The impact of induced stress on reactive and proactive control in depression

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Background Depression, a widespread mental health issue, is often marked by impaired cognitive control, particularly in managing proactive and reactive processes. The Dual Mechanisms of Control (DMC) framework differentiates between these two modes of cognitive control: proactive control involves sustained goal maintenance, while reactive control is more stimulus-driven and transient. Stress, known to exacerbate cognitive dysfunction in depression, may influence the balance between these control processes, though the specific effects remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate how acute stress influences proactive and reactive control in individuals with depressive symptoms. Methods A total of 142 participants were divided into high-stress and control conditions and further categorized based on their depression levels, measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Cognitive control was assessed using the AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT), both before and after exposure to a stress-inducing anagram task, which was designed to differentiate between high-stress and low-stress conditions. Results Participants exposed to the high-stress condition reported significantly greater stress and fatigue levels compared to the control group, validating the stress manipulation. Although the balance between reactive and proactive control, as measured by the Proactive Behavioral Index (PBI), did not show significant changes, depressive individuals in the high-stress condition exhibited a significant decline in their ability to retain contextual information, as indicated by a reduction in the d’-context index. This suggests that depressive individuals may be more prone to stress-induced difficulties in proactive control. Discussion These findings highlight the selective impact of stress on proactive cognitive control in individuals with depressive symptoms, shedding light on a potential cognitive vulnerability in depression. While the balance between reactive and proactive control remained stable, the impaired retention of contextual information post-stress points to a specific deficit in proactive control. This could have implications for targeted cognitive interventions, such as cognitive control training, aimed at enhancing resilience against stress in depressive populations. Future research should explore the long-term effects of stress on cognitive control, particularly in clinically diagnosed individuals.