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Updated: May 21, 2026
07:26
Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm
Published on: May 4, 2020
Structural variations in prefrontal cortex mediate the relationship between early childhood stress and spatial
Jamie L Hanson1, Moo K Chung, Brian B Avants
1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA. jlhanson5@wisc.edu
Summary
Cumulative life stress shrinks the prefrontal cortex (PFC), impairing spatial working memory in adolescents. Structural brain changes mediate this cognitive decline, highlighting stress
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Stress negatively impacts cognitive functions, particularly executive functions reliant on the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
- Adolescence is a critical period for brain development and reorganization, making it vulnerable to environmental influences like stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between cumulative life stress, prefrontal cortex (PFC) morphometry, and spatial working memory in adolescents.
- To determine if structural changes in the PFC mediate the effects of stress on cognitive functioning.
Main Methods:
- Collected structural MRI scans from 61 adolescents.
- Administered validated executive functioning assessments, including spatial working memory tests.
- Conducted detailed interviews to quantify cumulative life stress exposure.
Main Results:
- Cumulative life stress was associated with reduced gray and white matter volumes in the PFC.
- Smaller PFC volumes were linked to poorer spatial working memory performance.
- Mediation analyses confirmed that prefrontal gray and white matter volumes accounted for the stress-cognition link.
Conclusions:
- Cumulative life stress is associated with structural alterations in the adolescent prefrontal cortex (PFC).
- These structural changes in the PFC mediate the negative impact of stress on spatial working memory.
- Findings suggest PFC morphometry is a key mechanism linking life stress to cognitive deficits during adolescence.
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