Disrupted Connections: The Impact of Acute Stress on Memory Integration
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Acute Stress, Non-Stress Control Task.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Stress, Control Condition. Basic parameters: 18 years — 35 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
The goal of this study is to better understand how stress impacts people's ability to learn across their experiences and link new information to what they already know. The investigators will compare performance on a memory task between stressed and non-stressed participants. This memory task requires people to integrate knowledge across learning experiences (think: having to "connect the dots", draw inferences, and generalize your knowledge to new situations and scenarios). Cortisol, the brain's primary stress hormone, will be measured at multiple points throughout the study to measure stress levels. The investigators hypothesize that: 1. Stress will disrupt performance on the memory task by interfering with memory processes that enable linking of related memories. 2. Higher cortisol levels, which reflect a greater stress response, will relate to greater deficits in memory performance across participants. This research has broad implications for understanding how stress impacts the ability to learn and retain new information, particularly in high-stress environments like schools and workplaces. Additionally, this work may provide insights into the cognitive difficulties experienced by individuals with psychiatric disorders, where stress can worsen memory and learning challenges.
Interventions
- Behavioral Acute Stress
Participants randomized to the acute stress condition will complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a validated experimental method for inducing acute psychosocial stress. The TSST consists of a brief anticipation period followed by a 5-minute mock job interview and a 5-minute surprise mental arithmetic task, performed in front of a neutral panel of judges in professional attire. - Behavioral Non-Stress Control Task
Participants randomized to the control condition will complete a non-stressful task designed to parallel the structure of the Trier Social Stress Test without eliciting acute stress. They will have a brief anticipation period followed by a 5-minute description of their typical day or favorite hobby. This task is conducted without an evaluative panel, minimizing the potential for stress or anxiety.
Primary outcome measures
- Performance on A-C inference trials in the Paired Associative Inference Task [Time frame: During the participant's study visit, anticipated 1-2 hours]
Secondary outcome measures (1)
- Performance on directly learned pairs (A-B and B-C) in the Paired Associative Inference Task [Time frame: During the participant's study visit, anticipated 1-2 hours]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- healthy adults
- aged 18-35 years
- speak fluent English
- have normal or corrected-to-normal vision
Exclusion criteria
- individuals who are pregnant
- exercise within 1 hour of the study session
- smoking within 1 hour of the study session
- consuming drugs or alcohol within 1 hour of the study session
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- Nevada State University — Henderson
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07055555 · 2501-0392 · 5P20GM103440