Skosnik P D, Chatterton R T, Swisher T, Park S
Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2000 Apr;36(1):59-68. doi: 10.1016/s0167-8760(99)00100-2.
Two of the most salient physiological responses to stress are increased norepinephrine (NE) and cortisol (CORT) activities. However, it is unclear how these neurochemical events affect cognition, especially attention. We examined the effects of mild psychological stress on selective attention, as assessed by the negative priming (NP) paradigm. Salivary measures of the stress hormone CORT and alpha-amylase (a correlate of NE) were assayed to probe the relationship between the stress response and attentional inhibition. Healthy subjects (N = 20) engaged in the attention task, which was then followed by 15 min of a stressful video game before a return to the attentional task. Baseline saliva samples were obtained before the experiment began, 1 min after the video-game stressor, and 20 min post-stress. Subjects showed a significant reduction in NP and a decrease in reaction time (RT) after the video game. Moreover, alpha-amylase levels increased significantly after the stressor, indicating the role of NE in the acute stress response. While CORT levels remained unchanged after stress, CORT correlated significantly with both NP scores and RT after the stressor. These results imply that mild psychological stress can significantly alter attentional processes. Given the increase in alpha-amylase and the correlation between attention and CORT after stress, it seems likely that attentional processes are under tight control by brain systems which mediate the fight-or-flight response.
对压力最显著的两种生理反应是去甲肾上腺素（NE）和皮质醇（CORT）活性增加。然而，尚不清楚这些神经化学事件如何影响认知，尤其是注意力。我们通过负启动（NP）范式评估了轻度心理压力对选择性注意力的影响。检测唾液中应激激素CORT和α-淀粉酶（NE的一个相关指标），以探究应激反应与注意力抑制之间的关系。健康受试者（N = 20）参与注意力任务，随后进行15分钟的压力性电子游戏，之后再回到注意力任务。在实验开始前、电子游戏应激源后1分钟以及应激后20分钟采集基线唾液样本。受试者在电子游戏后NP显著降低，反应时间（RT）缩短。此外，应激源后α-淀粉酶水平显著升高，表明NE在急性应激反应中的作用。虽然应激后CORT水平保持不变，但应激后CORT与NP分数和RT均显著相关。这些结果表明，轻度心理压力可显著改变注意力过程。鉴于应激后α-淀粉酶增加以及注意力与CORT之间的相关性，注意力过程似乎受到介导战斗或逃跑反应的脑系统的严格控制。
