The Effects of Emotional Stress on Learning and Memory Cognitive Functions: An EEG Review Study in Education

The human body reacts to stress-causing threats by producing hormones for major physiological changes. The body of a stressed student is subject to three major drawbacks including reduced sleep quality, worst grades, and angrier students. On the other hand, Electroencephalography (EEG) is a test for detecting the electrical activity of the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp. EEG recording shows the electrical impulses of the brain, which are used in communication between cells, and they are always active even while sleeping. EEG is useful in diagnosing brain disorders including epilepsy. Based on that, this work, we review the literature on the effects of emotional stress on learning and memory cognitive functions in education based on EEG. For each related work, we indicate the targeted brain region, the used methodology, the effect of the stress on the learning process and interesting highlights. Finally, we highlight the main related challenges and possible future work to address such issues.