Stress can impair prefrontal functions involved in working memory and top-down cognitive control.

This page isolates one claim from the wider argument of The Human OS Manual.

The classification describes the evidence supporting this claim, not the Human OS framework as a whole.

Arnsten reviews stress-signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function, including working memory and top-down control.

This does not mean stress eliminates intelligence, guarantees poor decisions, or determines behavior in every person or setting.

This one digital claim supports both EN 7.2 and EN 9.2. Chapter 7 uses it to explain state-dependent cognition; Chapter 9 combines it with compensatory-control evidence to explain why visible performance may persist while flexible control degrades.

Supported by appropriate human studies, major reviews, trials, cohort research, or converging evidence. The strength of the category does not remove population, dose, timing, or context limitations.

Sources are listed according to the role they play in this claim. One source may provide direct support, another may explain a mechanism, establish a limitation, or prevent an interpretation from becoming broader than the evidence allows.

The printed book preserves the claim inside the argument that gives it meaning. These references connect the current digital record to the first-edition evidence trail.

This claim connects to the following parts of the Human OS architecture. The module labels locate the claim inside the framework; they do not imply that the research source validates the architecture itself.