The influence of stress on distractor-response bindings

• Published in: Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Vol. 24; no. 6; pp. 795 - 804
• Main Authors: Singh, Tarini, Domes, Gregor, Frings, Christian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 02.11.2021
• Subjects: action control; Attention - physiology; Cold Pressor Test; cortisol; distractor-processing; Humans; Reaction Time - physiology; Stimulus-response binding; stress; Stress, Psychological; Cold Pressor Test; cortisol; stress; Stimulus-response binding; distractor-processing; action control
• ISSN: 1025-3890; 1607-8888; 1607-8888
• DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2021.1920919

Stimuli and responses that occur in close temporal contiguity are bound to each other and stored in short-term episodic traces or event files. A repetition of any of the features within an event file results in the retrieval of the entire event file and can influence responding. Along with task-relevant features, event files also contain task-irrelevant features, which are also bound to responses - distractor-response binding. In the present study, the distractor-response binding effect was examined under stress. Stress was induced via a Cold Pressor Test (CPT) and was manipulated between subjects. Distractor-response binding effects were measures at pre- and post-intervention. The CPT produced reliable effects on cortisol measurements and subjective ratings, however, no difference in the distractor-response binding effects between the groups was observed. Results are discussed against the background of the inconsistent results in the literature with respect to stimulus-response binding and stress.