Roy Taylor, Saroka Kevin S, Hossack Victoria L, Dotta Blake T
Behavioural Neuroscience Program, School of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 May 2;13(5):373. doi: 10.3390/bs13050373.
Common stressors amongst postsecondary students are exam-induced anxiety and stress. The purpose of this study was to measure stress alterations in the student population around examinations and determine how they affect electroencephalogram (EEG) profiles and memory scores. Twenty university students were measured multiple times in the study. During each measurement, participants were administered a cortisol saliva test and an EEG. We hypothesized that cortisol levels, memory scores, and EEG profiles would all demonstrate changes near examinations. The brain regions of interest (ROIs) were the parahippocampal gyrus, the medial frontal gyrus, and the middle frontal gyrus. Results demonstrated that memory performance and parahippocampal activity were correlated, specifically in the 5-9 Hz frequency band. Correlations were also computed between cortisol levels, memory performance, and parahippocampal activity. The medial frontal gyrus also displayed changes in the mean (19-20 Hz) current source density (CSD) throughout the experiment. The middle frontal gyrus activation was highly variable during the different measurement time points. Essentially, when an individual's memory scores were consistent between exam and nonexam trials, there was an increase in middle frontal gyrus activation during examination periods. Lastly, the right parahippocampal gyrus was found to be the most activated one day away from examination time. These results indicate that memory scores are related to cortisol levels and examination periods, but most importantly, there are overt and predictable alterations in student EEG profiles near examinations.
高等院校学生常见的压力源是考试引发的焦虑和压力。本研究的目的是测量学生群体在考试前后的压力变化，并确定这些变化如何影响脑电图（EEG）特征和记忆分数。在该研究中，对20名大学生进行了多次测量。每次测量时，对参与者进行皮质醇唾液测试和脑电图检查。我们假设皮质醇水平、记忆分数和脑电图特征在考试前后都会出现变化。感兴趣的脑区（ROI）是海马旁回、内侧额回和额中回。结果表明，记忆表现与海马旁回活动相关，特别是在5-9赫兹频段。还计算了皮质醇水平、记忆表现和海马旁回活动之间的相关性。在整个实验过程中，内侧额回的平均电流源密度（CSD）（19-20赫兹）也显示出变化。在不同的测量时间点，额中回的激活情况变化很大。从本质上讲，当一个人在考试和非考试试验中的记忆分数一致时，考试期间额中回的激活会增加。最后，发现海马旁回在距离考试还有一天时激活最为明显。这些结果表明，记忆分数与皮质醇水平和考试时期有关，但最重要的是，学生的脑电图特征在考试前后会出现明显且可预测的变化。
