Association of attachment disorganization, attachment-related emotion regulation, and cortisol response after standardized psychosocial stress procedure: A pilot study

Attachment representations are related to maintaining biological homeostasis, including physiological stress and emotional regulation. Therefore, recent research has focused on attachment stress regulation and hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity. However, the attachment disorganization underlying emotion regulation associated with the HPA axis response has not yet been investigated. In our study, the attachment representation and the HPA-axis reactivity by cortisol level before and after the Trier Social Stress Test were assessed in a sample of 98 healthy non-clinical subjects. As expected, approximately 30% of this sample showed a disorganized attachment representation. The subjects? unresolved attachment (breakdown of emotional regulation) showed a prolonged cortisol recovery. No differences were found between the attachment patterns in the increase and the delta of the cortisol response. However, the cortisol reactivity differed significantly for the occurrence of emotional regulation. The subjects with a high occurrence of attachment-related emotion regulation showed a higher cortisol response than the subjects with an unresolved attachment and the ones with a low occurrence of attachment-related emotion regulation. Regulating the negative emotions of stressful situations may require more attention as it might lead to an increased activation of the physiological system.

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Childhood Trauma and Cortisol Response to the Trier Social Stress Test in Symptomatic Patients with Eating Disorders

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.286 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S91-S91

Author(s):

F. Marciello ◽

V.-M. Buonomenna ◽

V. Caivano ◽

G. Cascino ◽

G. D’Agostino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Childhood Trauma ◽

Hpa Axis ◽

Childhood Maltreatment ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trauma Exposure ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Cortisol Response ◽

History Of Childhood ◽

History Of

IntroductionChildhood trauma exposure is associated with the risk of eating disorders (EDs) in adulthood. The biological basis of this link may involve a persistent dysregulation of the endogenous stress response system, in particular the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as a consequence of early life maltreatment.ObjectiveAdult patients with EDs and history of childhood trauma may have a dysregulation of the HPA axis that could be different from EDs patients without childhood trauma exposure.AimsIn order to assess the effects of childhood trauma experiences on HPA-axis activity in EDs, we compared the salivary cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) of adult patients with EDs according to their history of childhood trauma.MethodTwenty-seven EDs patients and 13 healthy women participated in the study. Salivary cortisol responses during exposure to the TSST was measured. Participants also completed the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ) and eating-related psychopathological rating scales.ResultsAccording to CTQ, 15 individuals with EDs reported childhood maltreatment whereas 12 EDs patients and all the healthy women did not experience childhood maltreatment. Compared with the control group, non-maltreated EDs patient group exhibited a slightly enhanced cortisol response to TSST, whereas the group of non-maltreated EDs patients showed a normal cortisol response. Moreover, EDs patients with childhood maltreatment exhibited statistically significant blunting of cortisol compared to non-maltreated ones.ConclusionsThe present findings support the evidence that, in patients with EDs, there is a dysregulation of HPA-axis activity and that childhood trauma exposure may contribute to this dysregulation.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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An intervention study on the effectiveness of an anti-stress-app on psychophysiological acute and chronic stress (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.11647 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Franziska Lautenbach

Keyword(s):

Chronic Stress ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Subjective Perception ◽

Face To Face ◽

Acute And Chronic Stress

BACKGROUND Dealing with stress is of central importance. Lately, smartphone applications (apps) are deployed in stress interventions as they offer maximal flexibility for users. First results of experimental studies show that anti-stress apps effect subjective perception of stress positively (Ly et al., 2014). However, current literature lacks studies on physiological stress reactions (e.g., cortisol), although they are of special interest to health issues. OBJECTIVE Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an anti-stress app in chronic and acute stress reduction on a physiological (cortisol) and psychological level (subjective perception of stress) in comparison to a face-to-face and a control group in a pre-post design, for the first time. METHODS Sixty-two participants took part in the pretesting procedure (drop-out of 53 %). Based on age, gender, physical activity and subjectively perceived acute stress due to the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G; von Dawans et al., 2011) as well as based on subjectively chronic stress assessed during the pretest, participants were parallelized in three groups (anti-stress-app: n = 10, face-to-face: n = 11, control group: n = 9). RESULTS After six weeks of the cognitive-based resource-oriented intervention, participants were exposed to the TSST-G for post testing. Results did not show a change of cortisol secretion or cognitive appraisal of the acute stressor. Further, no changes were detected in the chronic physiological stress reaction. CONCLUSIONS Possible causes are discussed extensively. CLINICALTRIAL no

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Childhood Adversities and Salivary Cortisol Responses to the Trier Social Stress Test: A Systematic Review of Studies Using the Children Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18010029 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 29

Author(s):

Chuk Ling Julian Lai ◽

Daryl Yu Heng Lee ◽

Monique On Yee Leung

Keyword(s):

Salivary Cortisol ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Future Research ◽

Cortisol Response ◽

Childhood Adversities ◽

Social Stressors ◽

Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ◽

Cortisol Responses

Alteration in cortisol response to acute social stressors has been hypothesized to mediate childhood adversities (CA) and increased morbidity in adulthood. However, the evidence supporting an association between CA and cortisol response to social stressors is inconclusive. The present review addressed this issue by reviewing the literature on CA and cortisol response to acute social stressors, with a focus on studies with adolescents or adults, using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) to assess CA, and examining salivary cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Systematic searches of relevant articles in PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science and ScienceDirect in February and March 2020 identified 12 articles including 1196 participants with mean ages ranging from 15.3 to 52.3 yrs. across studies. CTQ scores were significantly associated with cortisol response in 2 studies. In addition, the physical abuse and emotional neglect subscales were associated with cortisol response respectively in 2 separate studies. The lack of association between CA and cortisol response calls for more longitudinal studies, and the use of formal records of maltreatment or informant reports in future research to complement information collected by retrospective measures. In addition, increased attention to biological mechanisms other than that associated with the regulation of cortisol in explaining the connection between CA and psychiatry morbidity is warranted.

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Stress system dysfunction revealed by integrating reactivity of stress pathways to psychological stress in lean and overweight/obese men

AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpregu.00276.2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sisitha Udara Jayasinghe ◽

Sarah Janet Hall ◽

Susan Jane Torres ◽

Anne Isabella Turner

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Systolic Blood Pressure ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

Psychological Stress ◽

Hpa Axis ◽

Social Stress ◽

Blood Pressure Response ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Stress System

While the patterns of response within the sympatho-adrenal medullary (SAM) system and hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis are interesting and important in their own accord, the overall response to acute psychological stress involves reactivity of both pathways We tested the hypothesis that consideration of the integrated response of these pathways may reveal dysregulation of the stress systems that is not evident when considering either system alone. Age matched lean and overweight/obese men were subjected to a Trier Social Stress Test and reactivity of the SAM system (salivary alpha amylase, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate) and the HPA axis (salivary cortisol) were measured. Relative reactivity of SAM system and HPA axis was calculated as the ratio between the measures from each pathway. While analysis of reactivity of individual stress pathways showed no evidence of dysfunction in overweight/obese compared with lean men, analysis of HPA/SAM reactivity revealed significantly lower cortisol over systolic blood pressure (CoSBP) and cortisol over diastolic blood pressure (CoDBP) reactivity in overweight/obese compared with lean men. Other measures of HPA/SAM reactivity and all measures of SAM/HPA reactivity were unaltered in overweight/obese compared with lean men. These findings suggest that the cortisol response per unit of blood pressure response is blunted in men with elevated adiposity. Further, these findings support a notion of a coordinated overall approach to activation of the stress pathways with the degree of activation in one pathway being related to the degree of activation of the other.

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Acceptance lowers stress reactivity: Dismantling mindfulness training in a randomized controlled trial

10.31219/osf.io/4se5m ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Emily K Lindsay ◽

Shinzen Young ◽

Joshua M Smyth ◽

Kirk Warren Brown ◽

J. David Creswell

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Emotion Regulation ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Reactivity ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Stress Test ◽

Mindfulness Training ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Present Moment ◽

Regulation Mechanism

Objective: Mindfulness interventions, which train practitioners to monitor their present-moment experience with a lens of acceptance, are known to buffer stress reactivity. Little is known about the active mechanisms driving these effects. We theorize that acceptance is a critical emotion regulation mechanism underlying mindfulness stress reduction effects. Method: In this three-arm parallel trial, mindfulness components were dismantled into three structurally equivalent 15-lesson smartphone-based interventions: (1) training in both monitoring and acceptance (Monitor+Accept), (2) training in monitoring only (Monitor Only), or (3) active control training (Coping control). 153 stressed adults (mean age = 32 years; 67% female; 53% white, 21.5% black, 21.5% Asian, 4% other race) were randomly assigned to complete one of three interventions. After the intervention, cortisol, blood pressure, and subjective stress reactivity were assessed using a modified Trier Social Stress Test. Results: As predicted, Monitor+Accept training reduced cortisol and systolic blood pressure reactivity compared to Monitor Only and control trainings. Participants in all three conditions reported moderate levels of subjective stress.Conclusions: This study provides the first experimental evidence that brief smartphone mindfulness training can impact stress biology, and that acceptance training drives these effects. We discuss implications for basic and applied research in contemplative science, emotion regulation, stress and coping, health, and clinical interventions.

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Acceptance lowers stress reactivity: Dismantling mindfulness training in a randomized controlled trial

10.31231/osf.io/ug8r2 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Emily K Lindsay ◽

Shinzen Young ◽

Joshua M Smyth ◽

Kirk Warren Brown ◽

J. David Creswell

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Emotion Regulation ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Reactivity ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Stress Test ◽

Mindfulness Training ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Present Moment ◽

Regulation Mechanism

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Meta-analysis of the effectiveness of the Trier Social Stress Test in eliciting physiological stress responses in children and adolescents

Psychoneuroendocrinology ◽

10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104582 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 116 ◽

pp. 104582 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jessica A. Seddon ◽

Violeta J. Rodriguez ◽

Yannick Provencher ◽

Jacquelyn Raftery-Helmer ◽

Jacqueline Hersh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Social Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trier Social Stress Test

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Pubertal stress recalibration reverses the effects of early life stress in postinstitutionalized children

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1909699116 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 116 (48) ◽

pp. 23984-23988 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Megan R. Gunnar ◽

Carrie E. DePasquale ◽

Brie M. Reid ◽

Bonny Donzella ◽

Bradley S. Miller

Keyword(s):

Hpa Axis ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Sensitive Period ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Window Of Opportunity ◽

Pubertal Stage ◽

Significant Group ◽

Substantial Impact

Nonhuman animal models reveal that the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis calibrates to the harshness of the environment during a sensitive period in infancy. Humans exposed to depriving institutional care in infancy show reduced HPA axis responsivity, even years after they are placed in supportive, well-resourced families. This study examined whether puberty opens a window of opportunity to recalibrate the HPA axis toward more typical reactivity when children shift from harsh deprived conditions in infancy into supportive conditions in childhood and adolescence. Participants (n = 129 postinstitutionalized, 68.2% female; n = 170 comparison, 52.4% female) completed 3 annual sessions beginning at ages 7 to 15 (M = 11.28, SD = 2.31). Each session assessed pubertal stage via nurse examination and cortisol reactivity to the Trier social stress test for children. The linear mixed-effects model controlling for sex and between-individual differences in pubertal stage showed a significant group by pubertal stage interaction: within-individual increases in pubertal stage were associated with increases in cortisol stress reactivity for postinstitutionalized youth but not nonadopted comparison youth. This study indicates that pubertal development reopens a window of opportunity for the HPA axis to recalibrate based on significant improvements in the supportiveness of the environment relative to that in infancy. The peripubertal period may be an important time in development where the caregiving environment has a substantial impact on the HPA axis and, perhaps, other stress-mediating systems. Future research is needed to examine the mechanisms of recalibration and whether HPA recalibration impacts physical and psychological health.

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Effects of Cable News Watching on Older Adults’ Physiological and Self-Reported Stress and Cognitive Function

The International Journal of Aging and Human Development ◽

10.1177/0091415017729684 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 87 (2) ◽

pp. 111-123 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Caroline Deal ◽

Ryan Bogdan ◽

J. Phil Miller ◽

Tom Rodebaugh ◽

Charlene Caburnay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Social Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Cable News ◽

Fox News

Older adults are the largest consumer of cable news, which includes negative and politicized content and may constitute a daily stressor. As older adults are also vulnerable to the negative consequences of stress, we hypothesized that cable news watching could induce a stress reaction and impair cognitive function. We tested exposures to cable news (i.e., Fox News and MSNBC) in a within-subject randomized controlled design in 34 healthy older adults. We also included negative (Public Broadcasting Station) and positive (trier social stress test) controls. Cable news watching had no effect on psychological stress, physiological stress, or cognitive function. This remained true even if the news exposures were discordant with participants’ political affiliation. We conclude that brief cable news watching does not induce a physiological or subjective stress response or cognitive impairment among healthy older adults.

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Altered relationship between cortisol response to social stress and mediotemporal function during fear processing in people at clinical high risk for psychosis: a preliminary report

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience ◽

10.1007/s00406-021-01318-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Cathy Davies ◽

Elizabeth Appiah-Kusi ◽

Robin Wilson ◽

Grace Blest-Hopley ◽

Matthijs G. Bossong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Cortisol Response ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Clinical High Risk ◽

Fearful Face ◽

The Relationship

AbstractEvidence suggests that people at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR) have a blunted cortisol response to stress and altered mediotemporal activation during fear processing, which may be neuroendocrine–neuronal signatures of maladaptive threat responses. However, whether these facets are associated with each other and how this relationship is affected by cannabidiol treatment is unknown. We examined the relationship between cortisol response to social stress and mediotemporal function during fear processing in healthy people and in CHR patients. In exploratory analyses, we investigated whether treatment with cannabidiol in CHR individuals could normalise any putative alterations in cortisol-mediotemporal coupling. 33 CHR patients were randomised to 600 mg cannabidiol or placebo treatment. Healthy controls (n = 19) did not receive any drug. Mediotemporal function was assessed using a fearful face-processing functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm. Serum cortisol and anxiety were measured immediately following the Trier Social Stress Test. The relationship between cortisol and mediotemporal blood-oxygen-level-dependent haemodynamic response was investigated using linear regression. In healthy controls, there was a significant negative relationship between cortisol and parahippocampal activation (p = 0.023), such that the higher the cortisol levels induced by social stress, the lower the parahippocampal activation (greater deactivation) during fear processing. This relationship differed significantly between the control and placebo groups (p = 0.033), but not between the placebo and cannabidiol groups (p = 0.67). Our preliminary findings suggest that the parahippocampal response to fear processing may be associated with the neuroendocrine (cortisol) response to experimentally induced social stress, and that this relationship may be altered in patients at clinical high risk for psychosis.

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