It is World Cup season, so we are doing a two part series on performing under pressure. Part I is the science: what actually happens in your brain and body the second the stakes spike. We meet your amygdala (the alarm) and your prefrontal cortex (your working memory and calm decision maker), and we find out why pressure can dim the exact system you need most. We break down what choking really is, why it hits the most talented people hardest, and why women's stress wiring, thanks to oxytocin and estrogen, can play out differently. Part II is the toolkit for training through it.

Hosted by Dr. Kelsy Vick, a board certified orthopedic Dr. of PT and women's health PT. Expert led, science backed wellness girl chats for women in their 20s and 30s.

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82:: The science of female friendships: https://wellness-big-sis-the-pod.captivate.fm/episode/pod-82/

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Stress can sharply reduce prefrontal cortex function and working memory. Supports the "up to 50 percent" blanking claim and the amygdala versus prefrontal cortex framing. The strongest citation is Arnsten's review rather than a single "50 percent" stat, so frame it as stress dramatically weakening the prefrontal cortex rather than a hard number if you want to be safe. Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2907136/

Choking is a working memory glitch, and high working memory people choke hardest. Supports Segment 2. Beilock, S. L., and Carr, T. H. (2005). When high powered people fail: Working memory and choking under pressure in math. Psychological Science. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00789.x

Related follow up on pressure reducing working memory and fluid intelligence: Beilock, S. L., and DeCaro, M. S. (2007). Choking under pressure and working memory capacity. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17484426/

Women's stress response can lean toward tend and befriend, driven by oxytocin and estrogen. Supports Segment 3. Taylor, S. E., et al. (2000). Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: Tend and befriend, not fight or flight. Psychological Review. https://taylorlab.psych.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/10/2000_Biobehavioral-responses-to-stress-in-females_tend-and-befriend.pdf