Physiologic Response Patterns Observed in a Learning Task

Powell, Arnold; Eisdorfer, Carl; Bogdonoff, Morton D.

doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1964.01720200088013

Cited by 102 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…For example, within 15 min of a memory examination, subjects registered a 22% increase in free fatty acids [18). Other studies using learning tasks found no significant change in free fatty acids (52).…”

Section: Laboratory Stressesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Variability of Plasma Lipids in Response to Emotional Arousal

Dimsdale

Herd

1982

Psychosomatic Medicine

175

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Although plasma lipid levels are assumed to reflect the individual's constitutional or nutritional status, many studies have found that plasma lipids are noticeably influenced by short-term emotional arousal. Sixty such studies are reviewed. These studies span a remarkable breadth of stressful situations, such as from viewing disturbing films to taking examinations or participating in military training courses. Free fatty acid levels were almost invariably elevated in the context of a stressful event. Most studies also found that cholesterol increased from 8 to 65% above baseline under stressful conditions. In some individuals cholesterol levels may be highly labile. There was no consistent pattern of triglyceride response to emotional arousal. This area, although imaginatively studied 20 years ago, has been relatively ignored in recent years. The availability of more sophisticated techniques for studying psychological stress, neuroendocrine response, and lipid metabolism makes this topic a fertile area for further study.

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Section: Laboratory Stressesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Variability of Plasma Lipids in Response to Emotional Arousal

Dimsdale

Herd

1982

Psychosomatic Medicine

175

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“…Of the several elements of intellectual function impaired in senescence, one of the most notable is the decline in learning performance where rapid response is required (53,54). This is manifested primarily in errors of omission, reflecting response suppression and has been postulated by Powell et al (54) and Eisdorfer et al (55) to be secondary to heightened autonomic arousal in the elderly.…”

Section: Psychological Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Sympathetic Nervous System and Aging in Man

1980

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The attainment of old age is easy and only the inquiry about it difficult and so much the rather, because it is corrupted with false opinions and vaine reports.-Francis Bacon E NDOCRINE and neuroendocrine systems have long held the fascination of gerontologists, since alterations in these integrative networks might underlie either the aging process itself or the clear-cut clinical manifestations of altered homeostasis in old age. With the exception of obvious changes in female reproductive endocrinology, most investigations of endocrine systems in man, including studies of pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, pancreatic, and adrenal cortical function, have failed to show a major effect of aging on basal hormone levels and have displayed only modest changes in these systems as a result of stress (1). An exception to this generalization may be found in the age-related declines in renin and aldosterone (2, 3), changes that are probably secondary to decline in renal mass. During the last several years, considerable attention has been focused on the possibility that changes in neurotransmitter systems in the central nervous system may either underlie aging or its manifestations. Although a large number of studies in man and other mammals have identified changes (generally decreases) in the central nervous system content of various neurotransmitters with advancing age, the marked variability between specific brain regions and specific neurotransmitter systems and the interspecies differences have retarded development of a uniform view of changes in brain neurotransmitter function with age (4).A possible relation between aging and the sympathoadrenal system is receiving increasing attention. This interest has been fostered by the availability of reliable techniques for the measurement of catecholamines in plasma and increasing knowledge of their physiological effects. This paper will review current information regarding the influence of age on the function of the sympathetic nervous system. The review will be limited, to whatever degree possible, to studies performed in man. Other

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“…This is an important question because of the hypothesis that heightened sympathetic arousal during psychological stress is the cause of learning and cognition difficulties in the elderly (9). This hypothesis developed from findings that circulating levels of FFA, an indirect index of sympathetic arousal, were elevated in elderly subjects compared to those in young subjects during a stressful learning task (10,11). The current study was designed to measure changes in EPI and NE during a stressful mental task to determine more directly if sympathetic nervous system function is heightened during psychological stress in older adults.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Age on the Plasma Catecholamine Response to Mental Stress in Man*

Barnes

Raskind

Gumbrecht

et al. 1982

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

142

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To determine if sympathetic nervous system activity is heightened during psychological stress in older adults, plasma norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (EPI), heart rate, and blood pressure were measured in 10 healthy old (mean age, 68.5 yr) men and 10 healthy young (mean age, 26.6 yr) men during a 12-min mental stress test. Basal NE was higher in old than in young men (400 +/- 33 vs. 286 +/- 32 pg/ml: p less than 0.01). Consistent significant increases in plasma NE occurred only in the elderly and mean increases (delta) in NE during testing were significantly greater (P less than 0.01) in the old than in the young men. Compared to basal levels, plasma EPI increased by 2 min in both young (delta EPI, 50 +/- 20 pg/ml; P less than 0.02) and old subjects (delta EPI, 41 +/- 11; P less than 0.01) and remained significantly increased throughout the test. There was no difference in either basal or delta EPI between young and old men. Heart rate and blood pressure were significantly increased throughout testing for both age groups. Although the delta blood pressure during testing tended to be greater in the old men, this difference was not statistically significant. Conversely, the delta heart rate was greater in the young subjects (P less than 0.005). Since EPI increases were similar in old and young men, mental stress-related adrenomedullary activation does not appear to change with age. However, the increased plasma NE response in the elderly suggests that they have heightened activity of postganglionic sympathetic neurons during psychological stress.

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Physiologic Response Patterns Observed in a Learning Task

Cited by 102 publications

References 8 publications

Variability of Plasma Lipids in Response to Emotional Arousal

Variability of Plasma Lipids in Response to Emotional Arousal

Sympathetic Nervous System and Aging in Man

The Effects of Age on the Plasma Catecholamine Response to Mental Stress in Man*

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