Does older adults' cognition particularly suffer from stress? A systematic review of acute stress effects on cognition in older age

Greta Mikneviciute; Nicola Ballhausen; Ulrike Rimmele; Matthias Kliegel

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.009

Does older adults' cognition particularly suffer from stress? A systematic review of acute stress effects on cognition in older age

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2022 Jan:132:583-602. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.009. Epub 2021 Dec 9.

Authors

Greta Mikneviciute¹, Nicola Ballhausen², Ulrike Rimmele³, Matthias Kliegel⁴

Affiliations

¹ NCCR LIVES-Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives, Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: Greta.Mikneviciute@unige.ch.
² Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
³ NCCR LIVES-Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives, Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁴ NCCR LIVES-Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives, Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

PMID: 34896431
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.009

Abstract

This literature review provides the first comprehensive qualitative and quantitative systematic synthesis of acute laboratory stress effects on older adults' cognition by specifying the direction and magnitude of those effects both overall and for different cognitive processes separately. A systematic literature search was performed, and effect sizes estimated whenever possible. We found meta-analytical evidence that stress has negative effects on older adults' verbal fluency (g_adj = -0.53, 95 % CI [-2.70, 1.63]), null-to-negative effects on episodic memory (g_adj = -0.26, 95 % CI [-0.44, -0.08]), null effects on executive functions (g_adj = 0.07, 95 % CI [-0.31, 0.46]), and enhancing effects on working memory (g_adj = 0.16, 95 % CI [-0.01, 0.33]). Relating these findings to those in young adults, notable differences emerged for some cognitive functions, such as opposing effects on working memory between age groups. Our review further reveals that stress effects on older adults' memory retention, associative memory, prospective memory, interference control or cognitive flexibility are heavily understudied. We provide a conceptual and methodological framework for future studies in older adults.

Keywords: Acute stress; Aging; Episodic memory; Stress and cognition; TSST; Working memory.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Aged
Aging / psychology
Anxiety
Cognition*
Executive Function
Humans
Memory, Episodic*
Memory, Short-Term