Abstract
Executive function (EF) impairment is a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology. Evidence also suggests that stress reactivity may be an important risk factor with broad health implications. However, despite research suggesting that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity to acute stress is bidirectionally associated with EF, very little research has directly tested these relations. The current study addresses this gap by evaluating how baseline EF predicts ANS stress reactivity during a stress manipulation, and how ANS reactivity impairs subsequent EF performance. Preliminary data suggests that better baseline EF is associated with lower sympathetic arousal and lower parasympathetic withdrawal during stress, and that greater sympathetic reactivity is associated with lower stress-induced impairments in EF. This indicates partial support for our hypotheses, which will be tested in future analyses upon collection of the full data set. The results of these analyses will increase understanding of stress reactivity mechanisms and be relevant for clinical interventions involving stress reactivity, critical to both psychopathology and broader health issues.