Acute stress imparts a transient benefit to task-switching that is not modulated following a single bout of exercise

Anisa Morava; Benjamin Tari; Joshua Ahn; Mustafa Shirzad; Matthew Heath; Harry Prapavessis

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1157644

Acute stress imparts a transient benefit to task-switching that is not modulated following a single bout of exercise

Front Psychol. 2023 Jul 18:14:1157644. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1157644. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Anisa Morava¹, Benjamin Tari^{1

2}, Joshua Ahn¹, Mustafa Shirzad¹, Matthew Heath^{1

3

4}, Harry Prapavessis¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Kinesiology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
² Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
³ Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
⁴ Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Cognitive flexibility represents a core component of executive function that promotes the ability to efficiently alternate-or "switch"-between different tasks. Literature suggests that acute stress negatively impacts cognitive flexibility, whereas a single bout of aerobic exercise supports a postexercise improvement in cognitive flexibility. Here, we examined whether a single bout of aerobic exercise attenuates a stress-induced decrement in task-switching.

Materials and methods: Forty participants (age range = 19-30) completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and were randomized into separate Exercise or Rest groups entailing 20-min sessions of heavy intensity exercise (80% of heart rate maximum via cycle ergometer) or rest, respectively. Stress induction was confirmed via state anxiety and heart rate. Task-switching was assessed prior to the TSST (i.e., pre-TSST), following the TSST (i.e., post-TSST), and following Exercise and Rest interventions (i.e., post-intervention) via pro- (i.e., saccade to veridical target location) and antisaccades (i.e., saccade mirror-symmetrical to target location) arranged in an AABB task-switching paradigm. The underlying principle of the AABB paradigm suggests that when prosaccades are preceded by antisaccades (i.e., task-switch trials), the reaction times are longer compared to their task-repeat counterparts (i.e., unidirectional prosaccade switch-cost).

Results: As expected, the pre-TSST assessment yielded a prosaccade switch cost. Notably, post-TSST physiological measures indicated a reliable stress response and at this assessment a null prosaccade switch-cost was observed. In turn, post-intervention assessments revealed a switch-cost independent of Exercise and Rest groups.

Conclusion: Accordingly, the immediate effects of acute stress supported improved task-switching in young adults; however, these benefits were not modulated by a single bout of aerobic exercise.

Keywords: antisaccades; cognitive flexibility; executive function; oculomotor; psychosocial stressor.