A considerable proportion of women subjectively perceive a detriment to their cognitive capacity during pregnancy, with decreased memory functions being the most frequently self-reported concerns. However, objective investigation of these perceived cognitive deficits has yielded inconsistent results. This study focused on memory functions during late pregnancy using multiple tasks designed to assess various memory indices, for example, working memory, learning rate, immediate recall, proactive and retroactive interference, delayed recall, retrieval efficiency, visuospatial constructional ability, recognition, and executive function. Additionally, sustained attention and inhibitory control were examined using a combined recognition stop-signal task. Electrophysiological brain activity during this task was recorded using a 128-channel electroencephalographic-event-related potential system. Salivary cortisol levels were assessed both prior to and following the experimental session. In contrast to the widely held belief, results demonstrated that women in late pregnancy did not exhibit a decline in their performance across the various memory tests. In terms of accuracy, there was not a single task in which poorer performance was found for pregnant women. The quality of memory performance was comparable, and in some cases even superior, among women in the pregnancy group. On the stop-signal task, pregnant women exhibited significantly better performance, and their electrophysiological data revealed greater centrally distributed P300 amplitude to “stop” signs, which may signify an enhanced neural efficiency in the domains of inhibitory executive control. Endocrine results revealed that pregnant women exhibited significantly lower levels of salivary cortisol, suggesting an attenuation of hypothalamic−pituitary−adrenocortical axis activity, which may contribute to the optimization of fetal development and growth.

中文翻译：

---

妊娠晚期记忆功能、抑制控制、神经活动、皮质醇水平的综合评估


相当一部分女性主观地认为怀孕期间认知能力受到损害，记忆功能下降是最常见的自我报告问题。然而，对这些认知缺陷的客观调查却得出了不一致的结果。本研究重点关注妊娠晚期的记忆功能，使用旨在评估各种记忆指数的多项任务，例如工作记忆、学习率、即时回忆、前摄和追溯干扰、延迟回忆、检索效率、视觉空间构建能力、识别和执行能力功能。此外，使用组合识别停止信号任务来检查持续注意力和抑制控制。使用 128 通道脑电图事件相关电位系统​​记录该任务期间的脑电生理活动。在实验之前和之后评估唾液皮质醇水平。与广泛持有的观点相反，结果表明，怀孕后期的女性在各种记忆测试中的表现并没有表现出下降。就准确性而言，没有一项任务被发现孕妇表现较差。怀孕组女性的记忆表现质量相当，在某些情况下甚至更好。在停止信号任务中，孕妇表现出明显更好的表现，她们的电生理数据显示，“停止”信号的 P300 振幅集中分布更大，这可能意味着抑制性执行控制领域的神经效率增强。 内分泌结果显示，孕妇的唾液皮质醇水平显着降低，表明下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺皮质轴活动减弱，这可能有助于胎儿发育和生长的优化。