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Feel free to write this down: Writing about a stressful experience does not impair change detection task performance.

ABSTRACT: Acute stress impairs working memory (i.e., the ability to update and keep information in mind). Although that effect is well established, the boundaries around it are not. In particular, little is known about how recalling an unresolved stressor might influence working memory, or about how stress-or recalling a stressful event-influences the processes underlying working memory task performance (e.g., sustained/controlled attention vs. capacity). We addressed these issues in the present study (N = 171) by randomly assigning participants to write about an unresolved, extremely stressful experience (stressful writing condition; n = 85) or the events of the prior day (control condition; n = 86), and, subsequently, both measured change detection task performance and used computational cognitive modeling to estimate the processes underlying it-namely, attention, capacity, and bias. We found that, relative to the control task, writing about a stressful experience neither impaired performance on the change detection task nor altered any of the processes underlying performance on that task. These results show that the effects of writing about an unresolved, stressful episode do not parallel effects of acute stress on working memory, indicating that experiencing a stressor may have very different cognitive effects than recalling it at a later time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

SUBMITTER: Shields GS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6702094 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Feel free to write this down: Writing about a stressful experience does not impair change detection task performance.

Shields Grant S GS Spahr Chandler M CM Yonelinas Andrew P AP

Emotion (Washington, D.C.) 20181213 2

Acute stress impairs working memory (i.e., the ability to update and keep information in mind). Although that effect is well established, the boundaries around it are not. In particular, little is known about how recalling an unresolved stressor might influence working memory, or about how stress-or recalling a stressful event-influences the processes underlying working memory task performance (e.g., sustained/controlled attention vs. capacity). We addressed these issues in the present study (N ...[more]

PMID: 30550306

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Project description:PurposeTo investigate the effect of reading or writing on a smartphone in terms of intraocular pressure (IOP) changes.DesignProspective, comparative case series.ParticipantsThirty-nine (39) healthy young (age < 40) volunteers.MethodsThe participants were requested to conduct standardized work (i.e., read a sample text on single mobile device and subsequently type it on the same device) under daylight [300 lux] and low-light [100 lux] conditions independently on consecutive days. On each day, three sets of IOP measurements (total: 7) using a rebound tonometer (iCare PRO; Tiolat, Helsinki, Finland) were performed: (1) pre-work (baseline) [2 measurements], (2) during smartphone work [5, 15, and 25 minutes], and (3) post-work [5 and 15 minutes].Main outcome measuresChanges in IOP at different check-out points.ResultsUnder the daylight condition, the mean baseline IOP was 13.7 ± 1.8 mmHg, and the mean IOP increased after 5 minutes of work (14.1 ± 1.8 mmHg; +2.0 ± 1.9%; P < 0.001). When the smartphone work lasted for 15 minutes, the IOP showed a further significant increase (15.5 ± 1.7 mmHg; +12.9 ± 4.4%; P < 0.001), which persisted over the course of the 25 minutes of smartphone work (15.3 ± 1.8 mmHg; +11.1 ± 3.9%; P < 0.001); then, after stopping work for 5 minutes, the IOP was restored (13.9 ± 1.7 mmHg; +0.9 ± 2.1%; P = 0.220). Under the low-light condition, the mean IOP was significantly increased immediately after 5 minutes of smartphone work (from 13.9 ± 1.9 to 15.6 ± 1.8 mmHg; +12.1 ± 4.8%; P < 0.001); this IOP increase continued: 17.3 ± 1.9 [+24.7 ± 10.3%] at 15 minutes' work, and 17.0 ± 1.7 mmHg [+23.1 ± 9.5%] at 25 minutes' work (P < 0.001 at both check-out points). Five minutes after stopping the smartphone work, interestingly, the IOP significantly dropped, to a level even lower than that of the pre-work (12.8 ± 1.9 mmHg; -8.1 ± 3.0%; P < 0.001), and at post-work 15 minutes, the IOP returned to the baseline (13.9 ± 1.8 mmHg; -0.3 ± 2.6%; P = 0.360).ConclusionsIn healthy young subjects, reading or writing on smartphone significantly increased IOP, and the changes of IOP were faster and greater under the low-light condition. Smartphone users who are concerned about IOP fluctuation are advised to (1) take a break if they read or write on smartphone for more than 5 minutes, and (2) avoid using smartphones wherever possible in dark places.

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Feel free to write this down: Writing about a stressful experience does not impair change detection task performance.

Publications

Feel free to write this down: Writing about a stressful experience does not impair change detection task performance.

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