Stress influences our spatial perception

Complex landscape scenarios only partially noticeable under stress
Stress has an impact on many processes in the human organism and is associated with the development of various ailments such as hypertension, dementia or depression. In addition, according to the latest study results, stress also influences spatial perception.

Scientists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have found in their current study that the perception of complex spatial information is significantly impaired in stress. The reason for this is the altered function of the hippocampus under the influence of the stress hormone cortisol. The results of the study were published in the journal "Psychoneuroendocrinology". Stressed people can therefore perceive complex landscape scenarios only to a limited extent.

Complex landscapes can only be perceived to a limited extent under the influence of stress. (Image: rcfotostock / fotolia.com)

Influence of the stress hormone cortisol on the hippocampus
The neuroscientists of the RUB have in their behavioral study "the influence of stress on the perception of faces and landscapes studied," according to the announcement of the University. Earlier studies in the neuroscience Collaborative Research Center at the RUB had already shown "that the release of the stress hormone cortisol influences the long-term memory in the hippocampus." In addition, the researchers of the RUB could prove in further studies that the hippocampus is not only important for memory, but also involved in the perception of landscapes or spaces. So the question came up, whether the influence of the stress hormone cortisol on the hippocampus also has consequences for the spatial perception. In the current study, Professor dr. Oliver T. Wolf (AE Cognitive Psychology) and Professor Boris Suchan (AG Clinical Neuropsychology) connects the research strands and investigates "how stress affects the spatial perception and the processing of faces," reports the RUB.

Social evaluation cold water stress tests
In their behavioral study, the scientists studied young men's deviations in the perception of faces and landscapes under the influence of stress. In the subjects of the experimental group, the stress and thus the release of the stress hormone cortisol was generated by a so-called "social-evaluation cold-water stress test", while the participants of the control group were able to relax in the examination. In the cold water stress test, "study participants are encouraged to dip their hands into ice water for as long as possible, but for a maximum of three minutes," the researchers explain. Meanwhile, they are filmed and watched and guided by a female researcher. This test is generally established in stress research.

Perception of faces unaffected
According to the RUB, "the evaluation of the subsequent visual tests showed that stressed subjects did less well than the non-stressed control group, especially in the perception of complex landscape scenarios." On the other hand, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the perception of faces , The reason for the deviations is the different processing of information in the hippocampus, "an area in the temporal lobe of the brain, whose function is influenced by the stress hormone cortisol," reports the RUB. The current "results confirm the idea that landscapes and spaces are processed in the hippocampus, but faces in other areas of the temporal lobe," emphasizes doctoral student Marcus Paul. Stress had a decisive influence on the hippocampus and impaired not only the memory recall, but also the spatial perception. Now further investigations in the magnetic resonance tomograph should follow the special activation patterns of the hippocampus under stress, in order to support the results of the current study, so the announcement of the RUB. (Fp)