Impairment of Proactive Control Due to Acute Stress
Mentor 1
Christine Larson
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
29-4-2016 1:30 PM
End Date
29-4-2016 3:30 PM
Description
This study was developed to understand how induced anxiety impacts cognitive control processes. Anxiety disorders are prominent mental health disorders that impair everyday function. Specifically, individuals with anxiety display difficulty with concentration in everyday task. Completing daily task requires focus and engagement of cognitive control, but cognitive control is disrupted by anxiety. The dual mechanism of control (DMC) is a theoretical framework that suggest there are two modes of cognitive control: proactive control and reactive control. Proactive control engages cognitive processes to maintain and sustain goal-relevant information and reactive control represents transient engagement of cognitive control in the face of conflict. Shifting successfully between these types of mental control is normal and necessary for everyday life. We posit that state anxiety uses up the resources to engage in the sustained focused proactive control with anxiety related processes, such as worry, leaving one to rely on the more transient less goal focused reactive control. Using the AX-Task, we hypothesize that state anxiety will reduce the ability to engage in proactive cognitive control. While hooked up to EEG recording devices, every participant experiences two conditions: shock and safe. Thus far, preliminary data shows support for the hypothesis which predicts that induced anxiety will effect an individual’s ability to use proactive control. Understanding how anxiety impacts proactive control will allow for a refined understanding and model of anxiety in order to better improve intervention focused on alleviating cognitive symptoms of anxiety.
Impairment of Proactive Control Due to Acute Stress
Union Wisconsin Room
This study was developed to understand how induced anxiety impacts cognitive control processes. Anxiety disorders are prominent mental health disorders that impair everyday function. Specifically, individuals with anxiety display difficulty with concentration in everyday task. Completing daily task requires focus and engagement of cognitive control, but cognitive control is disrupted by anxiety. The dual mechanism of control (DMC) is a theoretical framework that suggest there are two modes of cognitive control: proactive control and reactive control. Proactive control engages cognitive processes to maintain and sustain goal-relevant information and reactive control represents transient engagement of cognitive control in the face of conflict. Shifting successfully between these types of mental control is normal and necessary for everyday life. We posit that state anxiety uses up the resources to engage in the sustained focused proactive control with anxiety related processes, such as worry, leaving one to rely on the more transient less goal focused reactive control. Using the AX-Task, we hypothesize that state anxiety will reduce the ability to engage in proactive cognitive control. While hooked up to EEG recording devices, every participant experiences two conditions: shock and safe. Thus far, preliminary data shows support for the hypothesis which predicts that induced anxiety will effect an individual’s ability to use proactive control. Understanding how anxiety impacts proactive control will allow for a refined understanding and model of anxiety in order to better improve intervention focused on alleviating cognitive symptoms of anxiety.
