Di Siyu, Ma Chao, Wu Xiaoguang, Lei Liang
Normal College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China.
Center of Application of Psychological Research, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China.
Front Psychol. 2023 Mar 7;14:1107935. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1107935. eCollection 2023.
This study investigated gender differences in behavioral inhibitory control among college students under acute stress state by using event-related potential technique.
Acute stress was evoked in 41 college students (22 males and 19 females) using the Trier Social Stress paradigm, and the neutral state was matched using out-of-speech reading, with subjects completing a two-choice Oddball task in each of the two states. In combination with the ERP technique, the area under the stress curve, reaction time, number of errors, and the difference waves between the two stimulus conditions in the frontal-central region N2 wave amplitude and the parietal-central region P3 wave amplitude were compared between the two groups of subjects in the stressful and neutral state.
The results revealed that the area under the stress curve was larger under the stress condition compared to the neutral condition, and the area under the stress curve was larger in females than in males. Behavioral results showed no statistically significant differences in reaction time and number of errors between the two genders in the acute stress condition. The ERP results showed that the wave amplitudes of N2 and P3 decreased significantly in both genders in the acute stress state. The decrease in N2 amplitude was greater in females during the transition from neutral to stressful condition, while the difference in P3 amplitude was not statistically significant in both genders.
The findings suggest that evoked acute stress can promote behavioral inhibitory control in both genders and that females are more sensitive to acute stress state.
本研究采用事件相关电位技术，调查急性应激状态下大学生行为抑制控制中的性别差异。
采用特里尔社会应激范式，对41名大学生（22名男性和19名女性）诱发急性应激，采用非言语阅读匹配中性状态，让受试者在两种状态下分别完成二选一Oddball任务。结合ERP技术，比较两组受试者在应激和中性状态下的应激曲线下面积、反应时间、错误数量，以及两种刺激条件下额中央区N2波幅和顶中央区P3波幅的差异波。
结果显示，与中性条件相比，应激条件下的应激曲线下面积更大，且女性的应激曲线下面积大于男性。行为结果表明，在急性应激条件下，两种性别在反应时间和错误数量上无统计学显著差异。ERP结果显示，急性应激状态下，男女两性的N2和P3波幅均显著下降。从中性状态过渡到应激状态时，女性的N2波幅下降幅度更大，而两性的P3波幅差异无统计学意义。
研究结果表明，诱发的急性应激可促进两性的行为抑制控制，且女性对急性应激状态更敏感。
