TAP reading note: The effects of acute stress on core executive functions: A meta-analysis and comparison with cortisol
Acute stress was associated with impaired working memory and cognitive flexibility, with more differentiated effects on inhibition. A single description of “cognitive recovery” obscures different tasks and processes.
Updated 2026-11-13 · Archived
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What the study found
Acute stress was associated with impaired working memory and cognitive flexibility, with more differentiated effects on inhibition. A single description of “cognitive recovery” obscures different tasks and processes.
Scope & limitations
Human acute-stress experiments assessing core executive functions.
Task classification, stress timing and study design affect interpretation. Later commentary and the authors’ response address heterogeneous outcomes and analytic choices. These are not estimates of time to whole-person recovery.
Population & sample
Human acute-stress experiments assessing core executive functions.
Exposure or intervention
Acute stress, compared with relevant controls; contrasted with cortisol-administration evidence.
Outcomes
Working memory, cognitive flexibility and forms of inhibition.
Time frame
Task- and timing-specific acute comparisons; review published in 2016.
Research funding
Not yet verified against the full text.
Research conflicts of interest
Not yet verified against the full text.
Reading scope
Original PubMed abstract and bibliographic record, plus the 2018 authors’ response abstract. Commentary links are supplied for the methodological debate; the pooled analysis was not recomputed.
References
Publication record
TAP-RDN-0103 · v1.0 · English
Author: TAP Editorial Team ·
The Allostasis Project is founded and supported by Resilio.
Record for v1.0 · Updated
Editorial responsibility: TAP Editorial Team
Editorial note
Under the editorial responsibility of the TAP Editorial Team, this publication used AI assistance for content organization and editing.
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Record integrity & available editions
SHA-256: 9acaab3cf73c15275a39ab46a3e83cb1bfa5880ae5e8c20e81b203e386ef74e0
Captured: 2026-11-13T08:41:22.422Z
- v1.0 · 2026-11-13