Cerebral Cortical Activity During Academic Stress Amongst Undergraduate Medical Students at Kampala International University (Uganda)

Abstract

BackgroundStress among medical students is related to their academic lifespan; however, information on brain health among medical students from developing countries continues to be scarce. The objective of this study was to establish perceived academic stress levels, assess the ability to cope with stress, and investigate its effects on the visual reaction time (VRT), audio reaction time (ART), and tactile reaction time (TRT) in the somatosensory cortex among medical students of Uganda.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study conducted among preclinical (n = 88) and clinical (n = 96) undergraduate medical students at Kampala International University Western Campus. A standard Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to categorize stress into low, moderate, and severe while the ability to cope with stress was categorized into below average, average, above average, and superior stresscoper (SS). Data on reaction time were acquired through VRT, ART, and TRT using the catch-a-ruler experiment, and this was analyzed using SPSS version 20.ResultsThis study shows that preclinical students are more stressed than clinical students (PSS prevalence for low stress = preclinical; clinical: 40, 60%). Moderate stress was 48.4 and 51.6% while high perceived stress was 75 and 25% among preclinical and clinical students. Among male and female students in preclinical years, higher TRT and VRT were found in clinical students showing that stress affects the tactile and visual cortical areas in the brain, although the VRT scores were only significantly (P = 0.0123) poor in male students than female students in biomedical sciences. Also, highly stressed individuals had higher TRT and ART and low VRT. SS had high VRT and ART and low TRT in preclinical students, demonstrating the importance of the visual cortex in stress plasticity. Multiple regression showed a close relationship between PSS, ability to cope with stress, age, and educational level (P < 0.05), demonstrating the importance of social and psychological support, especially in the biomedical sciences.ConclusionPreclinical students suffer more from stress and are poorer SS than clinical students. This strongly impairs their cortical regions in the brain, thus affecting their academic productivity.

Aspectos Psicossociais Dos Estudantes De Medicina: Uma Revisão Narrativa

“…(SOHAIL, 2013) O estresse pode ter certa conotação favorável, como que motivando o estudante a exercer sua extensa agenda de atividades e conseguir bom aproveitamento; entretanto, numa grande quantidade de alunos, o estresse se mostra desfavorável e, deste modo, tem sido observado que um mesmo fator estressor pode desencadear diferentes respostas, a depender de traços pessoais, experiências, recursos próprios ou oferecidos pelo meio em que se encontra. (BUGAJ et al, 2016) Mujinya et al (2022 compararam, por meio da escala de estresse percebida, estudantes do ciclo pré-clínico com os do ciclo clínico e observaram maior estresse nos iniciantes, sendo este resultado associado inversamente ao nível educacional, à idade e à capacidade de lidar com o estresse (coping). A observação de tais efeitos é relatada com maior frequência e intensidade nas mulheres.…”

Analyzing Perceived Psychological and Social Stress of University Students: A Machine Learning Approach

“…These challenges have been exacerbated by many university students' already high-stress levels, including academic pressure and uncertainty about their future careers. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it even more crucial for universities to provide support and resources to help students manage their mental health during this challenging time [ 12 ]. Therefore, the degree of stress among university students should be determined, and preventive actions should be adopted to improve their academic performance to ensure their future well-being [ 13 ].…”