Hemispheric asymmetries in the amygdala: A comparative primer

Hormonal contraceptive usage influences stress hormone effects on cognition and emotion

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected individuals financially, physically, and mentally during the past couple of years. Recent research has indicated that mental health concerns such as stress, anxiety, and depression have been on the rise due to the pandemic and its consequences. Fortunately, resilience factors such as hope have also been examined in the midst of the pandemic. Hope has been found to be a buffer against stress, anxiety, and depression over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hope has also been associated with positive outcomes such as posttraumatic growth and well-being. These results have also been investigated in populations particularly affected by the pandemic such as healthcare professionals and patients with chronic illness and cross-culturally. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101559

Hope's relationship with resilience and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigates consumer preferences for brand tone when they are under a stressful situation (i.e., lockdown during the covid-19 pandemic). Five mutually exclusive brand tone choices were presented to consumer respondents (informative, comforting, trustworthy, inspiring, and humorous). Consumer preferences for these were inspected and analyzed against demographics and self-reported items related to pandemic-induced stress and coping behaviors. The statistical relationships between stress and individual brand tone preferences varied from negligible to negative. No positive associations were noted. Gender and marital status showed significant associations with brand tone selections. Marketing managers should be aware that consumers continue to prioritize informative messages during uncertain times. However, the use of comfort is also helpful during turbulent times and may be particularly appropriate for female consumers seeking social connections. Regarding study limitations, this research focused on u.s. residents during a single pandemic crisis. Respondent stress was self-reported.

COVID Communications: Preferred Brand Tones for Consumers during Stressful Times

The objective of the current investigation was to examine associations between symptomatic COVID-19 history, neurocognitive function, and psychiatric symptoms using cognitive task performance, functional brain imaging, and a prospective population survey.Study 1 was a laboratory study conducted between 3 May 2022 and 16 Nov 2022 involving 120 fully vaccinated community dwelling adults between 18 and 84 years of age (Mage = 31.96 (SD = 20.71), 63.3% female). In this cross-sectional study we examined the association between symptomatic COVID-19 infection history and performance on three computer tasks assessing cognitive function (Flanker interference, delay discounting and simple reaction time) and measured oxygen saturation within the prefrontal cortex using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Study 2 was a 2-wave population survey undertaken between 28 September 2021 and 21 March 2022, examining the prospective relationship between symptomatic COVID-19 and self-reported symptoms of cognitive dysfunction, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and agitation at 6-month follow up. The sample (N = 2,002, Mage = 37.0, SD = 10.4; 60.8% female) was collected using a quota process to ensure equal numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Structural equation modelling with latent variables was performed on the population-level data, evaluating the fit of the proposed mediational model of symptomatic COVID-19 to psychiatric symptoms through cognitive dysfunction.Findings from Study 1 revealed significant effects of symptomatic COVID-19 history on Flanker interference and delay discounting. Effects on flanker performance were significantly stronger among older adult women (effect: 9.603, SE = 4.452, t = 2.157, p = .033), and were accompanied by task-related changes cerebral oxygenation at the right superior frontal gyrus (F (1, 143.1) = 4.729, p = .031). Additionally, those with a symptomatic COVID-19 infection history showed evidence of amplified delay discounting (coefficient = 0.4554, SE = 0.2208, t = 2.0629, p = .041). In Study 2, baseline symptomatic COVID-19 history was associated with self-reported cognitive dysfunction and a latent variable reflecting psychiatric symptoms of anxiety, depression and agitation at follow-up. Mediational analyses revealed evidence of cognitive mediation of clinically significant psychiatric outcomes: depression (indirect effect = 0.077, SE = 0.026, p = .003) and generalized anxiety (indirect effect = 0.060, SE = 0.021, p = .004).Converging findings from laboratory and population survey data support the conclusion that symptomatic COVID-19 infection is associated with task-related, functional imaging and self-reported indices of cognitive dysfunction as well as psychiatric symptoms. In some cases, these findings appear to be more amplified among women than men, and among older women than younger. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9870612

Lena Sophie Pfeifer

Papers

Stress research during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.