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MIXED IMPACTS OF SEQUENTIAL ACUTE PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESSORS ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE
Sarah Ahamedand 21 co-authors
Sarah Ahamed
FENS Forum 2026 (2026)
Barcelona, Spain
Board PS07-10AM-463
Presentation
Date TBA
Board: PS07-10AM-463
Event Information
Poster Board
PS07-10AM-463
Poster
View posterAbstract
Background and Objectives:
Cognitive performance under acute stress is critical in high-risk professions, yet the domain-specific effects of acute psychosocial stress remain unclear. This study investigated cognitive performance changes following a novel, closely-spaced sequential psychosocial stressor paradigm using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) followed by the Sing-a-Song Stress Test (SSST).
Method:
Twenty-two healthy adults (11 male, 11 female) completed cognitive tasks at baseline, pre- and post-stress exposure. Performance was assessed across four domains: attention (Psychomotor Vigilance Task, PVT), risk-taking (Balloon Analogue Risk Task, BART), impulse control (Parametric Go/No-Go Task, PGNG), and emotion recognition (ER-40).
Results:
Post-stress, participants exhibited increased reaction times in the PVT, indicating attentional decline. Emotion recognition accuracy also showed significant variation, while risk-taking and impulse control remained unchanged.
Conclusions:
Findings highlight that cognitive effects of closely spaced sequential psychosocial stressors are task- and domain-specific, with sustained attention and emotion recognition being particularly sensitive whereas inhibitory-control and risk-taking being fairly stable. These results underscore the need for stress-mitigation strategies in cognitively demanding environments such as emergency response and military operations.
Correspondence:
Sarah Ahamed; sarah.ahamed@hdr.qut.edu.au
Cognitive performance under acute stress is critical in high-risk professions, yet the domain-specific effects of acute psychosocial stress remain unclear. This study investigated cognitive performance changes following a novel, closely-spaced sequential psychosocial stressor paradigm using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) followed by the Sing-a-Song Stress Test (SSST).
Method:
Twenty-two healthy adults (11 male, 11 female) completed cognitive tasks at baseline, pre- and post-stress exposure. Performance was assessed across four domains: attention (Psychomotor Vigilance Task, PVT), risk-taking (Balloon Analogue Risk Task, BART), impulse control (Parametric Go/No-Go Task, PGNG), and emotion recognition (ER-40).
Results:
Post-stress, participants exhibited increased reaction times in the PVT, indicating attentional decline. Emotion recognition accuracy also showed significant variation, while risk-taking and impulse control remained unchanged.
Conclusions:
Findings highlight that cognitive effects of closely spaced sequential psychosocial stressors are task- and domain-specific, with sustained attention and emotion recognition being particularly sensitive whereas inhibitory-control and risk-taking being fairly stable. These results underscore the need for stress-mitigation strategies in cognitively demanding environments such as emergency response and military operations.
Correspondence:
Sarah Ahamed; sarah.ahamed@hdr.qut.edu.au
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