Association of Chronic Stress with Agency, Theory of Mind Function and Abstract Construal in Women

Abstract

Stress disrupts the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) networks required for consciousness, abstract construal, self-referential thinking, reward circuitry and theory-of-mind functions. We used stress assessment inventories to survey a cohort of 113 women for self-reported stress over a 5 - 10-year period. We identified two subsets of women consistently reporting either high (n = 21) or low (n = 24) stress over this period. These cohorts answered the eSAIL, REM and Apathy Evaluation Scale questionnaires. Significant differences were found between cohorts in apathy and REM scores, as well as in RD, self-agency and abstraction, but not in other subscales of the eSAIL.