Abstract
It has been evidenced that, with aging, older adults exhibit increased behavioral and physiological responses to stress. Older adults also often experience declines in executive functioning performance. The acute psychological stress induced through the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) has been evidenced to negatively impact executive functioning in young adults. This relationship, however, has yet to be examined in older adults. In the current thesis, two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of stress on executive functioning (Experiment 1), as well as age related differences in stress responsivity and in the effect of stress on executive functioning (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, acute stress exhibited a negative effect on executive functioning. In Experiment 2, there were no age differences in stress responses, and a positive effect of acute stress on executive functioning in young adults only. The contradictory findings encourage further research on the effects of stress on executive functioning, and how they may differ between young and older adults.
Highlights
Experiencing stress and exercising the mind are two distinct pillars that become repeatedly intertwined in our everyday lives
These findings suggest that do older adults maintain higher levels of cortisol at rest, but once exposed to an acute stressor, the increased level of cortisol remains high for a longer period of time compared to that of a young adult
The notion that older adults can be more sensitive to the effects of cortisol compared to young adults (Seeman, McEwen, Singer, Albert, & Rowe, 1997) combined with the age-related changes that occur in the anterior pre-frontal cortex (Schacter, Savage, Alpert, Rauch, & Albert, 1996), leads to the prediction that stress will have a more detrimental impact on executive functioning in older adults compared to young adults
Summary
Experiencing stress and exercising the mind are two distinct pillars that become repeatedly intertwined in our everyday lives. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland become desensitized to the negative feedback loop, the production of CRH and ACTH becomes less inhibited, leading to generally higher levels of cortisol in the older adult’s body (McEwen, 1988) These findings suggest that do older adults maintain higher levels of cortisol at rest, but once exposed to an acute stressor, the increased level of cortisol remains high for a longer period of time compared to that of a young adult. The notion that older adults can be more sensitive to the effects of cortisol compared to young adults (Seeman, McEwen, Singer, Albert, & Rowe, 1997) combined with the age-related changes that occur in the anterior pre-frontal cortex (Schacter, Savage, Alpert, Rauch, & Albert, 1996), leads to the prediction that stress will have a more detrimental impact on executive functioning in older adults compared to young adults. It was hypothesized that acute stress would have a more detrimental impact on executive functioning in older adults compared to young adults
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