Stress disrupts human thinking, but the brain can bounce back
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 13:56
in Psychology & Sociology
Med school students prepping for their boards and rodents digging for food have a bit of psychology in common: Stress hampers their nimbler thinking abilities. A new neuroimaging study, building on earlier rodent research, shows that stressed-out men, like rats, have a hard time shifting their attention from one task to another. But the work holds good news too, for both rats and humans: Their brains are resilient. Less than one month after the stress disappears, the quick thinking returns.