The effects of cardiovascular stress on cognition

Human beings are frequently exposed to significant levels of psychological and physical stress. How stress is perceived determines the positive (eustress) and negative (distress) effects it can have on someone. This research looked at the effect of moderate cardiovascular stress on three cognitive functions. The procedure measured changes in directed attention using the reversible figure test (RFT), response inhibition using the Stroop test (ST) and short term memory using the reverse digit span test (RDS). This test determined that moderate cardiovascular demand is either eustressful or distressful depending on the cognitive function. Fifty-seven undergraduate students or similar volunteers were used in the study. Participants were in either a sedentary control condition (SC) or a moderate cardiovascular stress condition (MCS). All participants completed the cognitive measures three times. Maximal heart rate reserve (HRR) was calculated for each participant and in the moderate cardiovascular stress condition the participants maintained a target heart rate between 45% and 55% of their HRR. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (rmANOVA) was used to analyze the data for each cognitive measure separately. Participants in the MCS condition were less attention fatigued (x = 19.747) than the SC condition (x = 20.476). Short-term memory was significantly better in the SC condition ( x = 6.813) than the MCS condition ( x = 6.381). The results from the Stroop Color-Word Task was significantly different in the SC condition (x = -0.543) than the MCS condition (x = 2.019), but a procedural error in the MCS condition obscured the true ST scores. MCS stress has important effects on cognition, but the mechanisms at play are still not well understood.