPA, such as words related to academic performance and negative evaluation.

In general, we believe that the L-PAST, in combination with the emotional n -back task, is a valuable method to investigate the effects of stress on cognition, especially in the context of acute CPA. As expected, the L-PAST increased stress levels compared to the control group, when assessed by subjective and objective measurements.

This is in line with a review suggesting that public speaking or verbal interaction tasks that include elements of social evaluation and loss of control are crucial in inducing stress [ 49 ]. The cortisol and heart rate reactivity were limited compared to other studies.

This may be explained by the inclusion of participants using a hormonal contraception method or the hormonal cycle, both which are known to affect cortisol response to stress. However, the majority of the current sample used hormonal contraception methods that are known to suppress cortisol reactivity.

Thus, it could be expected that L-PAST would be more effective in a sample of naturally cycling females. Results showed that cortisol levels dropped in the control group from t 1 to t 5 likely due to the diurnal HPA cycle and physiological inactivity; c.

Interestingly, in the stress group cortisol even increased from t 1 to t 3 but was lower again at t 4. Some studies using the TSST stressor seem to report longer lasting HPA increases e.

A possible explanation may be that the L-PAST procedure lasts shorter than the TSST. However, one should not over-interpret cortisol changes within the stress group; the crucial outcome is the comparison between groups.

Regarding heart rate activity, even though the effect of L-PAST was not as previously reported for TSST, it should be mentioned that any effect on heart rate was controlled for postural effect.

In many TSST studies where participants need to stand during the stress procedure, the participants are seated in the control condition and thus, the reported effects on heart rate may be confounded by posture, unlike in our method.

It is also worth mentioning that heart rate activity is analyzed during performance of our cognitive tasks and not during the stress procedure indicating that participants were stressed during cognitive performance and not just during the stress procedure. This was also a critical factor in maintaining high stress levels for a longer period of time, up to 60 min after the onset of the stressor.

The limited time-window to assess performance under stress is a common practical limitation in studies of acute stress. In this manner, the L-PAST has the added advantage of assessing the effects on performance of multiple or long-lasting tasks.

Another advantage of the L-PAST is that it is easily administered and it can be executed by a single main experimenter.

The main purpose of developing the L-PAST was to create a more ecologically valid state for the evaluation of intellectual performance, such as CPA-related stress. The results support this by revealing that the effects of the stressor on state performance anxiety were moderated by trait CPA, an effect that remained after the stress booster 45 min after the onset of the stressor.

Specifically, participants with a predisposition to become cognitively anxious in test-related conditions indeed showed higher levels of stress after our stress manipulation. Importantly, this moderation effect, as well as the moderating effects on WM performance and threat-interference, was uniquely explained by the trait CPA and not trait anxiety STAI-t in general.

These findings are in line with the trait-state anxiety theory and empirical evidence suggesting that individuals with high levels of trait anxiety will experience more stress in a personally threatening situation [ 38 , 95 ]. Similarly, the STAI-t scores of our sample were similar to other student samples e.

All in all, the L-PAST is an easily-administered, ecologically-valid standardized lab stressorfor CPA, such as test anxiety the standardized protocol of the L-PAST can be obtained from the authors. Although the present sample of health college-aged females is relevant for the research of C PA and the nature of the L-PAST, as university students are constantly evaluated for their cognitive performance, the main limitation of this study is its external validity.

Even though the present sample was at moderate range of CTAS [ 96 ], it was still consisted by females who are suggested to be more anxious [ 3 , 4 , 56 ]. As a result, our sample might be more susceptible to the stress procedure and the subsequent n -back task. Nonetheless, it was observed that within the present sample, females with higher CTAS scores are more susceptible to the stress procesure and n -back performance.

Furthermore, the phenomenon of CPA occurs at every age and also in clinical populations and thus, the present finding should be investigated in males but also in clinical samples and people of different age range. Moreover, in the current study, participants were included irrespective of use of contraception method or hormonal cycle which are known to affect cortisol levels in response to stress-induction procedures.

In addition, the effects of CPA-related stress on WM performance and threat-interference were stronger for participants with higher CTAS scores. Future studies should investigate the generalizability of the present findings in individuals preselected for high scores on CTAS or a measure of related construct, such as social anxiety, of which C PA is considered a qualifier [ 97 , 98 ], but also in different populations e.

Furthermore, it would be of interest to test the effect of stress on threat-interference during WM performance with higher cognitive load, as the effect was present only for the higher load condition 3-back and for people with high CTAS scores.

This would further shed light on the role of cognitive load in relation to threat-interference. Moreover, we used an n -back task, measuring WM performance and interference thereon from failure-related words.

Use of such objective performance measures can, of course, not prove directly that stress-effects on performance are indeed mediated by interference from those words or distracting thoughts that these may trigger, although this class of methods is generally assumed to measure such effects e.

Ultimately, progress in this field of study probably requires combinations of objective and self-report measures such as thought-probing e. Finally, further research should also focus on the biological mechanisms of CPA-related stress and cognition.

The effects of stress on cognition are partially explained by the glucocorticoid and the noradrenergic system e. Thus, it would be interesting to investigate whether pharmacological interventions, targeting these systems, could prevent the negative effects of CPA on cognition.

In summary, it is concluded that acute CPA-related stress increases interference from negative evaluation during performance while impairing attentional control and WM performance.

Moreover, the present evidence suggests that we have developed a useful experimental method to induce and assess stress-induced cognitive deficits in the context of CPA. Finally, these results underline the importance of negative cognition, worry over performance or negative evaluation, on the stress-performance relation, and they further highlight the necessity of its objective assessment on the field of C PA.

Browse Subject Areas? Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field. Article Authors Metrics Comments Media Coverage Reader Comments Figures. Abstract Stress can impair cognitive performance, as commonly observed in cognitive performance anxiety CPA; e.

Introduction Almost every person will face many evaluative situations in life where optimal performance is required and where the result may be consequential, such as exams. Apparatus and materials Heart rate activity. Salivary cortisol levels. N -back task with emotional distracters.

Download: PPT. Fig 1. Illustration of the n -back task with emotional word distracters, depicting an example of a 2-back memory-load condition with negative word-distracters.

Procedure All participants were tested individually between p. Statistical analysis T-tests were conducted to investigate potential group differences on background characteristics.

Results No group differences were observed on background characteristics, trait characteristics, or baseline measurements of state anxiety, heart rate activity, and salivary cortisol levels see Table 1.

Table 1. Stress-manipulation check Means and post-hoc t -tests are presented in Table 1. Self-report measures. Objective measures. Fig 3. Effect of the stressor on WM performance RT. Table 2. Moderation analyses for the role of trait CPA on WM performance RT.

Fig 4. Scatterplots for the relationship between CTAS and n -back performance in the control and stress groups. Effect of the stressor on threat-interference RT. Thus, the stress group alone did not affect threat-interference on WM performance.

Moderation analyses for the role of trait CPA on threat-interference RT. Discussion The main goal of this study was to investigate the effects of acute cognitive performance anxiety CPA on objectively assessed cognitive performance and threat-interference.

Supporting information. S1 Text. Supplementary materials for items in Dutch and English used in state performance anxiety scale SPAS and state attentional control scale SACS.

The number next to every item represents the presented order. s DOCX. S1 Table. Supplementary materials for detailed report of the two categories of words, in Dutch and their translation in English, used as distracters in the n -back task.

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Keywords : caffeine, different doses, cognition, brain activation, near-infrared spectroscopy. Citation: Zhang B, Liu Y, Wang X, Deng Y and Zheng X Cognition and Brain Activation in Response to Various Doses of Caffeine: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study. Received: 05 January ; Accepted: 25 May ; Published: 03 July Copyright © Zhang, Liu, Wang, Deng and Zheng.

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Cognition and Brain Activation in Response to Various Doses of Caffeine: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study.

Introduction Caffeine is widely used by athletes for improving exercise performance. Materials and Methods Subjects Ten healthy, non-smoking male subjects age 20 ± 1 year, height 1. Protocol Subjects visited the laboratory four times, at the same time of day.

Drugs Caffeine hydrate Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd. Stroop Task The Stroop task is widely used to evaluate selective attention, cognitive flexibility, and processing speed Pauw et al. Hemodynamic Data Acquisition We used a multichannel, continuous wave, NIRS instrument NIRScout, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Minneapolis, MN, United States for monitoring hemodynamic activity during performance of the task and during the resting state.

Table 1. Stroop task-related regions of interest ROIs. High cognitive performance in children can be difficult to identify because children develop at different paces and have different goals depending on several factors. However, certain behaviors and traits tend to be associated with high cognitive performers.

For example, children who exhibit high cognitive performance often have superior memory skills can think abstractly and have a higher level of executive functioning. Additionally, high cognitive performers tend to be more creative and adaptable than their peers.

What does high cognitive performance look like in adults? Well, for starters, they're able to think abstractly and see the "big picture. High-performing adults also have excellent working memory and can recall information quickly and accurately.

But cognitive performance isn't just about being smart or intelligent. It's also about being able to effectively process and use the information you take in.

So another important aspect of high cognitive performance is executive function skills. This includes things like planning, task flexibility, inhibitory control i. While there is no one-size-fits-all definition of high cognitive performance, those are just some of the traits that point to high cognitive performance in adults.

As for what high cognitive performance looks like in senior citizens, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, seniors who have high cognitive performance tend to be able to process information quickly and accurately. They're also able to remember information better than their peers who don't have high cognitive skills.

In addition, seniors with high cognitive performance tend to be more flexible in their thinking. They're able to see different sides of an issue and make decisions accordingly. Finally, seniors with high cognitive performance often have higher levels of creativity than those without it.

So, when it comes to cognitive performance and seniors, it can also be helpful to look for areas in which their skills might be declining rather than looking for areas in which they excel. Here are some of the most common cognitive changes in older adults:.

The truth is, it comes into play in several ways in our daily lives, often without us realizing it. Here are just a few examples of when we use our cognitive skills on a daily basis:.

Now you know what the term means, which means it's time to learn about improving it! So, next, let's talk about achieving high cognitive performance for adults and older adults. There are many different ways to improve your cognitive skills, but some of the most effective include:.

Giving yourself the chance to be creative and make creative decisions or perform creative activities can be incredibly helpful for improving or maintaining your cognitive skills.

When you're creative, you're using more of your brain than when you're just going through the motions. This is another helpful factor for achieving high cognitive performance.

According to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE , socialization can help improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of dementia. The study also found that people who had more social interactions were more likely to have better cognitive performance.

Another helpful strategy for achieving high cognitive performance is giving brain training games a try. These types of games are designed to help with things like memory, processing speed, and reaction time.

Not to mention, they're fun! Here are a few brain games you can play at home or with friends and family:. There are also a number of different brain training games available online and on mobile devices. A few popular options include Lumosity, NeuroNation, and Fit Brains Trainer.

Spatial memory is our ability to remember the locations of objects. For example, you use spatial memory every time you go to the grocery store and remember where the items you need are located.

Official websites use. gov A. gov website belongs Incrdases an official government organization in the United States. gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Cognitive health is increasingly Increases cognitive efficiency as a key Increases cognitive efficiency of Increasees health efficiency wellness Bart et al. As with other dimensions Cogntiive health and wellness, deliberate Incrwases is needed to maintain and especially improve cognitive health. In Increases cognitive efficiency Inceases, we discuss key factors Body fat percentage and body image exercises that can improve cognitive function and help sustain cognitive health across the lifespan. Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Productivity Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients become more productive and efficient. For much of their history, psychiatry, clinical psychology, and related disciplines like counseling focused on treating our deficitsrather than developing our strengths. In the realm of cognition, this entailed finding areas of thinking, memory, and problem solving that were relative strengths for an individual.