Chronic stress is associated with specific path integration deficits
Standard
Chronic stress is associated with specific path integration deficits. / Akan, Osman; Bierbrauer, Anne; Kunz, Lukas; Gajewski, Patrick D; Getzmann, Stephan; Hengstler, Jan G; Wascher, Edmund; Axmacher, Nikolai; Wolf, Oliver T.
in: BEHAV BRAIN RES, Jahrgang 442, 28.03.2023, S. 114305.Publikationen: SCORING: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift/Zeitung › SCORING: Zeitschriftenaufsatz › Forschung › Begutachtung
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - Chronic stress is associated with specific path integration deficits
AU - Akan, Osman
AU - Bierbrauer, Anne
AU - Kunz, Lukas
AU - Gajewski, Patrick D
AU - Getzmann, Stephan
AU - Hengstler, Jan G
AU - Wascher, Edmund
AU - Axmacher, Nikolai
AU - Wolf, Oliver T
N1 - Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2023/3/28
Y1 - 2023/3/28
N2 - Repeated exposure to stress (chronic stress) can cause excess levels of circulating cortisol and has detrimental influences on various cognitive functions including long-term memory and navigation. However, it remains an open question whether chronic stress affects path integration, a navigational strategy that presumably relies on the functioning of grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex. The entorhinal cortex is a brain region in the medial temporal lobe, which contains multiple cell types involved in spatial navigation (and episodic memory), and a high number of corticosteroid receptors, predisposing it as a potential target of cortisol effects. Here, our goal was to investigate the association between chronic stress and path integration performance. We assessed chronic stress via hair cortisol concentration (physiological measure) and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (subjective measure) in 52 female participants aged 22-65 years. Path integration was measured using a virtual homing task. Linear mixed models revealed selective impairments associated with chronic stress that depended on error type and environmental features. When focusing on distance estimations in the path integration task, we observed a significant relationship to hair cortisol concentrations indicating impaired path integration particularly during trials with higher difficulty in participants with high hair cortisol concentrations. This relationship especially emerged in the absence of spatial cues (a boundary or a landmark), and particularly in participants who reported high levels of subjectively experienced chronic stress. The findings are in line with the hypothesis that chronic stress compromises path integration, possibly via an effect on the entorhinal grid cell system.
AB - Repeated exposure to stress (chronic stress) can cause excess levels of circulating cortisol and has detrimental influences on various cognitive functions including long-term memory and navigation. However, it remains an open question whether chronic stress affects path integration, a navigational strategy that presumably relies on the functioning of grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex. The entorhinal cortex is a brain region in the medial temporal lobe, which contains multiple cell types involved in spatial navigation (and episodic memory), and a high number of corticosteroid receptors, predisposing it as a potential target of cortisol effects. Here, our goal was to investigate the association between chronic stress and path integration performance. We assessed chronic stress via hair cortisol concentration (physiological measure) and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (subjective measure) in 52 female participants aged 22-65 years. Path integration was measured using a virtual homing task. Linear mixed models revealed selective impairments associated with chronic stress that depended on error type and environmental features. When focusing on distance estimations in the path integration task, we observed a significant relationship to hair cortisol concentrations indicating impaired path integration particularly during trials with higher difficulty in participants with high hair cortisol concentrations. This relationship especially emerged in the absence of spatial cues (a boundary or a landmark), and particularly in participants who reported high levels of subjectively experienced chronic stress. The findings are in line with the hypothesis that chronic stress compromises path integration, possibly via an effect on the entorhinal grid cell system.
U2 - 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114305
DO - 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114305
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 36682499
VL - 442
SP - 114305
JO - BEHAV BRAIN RES
JF - BEHAV BRAIN RES
SN - 0166-4328
ER -