The Effect of Stress on Working Memory in Persons with Parkinson’s Disease

TL;DR

This study explores how stress affects working memory in people with Parkinson’s disease, finding that stress impacts response times but not memory capacity.

Contribution

The study is the first to examine the effect of physical stress on working memory in Parkinson’s disease patients.

Findings

Persons with PD had slower response times and lower backward digit span capacity than healthy older adults under non-stressful conditions.

Stress reduced response times on the backward task for both groups but did not affect forward task performance.

Stress did not alter working memory capacity in either group.

Abstract

Background: In addition to motor symptoms, persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) experience several non-motor symptoms with challenges in working memory being particularly common. These cognitive challenges may worsen under stress. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine how physical stress affects working memory in persons with PD. Methods: Eight individuals with PD and 11 healthy older adults (HOAs) completed digit span forward and backward tasks following a socially evaluated cold pressor stressor and a control condition. Results: Under non-stressful conditions, persons with PD had a smaller digit span backward capacity and were slower during the digit span forward task compared to HOAs. However, during the stress condition, individuals with PD performed comparably to HOAs on the backward digit span task. Stress negatively affected response times on the backward task for both groups but did not alter capacity or response time on the forward task. Conclusions: These findings provide an initial step in understanding the effects of physical stress on working memory in PD. Since working memory supports many daily activities, understanding how stress influences this cognitive process may inform interventions that enhance stress regulation and improve cognitive and functional outcomes for individuals living with PD.

Figures