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Sarmiento LF, Lopes da Cunha P, Tabares S, Tafet G, Gouveia Jr A. Decision-making under stress: A psychological and neurobiological integrative model. Brain Behav Immun Health 2024; 38:100766. [PMID: 38694793 PMCID: PMC11061251 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the impact of stress on cognitive processes, particularly decision-making, is crucial as it underpins behaviors essential for survival. However, research in this domain has yielded disparate results, with inconsistencies evident across stress-induction paradigms and drug administration protocols designed to investigate specific stress pathways or neuromodulators. Building upon empirical studies, this research identifies a multifaceted matrix of variables contributing to the divergent findings. This matrix encompasses factors such as the temporal proximity between stressors and decision tasks, the nature of stressors and decision contexts, individual characteristics including psychobiological profiles and affective states at the time of decision-making and even cultural influences. In response to these complexities, we propose a comprehensive model that integrates these relevant factors and their intricate interplay to elucidate the mechanisms governing decision-making during stressful events. By synthesizing these insights, our model not only refines existing paradigms but also provides a framework for future study designs, offering avenues for theoretical advancements and translational developments in the field of stress's impact on cognitive functions. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the nuanced relationship between stress and decision-making, ultimately advancing our knowledge of cognitive processes under challenging conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Felipe Sarmiento
- BioTechMed Center, Brain & Mind Electrophysiology Laboratory, Multimedia Systems Department, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Pamela Lopes da Cunha
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, University of San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sonia Tabares
- International Foundation for the Development of Neurosciences, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gustavo Tafet
- International Foundation for the Development of Neurosciences, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Texas A&M University, Texas, USA
| | - Amauri Gouveia Jr
- Laboratory of Neuroscience and Behavior, Federal University from Pará, Brazil
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2
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Strojny J, von Dawans B, Schächinger H, Domes G. Hydrocortisone reduces altruistic punishment in healthy men. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 165:107027. [PMID: 38537418 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Psychosocial stress modulates social cognition and behavior in humans. One potentially mediating factor is cortisol as part of the human endocrine stress response. With a double-blind, placebo-controlled between-subject study design, we tested possible dose-dependent effects of hydrocortisone (0 mg, 5 mg and 20 mg) in 85 healthy males. During a socio-economic decision-making task we measured trust, trustworthiness, sharing, punishment, and non-social risk behavior. Social value orientation (SVO) was also assessed. We observed significantly lower levels of punishment after hydrocortisone, especially in the 20 mg group. Drug-induced salivary cortisol correlated negatively with punishment behavior. None of the other facets of social behavior or the SVO were affected by hydrocortisone. Our results suggest that hydrocortisone reduces the propensity to punish unfair behavior. Future studies are needed to further disentangle the role played by various psychobiological mechanisms within the stress response as well as their complex interplay on social behavior and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Strojny
- Biological & Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany
| | - Bernadette von Dawans
- Biological & Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany; Institute for Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, University of Trier, Germany.
| | | | - Gregor Domes
- Biological & Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany; Institute for Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, University of Trier, Germany
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3
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Ilkevič E, Hausmann M, Grikšienė R. Emotion recognition and regulation in males: Role of sex and stress steroids. Front Neuroendocrinol 2024; 74:101145. [PMID: 38862092 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2024.101145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Understanding emotions in males is crucial given their higher susceptibility to substance use, interpersonal violence, and suicide compared to females. Steroid hormones are assumed to be critical biological factors that affect and modulate emotion-related behaviors, together with psychological and social factors. This review explores whether males' abilities to recognize emotions of others and regulate their own emotions are associated with testosterone, cortisol, and their interaction. Higher levels of testosterone were associated with improved recognition and heightened sensitivity to threatening faces. In contrast, higher cortisol levels positively impacted emotion regulation ability. Indirect evidence from neuroimaging research suggested a link between higher testosterone levels and difficulties in cognitive emotion regulation. However, this notion must be investigated in future studies using different emotion regulation strategies and considering social status. The present review contributes to the understanding of how testosterone and cortisol affect psychological well-being and emotional behavior in males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Ilkevič
- Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Life Science Center, Vilnius University, Lithuania
| | | | - Ramunė Grikšienė
- Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Life Science Center, Vilnius University, Lithuania.
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4
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Domes G, Linnig K, von Dawans B. Gonads under stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of acute psychosocial stress on gonadal steroids secretion in humans. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 164:107004. [PMID: 38471257 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Animal research has shown that the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis is inhibited by (chronic and/or severe) stress, which can lead to impaired fertility and reproductive functioning, presumably caused by the inhibition of gonadal steroid secretion and in interactions with glucocorticoids. However, what has not been clarified is how acute psychosocial stress modulates gonadal steroid secretion in humans. Here we summarize the experimental research on the acute effects of stress on the secretion of gonadal steroids in humans. A systematic literature search revealed 21 studies (with N=881 individuals) measuring testosterone, progesterone or estradiol in response to a standardized acute laboratory stressor in healthy humans. Both our literature review and quantitative meta-analysis suggest that in humans, acute stress stimulates rather than inhibits HPG axis activity, although there is a considerable heterogeneity in the reported methods and results. Increased gonadal steroids in response to acute stress contrasts with many animal studies reporting the opposite pattern, at least regarding severe and/or chronic stressors. We discuss methodological issues and challenges for future research and hope to stimulate experimental studies within this area. A better understanding of these mechanisms is needed, and may have important implications for health and disease, as well as the modulation of various behaviors by acute stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregor Domes
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany; Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, University of Trier, Germany.
| | - Katrin Linnig
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany; Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, University of Trier, Germany
| | - Bernadette von Dawans
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany; Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, University of Trier, Germany
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5
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Corbera S, Marín-Chollom AM. The Role of Anxiety and Prosocial Behaviors on Adherence Behaviors to Prevent COVID-19 in University Students in the United States: Cross-Sectional Study. JMIRX MED 2024; 5:e52970. [PMID: 38832671 DOI: 10.2196/52970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Background In situations of acute stress, individuals may engage in prosocial behaviors or risk-taking self-oriented behaviors. The COVID-19 pandemic created large stress-promoting conditions that impacted individuals' decisions to adhere to COVID-19 preventative behaviors. objectives The study aimed to examine the relationship between anxiety during the pandemic and adherence behaviors to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and the moderating influence of prosocial behaviors. We hypothesized that individuals with high anxiety during COVID-19 would adhere more to preventive COVID-19 behaviors than ones with low anxiety and that this relationship would be stronger in those individuals with higher prosocial behaviors. Methods A web-based survey was administered through the SONA web-based participant tool of the psychology department of a university in the Northeastern United States. A final sample of 54 undergraduate students completed web-based questionnaires during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, from January to May 2021, which included demographic measures and surveys on prosocial behaviors, anxiety, and COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Moderation analyses were conducted using PROCESS in SPSS. Results Participants reported high levels of trait and state anxiety symptoms, most of them meeting or exceeding the cutoff criteria to be clinically meaningful (state anxiety: 47/54, 87%; trait anxiety: 38/44, 86%), and over 50% highly adhered to the COVID-19 preventive behaviors of wearing a face mask, using hand sanitizer, handwashing, coughing/sneezing into their elbow or a tissue, self-quarantining, maintaining social distance, avoiding social gatherings, and avoiding nonessential travel. No significant associations were observed between prosocial behavior, anxiety types, and adherence to COVID-19 preventive behaviors. However, when moderation analyses were conducted between anxiety types and adherence to COVID-19 preventive behaviors, results demonstrated a statistically significant interaction of public prosocial behavior with state anxiety (β=-.17, t53=-2.60; P=.01), predicting engagement in COVID-19 preventative behaviors. At high levels of anxiety, low levels of prosocial public behaviors were associated with higher engagement in COVID-19 preventative behaviors. In contrast, high levels of public prosocial behavior were associated with low engagement in COVID-19 preventative behaviors at higher levels of anxiety. Conclusions These results provide information that can aid in the creation of interventions that could increase adherence to COVID-19 preventative behaviors (Reviewed by the Plan P #PeerRef Community).
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Corbera
- Department of Psychological Science, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, United States
| | - Amanda M Marín-Chollom
- Department of Psychological Science, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, United States
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Forbes PAG, Aydogan G, Braunstein J, Todorova B, Wagner IC, Lockwood PL, Apps MAJ, Ruff CC, Lamm C. Acute stress reduces effortful prosocial behaviour. eLife 2024; 12:RP87271. [PMID: 38180785 PMCID: PMC10942768 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Acute stress can change our cognition and emotions, but what specific consequences this has for human prosocial behaviour is unclear. Previous studies have mainly investigated prosociality with financial transfers in economic games and produced conflicting results. Yet a core feature of many types of prosocial behaviour is that they are effortful. We therefore examined how acute stress changes our willingness to exert effort that benefits others. Healthy male participants - half of whom were put under acute stress - made decisions whether to exert physical effort to gain money for themselves or another person. With this design, we could independently assess the effects of acute stress on prosocial, compared to self-benefitting, effortful behaviour. Compared to controls (n = 45), participants in the stress group (n = 46) chose to exert effort more often for self- than for other-benefitting rewards at a low level of effort. Additionally, the adverse effects of stress on prosocial effort were particularly pronounced in more selfish participants. Neuroimaging combined with computational modelling revealed a putative neural mechanism underlying these effects: more stressed participants showed increased activation to subjective value in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula when they themselves could benefit from their exerted effort relative to when someone else could. By using an effort-based task that better approximates real-life prosocial behaviour and incorporating trait differences in prosocial tendencies, our study provides important insights into how acute stress affects prosociality and its associated neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul AG Forbes
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Gökhan Aydogan
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Julia Braunstein
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Boryana Todorova
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Isabella C Wagner
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Patricia L Lockwood
- Centre for Human Brain Health, Institute of Mental Health and School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Matthew AJ Apps
- Centre for Human Brain Health, Institute of Mental Health and School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Christian C Ruff
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Claus Lamm
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
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7
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Curry AR, Ooi L, Matosin N. How spatial omics approaches can be used to map the biological impacts of stress in psychiatric disorders: a perspective, overview and technical guide. Stress 2024; 27:2351394. [PMID: 38752853 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2024.2351394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Exposure to significant levels of stress and trauma throughout life is a leading risk factor for the development of major psychiatric disorders. Despite this, we do not have a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that explain how stress raises psychiatric disorder risk. Stress in humans is complex and produces variable molecular outcomes depending on the stress type, timing, and duration. Deciphering how stress increases disorder risk has consequently been challenging to address with the traditional single-target experimental approaches primarily utilized to date. Importantly, the molecular processes that occur following stress are not fully understood but are needed to find novel treatment targets. Sequencing-based omics technologies, allowing for an unbiased investigation of physiological changes induced by stress, are rapidly accelerating our knowledge of the molecular sequelae of stress at a single-cell resolution. Spatial multi-omics technologies are now also emerging, allowing for simultaneous analysis of functional molecular layers, from epigenome to proteome, with anatomical context. The technology has immense potential to transform our understanding of how disorders develop, which we believe will significantly propel our understanding of how specific risk factors, such as stress, contribute to disease course. Here, we provide our perspective of how we believe these technologies will transform our understanding of the neurobiology of stress, and also provided a technical guide to assist molecular psychiatry and stress researchers who wish to implement spatial omics approaches in their own research. Finally, we identify potential future directions using multi-omics technology in stress research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber R Curry
- School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Molecular Horizons, School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Science Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Lezanne Ooi
- Molecular Horizons, School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Science Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Natalie Matosin
- School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Molecular Horizons, School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Science Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
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Ernst H, Scherpf M, Pannasch S, Helmert JR, Malberg H, Schmidt M. Assessment of the human response to acute mental stress-An overview and a multimodal study. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0294069. [PMID: 37943894 PMCID: PMC10635557 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Numerous vital signs are reported in association with stress response assessment, but their application varies widely. This work provides an overview over methods for stress induction and strain assessment, and presents a multimodal experimental study to identify the most important vital signs for effective assessment of the response to acute mental stress. We induced acute mental stress in 65 healthy participants with the Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test and acquired self-assessment measures (Likert scale, Self-Assessment Manikin), salivary α-amylase and cortisol concentrations as well as 60 vital signs from biosignals, such as heart rate variability parameters, QT variability parameters, skin conductance level, and breath rate. By means of statistical testing and a self-optimizing logistic regression, we identified the most important biosignal vital signs. Fifteen biosignal vital signs related to ventricular repolarization variability, blood pressure, skin conductance, and respiration showed significant results. The logistic regression converged with QT variability index, left ventricular work index, earlobe pulse arrival time, skin conductance level, rise time and number of skin conductance responses, breath rate, and breath rate variability (F1 = 0.82). Self-assessment measures indicated successful stress induction. α-amylase and cortisol showed effect sizes of -0.78 and 0.55, respectively. In summary, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and sympathetic nervous system were successfully activated. Our findings facilitate a coherent and integrative understanding of the assessment of the stress response and help to align applications and future research concerning acute mental stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannes Ernst
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Matthieu Scherpf
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Sebastian Pannasch
- Chair of Engineering Psychology and Applied Cognitive Research, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Jens R. Helmert
- Chair of Engineering Psychology and Applied Cognitive Research, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hagen Malberg
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Martin Schmidt
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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Pan H, Chen Z, Jospe K, Gao Q, Sheng J, Gao Z, Perry A. Mood congruency affects physiological synchrony but not empathic accuracy in a naturalistic empathy task. Biol Psychol 2023; 184:108720. [PMID: 37952694 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 11/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
Empathy is a crucial aspect of our daily lives, as it enhances our wellbeing and is a proxy for prosocial behavior. It encompasses two related but partially distinct components: cognitive and affective empathy. Both are susceptible to context, biases and an individual's physiological state. Few studies have explored the effects of a person's mood on these empathy components, and results are mixed. The current study takes advantage of an ecological, naturalistic empathy task - the empathic accuracy (EA) task - in combination with physiological measurements to examine and differentiate between the effects of one's mood on both empathy components. Participants were induced with positive or negative mood and presented videos of targets narrating autobiographical negative stories, selected from a Chinese empathy dataset that we developed (now publicly available). The stories were conveyed in audio-only, visual-only and full-video formats. Participants rated the target's emotional state while watching or listening to their stories, and physiological measures were taken throughout the process. Importantly, similar measures were taken from the targets when they narrated the stories, allowing a comparison between participants' and targets' measures. We found that in audio-only and visual-only conditions, participants whose moods were congruent with the target showed higher physiological synchrony than those with incongruent mood, implying a mood-congruency effect on affective empathy. However, there was no mood effect on empathic accuracy (reflecting cognitive empathy), suggesting a different influence of mood on the two empathy components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanxi Pan
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
| | - Zhiyun Chen
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
| | - Karine Jospe
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Department of Psychology, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
| | - Qi Gao
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China.
| | - Jinyou Sheng
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
| | - Zaifeng Gao
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China.
| | - Anat Perry
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
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Schiller B, Brustkern J, von Dawans B, Habermann M, Pacurar M, Heinrichs M. Social high performers under stress behave more prosocially and detect happy emotions better in a male sample. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 156:106338. [PMID: 37499422 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Psychosocial stress is increasing in society, impacting our lives in all social domains. However, the conditions under which stress facilitates ("tend-and-befriend") or hinders ("fight-or-flight") social approach remain elusive. We tested whether previous heterogeneous findings might be resolved by accounting for individual differences in social performance under stress. For that purpose, we introduce the novel Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) social performance index that was aggregated across ratings from two independent observers. Moreover, we apply an innovative setup enabling electroencephalographic (EEG) data to be measured inside an electrically-shielded cabin during stress, namely the TSST-EEG. Relying on a sample of 59 healthy male participants, we collected behavioral (i.e., sharing resources with others) and cognitive (i.e., detecting facial emotional expressions) approach patterns while participants experienced either acute psychosocial stress (n = 31) or no stress (control condition; n = 28) and while EEG was being recorded. During stress exposure, high-performing participants behaved more prosocially, and differentiated better between happy and neutral emotions on both behavioral and neurophysiological levels (revealed by intensity differences in a N170-like response). Overall, our findings demonstrate the added value of both the novel TSST social performance index and the novel TSST-EEG setup. By showing that high social performance during the TSST is associated with behavioral, cognitive, and neurophysiological approach patterns, our study offers valuable insights into adaptive or maladaptive psychobiological mechanisms in coping with psychosocial stress. Future stress research should address the role of social performance differences during stress in social interaction to better understand the behavioral consequences of psychosocial stress in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian Schiller
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Johanna Brustkern
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bernadette von Dawans
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Johanniterufer 15, 54290 Trier, Germany
| | - Marie Habermann
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marti Pacurar
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Asklepios Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Röntgenstr. 22, 63225 Langen, Germany
| | - Markus Heinrichs
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
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Luo J, Liu Y, Guo K, Ren X, Wei Z, Ren Y, Hu W, Yang J. Role of hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex in the association of interdependent self-construal with an acute stress response. Neuropsychologia 2023; 188:108620. [PMID: 37315890 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Empirical evidence indicates that high interdependent self-construal (InterSC) is correlated with exaggerated acute stress responses; however, the underlying neural correlates remain unclear. Considering the regulatory effect of the prefrontal cortex and limbic system on the acute stress response, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus (HIP) in the relationship between InterSC and acute stress responses. Forty-eight healthy college students underwent a modified version of the Montreal imaging stress task (MIST), while brain activity was recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants' saliva samples and subjective stress feelings were collected before, during, and after the MIST. Additionally, participants' self-construal was measured using questionnaires. Results revealed that InterSC was positively correlated with the activation of OFC, which, in turn, was associated with higher subjective stress feelings. A higher InterSC was also significantly associated with an enhanced salivary cortisol response in those with lower HIP activity. Furthermore, the HIP moderated the indirect effect of InterSC on subjective stress feelings by moderating the effect of InterSC on neural activity in the OFC. This indicated the mediation of the OFC was stronger in those with higher neural activity in the HIP than in those with lower activity in the HIP. In summary, the current study proposed an important role of the OFC-HIP regions in the relationship between InterSC and acute stress responses, making contribution to broadening the field of personality and stress and deepening our understanding of individual differences in acute stress responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahao Luo
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Yadong Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Kaige Guo
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Xi Ren
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Zhenni Wei
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Yipeng Ren
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Weiyu Hu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Juan Yang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
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Andreatta M, Jongerling J, Wieser MJ. Context-Dependent Responses to the Spread of COVID-19 Among National and International Students During the First Lockdown: An Online Survey. Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2023; 17:e485. [PMID: 37680189 DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2023.118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Restrictions to minimize social contact was necessary to prevent the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus but may have impacted individuals' mental well-being. Emotional responses are modulated by contextual information. Living abroad during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have boosted the feeling of isolation as the context is unfamiliar. OBJECTIVES This study compared the psychological impact of social distancing in national students (living in a familiar context) versus international students (living in an unfamiliar context). METHODS During March/April 2020 (first lockdown in the Netherlands), 850 university students completed an online survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to compare how students' responses to the virus were predicted by health anxiety, emotional distress, and personal traits. RESULTS Compared with national students, international students showed higher levels in 4 identified factors (COVID-19-related worry, perceived risk of infection, distance from possibly contaminated objects, distance from social situations). The factors were mainly predicted by health anxiety across international students, while emotional distress and individual traits (eg, intolerance of uncertainty) played a role across national students. CONCLUSIONS In the familiar context, individual characteristics (traits) predicted the responses to the virus, while the unfamiliar context drove individuals' health-focused responses. Living in a foreign country is associated with psychological burdens and this should be considered by universities for more pronounced social support and clear references to health-related institutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Andreatta
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Joran Jongerling
- Department of Methodology and Statistics, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Science, Tilburg, Netherlands
| | - Matthias J Wieser
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
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13
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Cook A, Beckmann H, Azap R, Ryu S. Acute Stress Modulates Social Approach and Social Maintenance in Adult Zebrafish. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0491-22.2023. [PMID: 37620148 PMCID: PMC10493981 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0491-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress alters social functioning in a complex manner. An important variable determining the final effects of stress is stressor intensity. However, the precise relationship between stressor intensity and social behavior is not well understood. Here, we investigate the effects of varying acute stressor intensity exposure on social behavior using adult zebrafish. We first establish a novel test using adult zebrafish that allows distinguishing fish's drive to approach a social cue and its ability to engage and maintain social interaction within the same behavioral paradigm. Next, we combined this test with a new method to deliver an acute stress stimulus of varying intensities. Our results show that both social approach and social maintenance are reduced in adult zebrafish on acute stress exposure in an intensity-dependent manner. Interestingly, lower stress intensity reduces social maintenance without affecting the social approach, while a higher stress level is required to alter social approach. These results provide evidence for a direct correlation between acute stressor intensity and social functioning and suggest that distinct steps in social behavior are modulated differentially by the acute stress level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Cook
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55116, Mainz, Germany
| | - Holger Beckmann
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55116, Mainz, Germany
- Living Systems Institute, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - Rutkay Azap
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Soojin Ryu
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55116, Mainz, Germany
- Living Systems Institute, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
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14
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Blasberg JU, Gallistl M, Degering M, Baierlein F, Engert V. You look stressed: A pilot study on facial action unit activity in the context of psychosocial stress. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2023; 15:100187. [PMID: 37577295 PMCID: PMC10422124 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2023.100187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Quality and quantity of the human stress response are highly individual. Not only are there differences in terms of psychological and physiological stress reactivity, but also with regard to facial muscle stress reactivity. In a first correlative pilot study to decipher the signature of stress as it presents in the physiognomy of a stressed individual, we investigated how stress-induced muscle movement activity in the face is associated with stress marker activation during a standardized laboratory stress test. Female and male participants (N = 62) completed the Trier Social Stress Test and provided multiple measurements of salivary cortisol, subjective experience, heart rate, and high-frequency heart rate variability. In addition, participants were filmed during stress induction to derive the activation of 13 individual muscles or muscle groups, also termed action units (AU). Mean AU intensity and occurrence rates were measured using the opensource software OpenDBM. We found that facial AU activity correlated with different aspects of the psychosocial stress response. Higher stress-induced cortisol release was associated with more frequent upper eyelid raiser (AU05) and upper lip raiser (AU10) occurrences, while more lip corner pulling (AU12) went along with lower cortisol reactivity. More frequent eyelid tightener (AU07) occurrences were linked to higher subjective stress reactivity but decreased heart rate and HF-HRV reactivity. Last, women showed greater stress-induced smiling intensity and occurrence rates than men. We conclude that psychosocial stress reactivity is systematically linked to facial muscle activity, with distinct facial stress profiles emerging for different stress markers. From all the AUs studied, eyelid tightening (AU07) seems to provide the strongest potential for future attempts of diagnosing phases of acute stress via facial activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jost U. Blasberg
- Institute of Psychosocial Medicine, Psychotherapy and Psychooncology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Mathilde Gallistl
- Research Group Social Stress and Family Health, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Magdalena Degering
- Research Group Social Stress and Family Health, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Felicitas Baierlein
- Research Group Social Stress and Family Health, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Veronika Engert
- Institute of Psychosocial Medicine, Psychotherapy and Psychooncology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Research Group Social Stress and Family Health, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Germany
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15
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Delacoux M, Guenther A. Stressfulness of the design influences consistency of cognitive measures and their correlation with animal personality traits in wild mice (Mus musculus). Anim Cogn 2023; 26:997-1009. [PMID: 36737560 PMCID: PMC10066096 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01748-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Individual variation in cognition is being increasingly recognized as an important evolutionary force but contradictory results so far hamper a general understanding of consistency and association with other behaviors. Partly, this might be caused by external factors imposed by the design. Stress, for example, is known to influence cognition, with mild stress improving learning abilities, while strong or chronic stress impairs them. Also, there might be intraspecific variation in how stressful a given situation is perceived. We investigated two personality traits (stress coping and voluntary exploration), spatial learning with two mazes, and problem-solving in low- and high-stress tests with a group of 30 female wild mice (Mus musculus domesticus). For each test, perceived stress was assessed by measuring body temperature change with infrared thermography, a new non-invasive method that measures skin temperature as a proxy of changes in the sympathetic system activity. While spatial learning and problem-solving were found to be repeatable traits in mice in earlier studies, none of the learning measures were significantly repeatable between the two stress conditions in our study, indicating that the stress level impacts learning. We found correlations between learning and personality traits; however, they differed between the two stress conditions and between the cognitive tasks, suggesting that different mechanisms underlie these processes. These findings could explain some of the contradictory findings in the literature and argue for very careful design of cognitive test setups to draw evolutionary implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Delacoux
- Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, 24306, Plön, Germany. .,Department for Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464, Constance, Germany. .,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464, Constance, Germany.
| | - Anja Guenther
- Department for Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, 24306, Plön, Germany
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16
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Geißler CF, Friehs MA, Frings C, Domes G. Time-dependent effects of acute stress on working memory performance: A systematic review and hypothesis. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 148:105998. [PMID: 36493660 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Laboratory procedures such as the Trier Social Stress Test or the (Socially Evaluated) Cold Pressor Test have been used to investigate working memory performance under stress. Researchers so far have reported a diverse spectrum of stress effects (including the lack thereof) on working memory tasks. We conducted a systematic review of the effect acute stress on working memory performance in standardized laboratory procedures. An overview of the existing literature suggests that acute stress affects working memory in a time-dependent manner, presumably due to the differing time scales of the main stress-reactive hormones involved. Based on the empirical evidence, we hypothesize that the immediate stress-induced release of noradrenaline decreases working memory performance within the first 10 min post stress. In addition, rapid cortisol effects impair working memory at a later time-interval beginning about 25 min post stress. We outline future research directions which could further explore the implications of our insights, as for example combined pharmacological and naturalistic stressor interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maximilian A Friehs
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Ireland; Lise-Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max-Planck-Institute for Human and Cognitive Brain Science, Germany
| | - Christian Frings
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Trier, Germany
| | - Gregor Domes
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany; Institute of Psychobiology, University of Trier, Germany.
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17
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Is stress colorblind? Exploring endocrine stress responses in intergroup contexts using a virtual reality-based Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR). Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 147:105970. [PMID: 36368123 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Are social stress reactions dependent on the group identities of interaction partners? This study explored the role of ethnic context in modulating endocrine stress responses using a virtual reality (VR)-based adaptation of a standardized stress induction protocol, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR). Previous research found no clear link between endocrine stress response and ethnic context in the TSST, but conclusions remain limited due to the quasi-experimental nature of manipulating ethnic context in real-life face-to-face interactions. The VR adaptation of the TSST circumvents quasi-experimental limitations and thus provides a first, randomized-controlled investigation of the effects of ethnic context on endocrine stress responses. Forty-three men participated in the study, facing either an ingroup ("White") or an outgroup ("Arab") panel of interviewers. As expected, the TSST-VR produced physiological and subjective stress reactions. However, endocrine stress reactions occurred independent of interviewer ethnicity and could not be predicted based on implicit bias, explicit prejudice, or prejudice-related appearance concerns. Other physiological and subjective stress reactivity parameters also remained comparable across intergroup conditions. Implications for stress research are discussed.
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18
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The association between acute stress & empathy: A systematic literature review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 144:105003. [PMID: 36535374 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Empathy is a fundamental component of our social-emotional experience. Over the last decade, there has been increased interest in understanding the effects of acute stress on empathy. We provide a first comprehensive-and systematic-overview identifying emerging patterns and gaps in this literature. Regarding affective empathy, there is abundant evidence for stress contagion-the 'spillover' of stress from a stressed target to an unstressed perceiver. We highlight contextual factors that can facilitate and/or undermine these effects. Fewer studies have investigated the effects of acute stress on affective empathy, revealing a nuanced picture, some evidence suggests acute stress can block contagion of other's emotions; but again contextual differences need to be considered. Regarding cognitive empathy, most studies find no conclusive effects for simplistic measures of emotion recognition; however, studies using more complex empathy tasks find that acute stress might affect cognitive empathy differentially for men and women. This review provides an important first step towards understanding how acute stress can impact social-togetherness, and aims to aid future research by highlighting (in)congruencies and outstanding questions.
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19
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Shabani F, Montazeri M, Abdolalipour S, Mirghafourvand M. The effect of mindfulness training on stress and sleep quality of postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Post Reprod Health 2022; 28:223-236. [PMID: 36346199 DOI: 10.1177/20533691221140191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Mindfulness is an effective method for empowering women to cope with menopausal changes. This study aimed to determine the effect of mindfulness training on stress and sleep quality in postmenopausal women. MATERIALS AND METHODS English (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINHAL) and Persian (SID, Magiran) databases were searched until 25 June 2022, using the free and MeSH keywords included Mindfulness and Menopause. The quality of the published papers was evaluated using Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 5.2.0. The meta-analysis was conducted in RevMan 5.3 and the results were reported with mean difference (95% confidence interval). The quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. RESULTS A total of 1206 records were obtained. After removing duplicate and non-eligible records, finally five articles were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The results indicated that sleep quality score (SMD = -1.44; 95% CI = -2.44 to -0.46; p = 0.004) and perceived stress score (MD = -4.21; 95% CI = -6.41 to -2.00; p = 0.0002) were significantly reduced in the mindfulness training group compared to control group. CONCLUSION Mindfulness training is associated with improving sleep quality and perceived stress (with a low quality of evidence) in postmenopausal women. Mental health and quality of life in postmenopausal women impressively affect the community health. Given the low quality of evidence of the studies in this field, randomized controlled trials with better methodologies are suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Shabani
- Department of Midwifery, Student Research Committee, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, 48432Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Maryam Montazeri
- Midwifery Department, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, 48432Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Somayeh Abdolalipour
- Department of Midwifery, Student Research Committee, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, 48432Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Mojgan Mirghafourvand
- Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, 48432Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
- Department of Family Health, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
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20
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Yang L. Analysis of Erhu Performance Effect in Public Health Music Works Based on Artificial Intelligence Technology. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 2022:9251793. [PMID: 36089953 PMCID: PMC9458413 DOI: 10.1155/2022/9251793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
With the rise of Erhu teaching in recent years, a large number of people have joined the team to learn Erhu playing. However, due to the high cost of teaching and the unique one-to-one teaching mode between teachers and students, Erhu education resources are very scarce. Learning Erhu performance has become a luxury activity. Nowadays, with the rise of artificial intelligence, computer music is developing rapidly. Music has two important aspects: composition and performance. Different kinds of instruments convey different styles, and players inject different rhythms and dynamics into their performance, thus producing rich expressive force. The development of image style conversion, which opens people's evaluation of music performance, is an important issue in many fields of artificial intelligence (it is also known as intelligence, machine intelligence, referring to the intelligence shown by the machine made by people. Usually, artificial intelligence refers to the technique of presenting human intelligence through ordinary computer programs). For an Erhu song, there are various factors that affect its effectiveness, and there are many indexes to evaluate it, such as sense of rhythm, expressive force, musical sense, style, and so on. Using a computer to simulate the evaluation process is essential to find out the mathematical relationship between the factors that affect the performance of music and the evaluation indexes. Neural network is a kind of mathematical model proposed by simulating the way of thinking of human brain in artificial intelligence. It has the advantages of not having strict requirements on data distribution, nonlinear data processing method, strong robustness, and dynamics and is very suitable for the mathematical model of evaluation system. In addition, the neural network also has a strong theoretical basis, and their application in various industries has developed basically mature. This paper tries to introduce a deep neural network mathematical model into the evaluation system of Erhu performance, and the experimental results prove the reliability and practicality of the method in this paper. It can provide a method basis and theoretical reference for evaluation of Erhu performance effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Yang
- Music Department, Normal College, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500, China
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21
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Tarasenko A, Guazzotti S, Minot T, Oganesyan M, Vysokov N. Determination of the Effects of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on the Heart Rate Variability Using a Machine Learning Pipeline. Bioelectricity 2022; 4:168-177. [PMID: 36168512 PMCID: PMC9508455 DOI: 10.1089/bioe.2021.0033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background We are all aware of day-to-day healthy stress, but, when sustained for long periods, stress is believed to lead to serious physical and mental health issues. Materials and Methods In this study, we investigated the potential effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on stress processing as reflected in the electrocardiogram (ECG)-derived biomarkers of stress adaptability. Stress reflecting biomarkers included a range of heart rate variability metrics: standard deviation of N-N intervals (SDNN), root mean squared of successive differences in heartbeat intervals (RMSSD), low-frequency component, high-frequency component and their ratio (LF, HF, and LF/HF).In addition, we created a machine learning model capable of distinguishing between the stimulated and nonstimulated conditions from the ECG-derive data from various subjects and states. The model consisted of a deep convolutional neural network, which was trained on R-R interval (RRI) data extracted from ECG and time traces of LF, HF, LF/HF, SDNN, and RMSSD. Results Only LF/HF ratio demonstrated a statistically significant change in response to stimulation. Although the LF/HF ratio is expected to increase during exposure to stress, we have observed that stimulation during exposure to stress counteracts this increase or even reduces the LF/HF ratio. This could be an indication that the vagus nerve stimulation decreases the sympathetic activation during stress inducement.Our Machine Learning model achieved an accuracy of 70% with no significant variations across the three states (baseline, stress, and recovery). However, training an analogous neural network to identify the states (baseline, stress, and recovery) proved to be unsuccessful. Conclusion Overall, in this study, we showed further evidence of the beneficial effect of taVNS on stress processing. Importantly we have also demonstrated the promising potential of ECG metrics as a biomarker for the development of closed-loop stimulation systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stefano Guazzotti
- BrainPatch Ltd., London, United Kingdom.,School of Physics and CRANN Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | | | - Nickolai Vysokov
- BrainPatch Ltd., London, United Kingdom.,Address correspondence to: Nickolai Vysokov, PhD, BrainPatch Ltd., Unit 324, Edinburgh House, 170 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5DP, United Kingdom
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22
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Norden M, Hofmann AG, Meier M, Balzer F, Wolf OT, Böttinger E, Drimalla H. Inducing and Recording Acute Stress Responses on a Large Scale With the Digital Stress Test (DST): Development and Evaluation Study. J Med Internet Res 2022; 24:e32280. [PMID: 35838765 PMCID: PMC9338415 DOI: 10.2196/32280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Valuable insights into the pathophysiology and consequences of acute psychosocial stress have been gained using standardized stress induction experiments. However, most protocols are limited to laboratory settings, are labor-intensive, and cannot be scaled to larger cohorts or transferred to daily life scenarios. Objective We aimed to provide a scalable digital tool that enables the standardized induction and recording of acute stress responses in outside-the-laboratory settings without any experimenter contact. Methods On the basis of well-described stress protocols, we developed the Digital Stress Test (DST) and evaluated its feasibility and stress induction potential in a large web-based study. A total of 284 participants completed either the DST (n=103; 52/103, 50.5% women; mean age 31.34, SD 9.48 years) or an adapted control version (n=181; 96/181, 53% women; mean age 31.51, SD 11.18 years) with their smartphones via a web application. We compared their affective responses using the international Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short Form before and after stress induction. In addition, we assessed the participants’ stress-related feelings indicated in visual analogue scales before, during, and after the procedure, and further analyzed the implemented stress-inducing elements. Finally, we compared the DST participants’ stress reactivity with the results obtained in a classic stress test paradigm using data previously collected in 4 independent Trier Social Stress Test studies including 122 participants overall. Results Participants in the DST manifested significantly higher perceived stress indexes than the Control-DST participants at all measurements after the baseline (P<.001). Furthermore, the effect size of the increase in DST participants’ negative affect (d=0.427) lay within the range of effect sizes for the increase in negative affect in the previously conducted Trier Social Stress Test experiments (0.281-1.015). Conclusions We present evidence that a digital stress paradigm administered by smartphone can be used for standardized stress induction and multimodal data collection on a large scale. Further development of the DST prototype and a subsequent validation study including physiological markers are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Norden
- Faculty of Technology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,Digital Health Center, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.,Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Amin Gerard Hofmann
- Faculty of Technology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,Digital Health Center, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Martin Meier
- Digital Health Center, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Felix Balzer
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Oliver T Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Erwin Böttinger
- Digital Health Center, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.,Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, United States
| | - Hanna Drimalla
- Faculty of Technology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,Digital Health Center, Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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23
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Abstract
Adequate pain management is one of the biggest challenges of the modern healthcare system. Physician perception of patient subjective pain, which is crucial to pain management, is susceptible to a host of potential biases. Here we explore the timing of physicians' work as a previously unrecognized source of systematic bias in pain management. We hypothesized that during night shifts, sleep deprivation, fatigue, and stress would reduce physicians' empathy for others' pain, leading to underprescription of analgesics for patient pain relief. In study 1, 67 resident physicians, either following a night shift or not, performed empathy for pain assessment tasks and simulated patient scenarios in laboratory conditions. As predicted, following a night shift, physicians showed reduced empathy for pain. In study 2, we explored this phenomenon in medical decisions in the field. We analyzed three emergency department datasets from Israel and the United States that included discharge notes of patients arriving with pain complaints during 2013 to 2020 (n = 13,482). Across all datasets, physicians were less likely to prescribe an analgesic during night shifts (compared to daytime shifts) and prescribed fewer analgesics than generally recommended by the World Health Organization. This effect remained significant after adjusting for patient, physician, type of complaint, and emergency department characteristics. Underprescription for pain during night shifts was particularly prominent for opioids. We conclude that night shift work is an important and previously unrecognized source of bias in pain management, likely stemming from impaired perception of pain. We consider the implications for hospitals and other organizations employing night shifts.
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24
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Wekenborg MK, Hill LK, Grabbe P, Thayer JF, Kirschbaum C, Lindenlaub S, Arne Wittling R, von Dawans B. Associations between burnout symptoms and social behaviour: exploring the role of acute stress and vagal function. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:892. [PMID: 35509000 PMCID: PMC9069827 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-13333-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The study aimed to investigate the link between burnout symptoms and prosocial behaviour, as well as the role of acute stress and vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) on this association. METHODS Seventy men were randomly assigned to either the stress or the control condition of the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G). Prosocial behaviour was assessed via a social decision-making paradigm during the respective TSST-G condition. RESULTS Correlation analyses revealed negative correlations between prosocial behaviour and burnout symptoms. Acute stress was also associated with reduced prosocial behaviour, whereas no interaction effects with burnout symptoms could be revealed. Exploratory analyses showed that vmHRV was negatively correlated with burnout symptoms during the social decision-making paradigm but did not mediate the link between burnout and prosocial behaviour. CONCLUSION In conclusion, we report first experimental evidence that burnout symptoms are negatively associated with prosocial behaviour. Further studies are needed to explore the causal relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena K Wekenborg
- Department of Psychology, Chair of Biopsychology, Dresden, TU, Germany. .,Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health, University Hospital and Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, TU, Germany.
| | - LaBarron K Hill
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Pia Grabbe
- Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Julian F Thayer
- Department of Psychological Science, School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | | | - Susan Lindenlaub
- Department of Psychology, Chair of Biopsychology, Dresden, TU, Germany
| | | | - Bernadette von Dawans
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
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Azulay H, Guy N, Pertzov Y, Israel S. Empathy Modulates the Effect of Stress Reactivity on Generous Giving. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:814789. [PMID: 35546889 PMCID: PMC9081844 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.814789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
How does acute stress influence the degree to which we cooperate with others? Research on the effects of stress on social decision-making is guided by two seemingly contrasting theories. Acute stress may trigger a Fight-or-Flight response, manifested by increased anxiety, and more egocentric or selfish behavior. Alternatively, according to the Tend-and-Befriend model, acute stress may induce affiliative behaviors, marked by increased prosociality in an effort to seek and receive social support and protection. Extant studies on the topic do not provide consistent support for either pattern of behavior, with studies showing evidence for both Fight-or-Flight or Tend-and-Befriend like responses. One possibility, may be the nature of social responses to stressful situations differ as a function of the individual. In the current study, we demonstrate an example of such a person-by-situation interaction, showing that acute stress can cause either pro-social or selfish responses, contingent on individual differences in trait empathy. One hundred and twenty three participants (60 F) were assessed for trait empathy using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index; consequently, they underwent either the Trier Social Stress Test-a well-validated paradigm for eliciting acute psychosocial stress-or a non-stress inducing control condition. Following exposure to either the stress or control condition, participants played a one-shot Dictator Game to evaluate their generosity levels. Statistical analyses revealed that acute stress by itself did not affect the amount transferred in the Dictator Game. Rather, individual differences in trait empathy moderated the effects of stress on giving. Elevations in stress-induced cortisol resulted in more generous behavior, but only in individuals high in empathy. In contrast, in individuals low in empathy, a greater rise in stress-induced cortisol resulted in more selfish behavior. Effects were more pronounced in females than males. Our findings highlight the necessity of integrating personality traits as important moderators of the link between stress and sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hagar Azulay
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Nitzan Guy
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yoni Pertzov
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Salomon Israel
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Scheinfeld Center of Human Genetics for the Social Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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Ying L, Yan Q, Shen X, Zhang C. Social Value Orientation Moderated the Effect of Acute Stress on Individuals' Prosocial Behaviors. Front Psychol 2022; 13:803184. [PMID: 35360587 PMCID: PMC8960429 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.803184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute stress is believed to lead to prosocial behaviors via a "tend-and-befriend" pattern of stress response. However, the results of the effect of acute stress on prosocial behavior are inconsistent. The current study explores the moderating effect of gender and social value orientation on the relationship between acute stress and individuals' pure prosocial behaviors (i.e., pure prosociality and prosocial third-party punishment). Specifically, eighty-one participants were selected and underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (or were in the control group), followed by the third-party punishment task and the dictator game. The results showed that, in general, the main effect of condition or respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity on individual prosocial behaviors was significant and did not vary between genders. Furthermore, social value orientation (i.e., prosocial or self-orientation) might moderate the impact of RSA reactivity on the amount of punishment in the third-party punishment task. That is, individuals with self-orientation exhibited more prosocial third-party punishment as RSA reactivity decreased, while the effect did not occur for individuals with prosocial orientation. Taken together, the findings of the current study provide further evidence for the "tend-and-befriend" hypothesis and highlight the underlying physical mechanisms as well as the individual dependence of the effect of psychosocial stress on individuals' pure prosocial behaviors.
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von Dawans B, Trueg A, Voncken M, Dziobek I, Kirschbaum C, Domes G, Heinrichs M. Empathy Modulates the Effects of Acute Stress on Anxious Appearance and Social Behavior in Social Anxiety Disorder. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:875750. [PMID: 35911212 PMCID: PMC9326503 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.875750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients suffering from social anxiety disorder (SAD) fear social interaction and evaluation, which severely undermines their everyday life. There is evidence of increased prosocial behavior after acute social stress exposure in healthy individuals, which may be interpreted as stress-regulating "tend-and-befriend" behavior. In a randomized controlled trial, we measured empathic abilities in a first diagnostic session. In the following experimental session, we investigated how patients with SAD (n = 60) and healthy control participants (HC) (n = 52) respond to an acute social stressor (Trier Social Stress Test for groups) or a non-stressful control condition, and whether empathic abilities and acute social stress interact to modulate anxious appearance and social behavior in a social conversation test. Salivary cortisol, heart rate, and subjective stress response were repeatedly measured. The anxious appearance and social behavior of participants were rated by the conversation partner. SAD patients demonstrated stronger subjective stress responses while the biological responses did not differ from HC. Moreover, patients performed worse overall in the conversation task, which stress additionally undermined. Finally, we found that both emotional and cognitive empathy buffered the negative effects of acute stress on social behavior in SAD, but not in HC. Our data highlight the importance of empathic abilities for SAD during stressful situations and call for multimodal clinical diagnostics. This may help to differentiate clinical subtypes and offer better-tailored treatment for patients. General Scientific Summary: This study shows that high levels of cognitive and emotional empathy can buffer the negative effects of acute stress on social behavior in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Empathic abilities may be included as an additional diagnostic resource marker for SAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernadette von Dawans
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Amalie Trueg
- Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marisol Voncken
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Gregor Domes
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Markus Heinrichs
- Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Pfeifer LS, Heyers K, Ocklenburg S, Wolf OT. Stress research during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:581-596. [PMID: 34599918 PMCID: PMC8480136 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic confronts stress researchers in psychology and neuroscience with unique challenges. Widely used experimental paradigms such as the Trier Social Stress Test feature physical social encounters to induce stress by means of social-evaluative threat. As lockdowns and contact restrictions currently prevent in-person meetings, established stress induction paradigms are often difficult to use. Despite these challenges, stress research is of pivotal importance as the pandemic will likely increase the prevalence of stress-related mental disorders. Therefore, we review recent research trends like virtual reality, pre-recordings and online adaptations regarding their usefulness for established stress induction paradigms. Such approaches are not only crucial for stress research during COVID-19 but will likely stimulate the field far beyond the pandemic. They may facilitate research in new contexts and in homebound or movement-restricted participant groups. Moreover, they allow for new experimental variations that may advance procedures as well as the conceptualization of stress itself. While posing challenges for stress researchers undeniably, the COVID-19 pandemic may evolve into a driving force for progress eventually.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Sophie Pfeifer
- Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany,Corresponding author at: Lena Sophie Pfeifer (Cognitive Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Room: IB 6/77, 44780, Bochum, Germany)
| | - Katrin Heyers
- Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany,General Psychology II and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology, School of Human Sciences, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Oliver T. Wolf
- Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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29
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Zhang Y, Zhou T, Feng S, Liu X, Wang F, Sha Z, Yu X. A voxel-level brain-wide association study of cortisol at 8 a.m.: Evidence from Cushing's disease. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 15:100414. [PMID: 34786440 PMCID: PMC8578035 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 10/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortisol, the end product of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, regulates cognitive function and emotion processing. Cushing's disease, which is characterized by a unique excess of cortisol upon clinical diagnosis, serve as an excellent in vivo “hyperexpression” model to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms of cortisol in the human brain. Previous studies have shown the association between cortisol and functional connectivity within an a priori brain network. However, the whole-brain connectivity pattern that accompanies endogenous cortisol variation is still unclear, as are its associated genetic underpinnings. Here, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in 112 subjects (60 patients with Cushing's disease and 52 healthy subjects), we performed a voxel-level brain-wide association analysis to investigate the functional connectivity pattern associated with a wide variation in cortisol levels at 8 a.m. The results showed that the regions associated with cortisol as of 8 a.m. were primarily distributed in brain functional hubs involved in self-referential processing, such as the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, and caudate. We also found that regions in the middle temporal, inferior parietal and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, which is important for social communication tasks, and in the visual and supplementary motor cortex, which is involved in primary sensorimotor perception, were adversely affected by excessive cortisol. The connectivity between these regions was also significantly correlated with neuropsychiatric profiles, such anxiety and depression. Finally, combined neuroimaging and transcriptome analysis showed that functional cortisol-sensitive brain variations were significantly coupled to regional expression of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors. These findings reveal cortisol-biased functional signatures in the human brain and shed light on the transcriptional regulation constraints on the cortisol-related brain network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanyang Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Tao Zhou
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Shiyu Feng
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Xinyun Liu
- Department of Radiology, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Fuyu Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Zhiqiang Sha
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Xinguang Yu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
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Azulay H, Guy N, Shalev I, Pertzov Y, Israel S. Social evaluation under stress: Does acute stress affect social attributions and eye gaze? COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2021; 8:100093. [PMID: 35757674 PMCID: PMC9216653 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Acute stress has been found to elicit pro-social, anti-social or null responses in humans. The causes for these contradicting findings are currently poorly understood, and may rise from subjects' characteristics, such as sex or hormonal status, as well as stimuli-based traits, such as group membership. In the current study, 120 subjects performed either the Trier Social Stress Test or a control (non-stress inducing) condition, followed by ranking displayed faces according to several attributes (e.g., trustworthiness, attractiveness, dominance). Participants' eye gaze was also tracked while viewing facial stimuli. We examined how acute stress interacts with participants' sex, female participants' hormonal status (hormonal contraceptives, early-follicular phase and mid-luteal phase), and the observed faces’ social group (ethnicity-based in-group or out-groups). In general, frequentist and Bayesian analyses showed that acute stress exposure did not affect social attributions or gaze behavior, nor did it interact with subjects' sex or the group membership of the observed faces. Interestingly, sub-group analyses showed that in females, acute stress interacted with hormonal status to yield heterogenous anti-social effects, such as post-stress reductions in perceived trustworthiness in the early-follicular phase, and lower perceived attractiveness in the mid-luteal phase. Given the small sample sizes for the sub-groups, these results should be viewed as preliminary until further replicated. Our results highlight the necessity for large-scale studies, particularly in females, to further refine existing theories regarding the nature and contexts by which acute stress elicits changes in social cognition and behavior. Bayesian analysis showed that stress did not broadly affect social attributions. However, females' hormonal status may interact with stress to modulate attributions. Attributions were highly biased against out-group members, regardless of stress. Stress also did not influence patterns of eye gaze to faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hagar Azulay
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Truman Research Institute, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Nitzan Guy
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Idan Shalev
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Yoni Pertzov
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Salomon Israel
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Scheinfeld Center of Human Genetics for the Social Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
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Kroll SL, Mayo LM, Asratian A, Yngve A, Perini I, Heilig M. Negative self-evaluation induced by acute stress indexed using facial EMG. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021; 133:105402. [PMID: 34530295 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Maladaptive stress responses are a key feature of several psychiatric disorders, but findings of stress effects on social behavior are inconsistent. Using a within-subject design, we investigated, in 35 healthy participants, the effects of acute stress on psychophysiological and behavioral responses during a simulated online social interaction task. Participants were exposed to established stress and non-stress exposure procedures in two separate sessions. During the task, participants liked or disliked pictures of other putative players and, similarly, saw their own picture being judged by others. After stress exposure, corrugator muscle activity (frowning) was significantly increased when participants saw their own picture while anticipating feedback from others. Consistently, zygomatic muscle activity (smiling) for self-evaluation was lower after stress than in the non-stress session. We found self-report of stress to be a significant predictor of corrugator activity in both sessions, indicating that higher levels of subjective stress overall were accompanied by increased negative self-evaluation. Surprisingly, no stress effects were found on behavioral measures of other-evaluation (i.e., percentage of dislikes to others), but corrugator response significantly predicted the percentage of dislikes during the stress session only. Overall, our findings suggest that stress increases negative self-evaluation as indexed by elevated corrugator activity. Furthermore, stress might sharpen the consistency between corrugator activity and negative evaluation of others. Our results indicate that negative self-evaluation might be a useful therapeutic target in patients with stress-related psychiatric disorders. In this context, facial muscle activity may be an adequate biomarker for identifying stress-related differences in self-evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara L Kroll
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden.
| | - Leah M Mayo
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden
| | - Anna Asratian
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden
| | - Adam Yngve
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden
| | - Irene Perini
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden
| | - Markus Heilig
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Sweden
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Faber NS, Häusser JA. Why stress and hunger both increase and decrease prosocial behaviour. Curr Opin Psychol 2021; 44:49-57. [PMID: 34563979 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Humans are regularly in suboptimal psychophysiological states like stressed or hungry. Previous research has made both claims that such impairments should decrease and that they should increase prosocial behaviour. We describe the overarching theoretical reasoning underlying these opposing predictions. Then we discuss empirical research on the two impairments most frequently studied, acute stress and acute hunger, and we find that neither alters prosocial behaviour clearly in one direction. We argue that this is because even under impairments, humans react flexibly to the incentive structure of the specific social situation they are in. Hence, either prosocial or egoistic tendencies get expressed, depending on which strategy can lead to fulfilment of the need the impairment triggered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadira S Faber
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK & Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, UK.
| | - Jan A Häusser
- Department of Social Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
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Vatheuer CC, Vehlen A, von Dawans B, Domes G. Gaze behavior is associated with the cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress in the virtual TSST. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2021; 128:1269-1278. [PMID: 33914146 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-021-02344-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a reliable tool for psychobiological stress induction. Because of its socio-evaluative nature, it has been useful for investigating gaze behavior. It has been shown that healthy people avoid looking toward faces when under stress, a finding that corroborates studies demonstrating avoidance of eye contact in social anxiety disorder. Yet, little is known about the relationship between gaze behavior and the biological stress response. METHODS In a final sample of 74 healthy males, a virtual reality version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR) with an integrated eye tracker was implemented to investigate gaze behavior during acute stress induction. Stress response measures were collected via saliva samples and subjective stress ratings. Additional questionnaires were administered for examining the influence of social anxiety traits. RESULTS The TSST-VR elicited a significant psychobiological stress response. Overall, higher gaze times on judges compared to surroundings were found in the speech task while this pattern was reversed in the arithmetic task. Critically, there was a significant negative association between gaze time on judges and cortisol output in cortisol responders. CONCLUSIONS In a non-clinical sample, avoidance of gaze is associated with a stronger cortisol response to acute stress. This study demonstrates the potential of eye tracking to disentangle the effects of acute stress on social interaction, warranting further investigation in clinical populations characterized by high levels of anxiety in social situations, such as social anxiety and autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Carolyn Vatheuer
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Johanniterufer 15, 54290, Trier, Germany
| | - Antonia Vehlen
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Johanniterufer 15, 54290, Trier, Germany
| | - Bernadette von Dawans
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Johanniterufer 15, 54290, Trier, Germany
| | - Gregor Domes
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Johanniterufer 15, 54290, Trier, Germany.
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Kamp SM, Forester G, Vatheuer CC, Domes G. Stress effects on the oddball P300 and N2 in males and females. Biol Psychol 2021; 162:108095. [PMID: 33872742 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
We examined the effect of psychosocial stress on electrophysiological markers of novelty and deviance processing, the N2 and P300, as well as sex differences therein. Participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or a control procedure, followed by an oddball paradigm. A physiological stress response was induced in both sexes in the TSST condition. Furthermore, a reduced target P300 amplitude was elicited in the TSST condition in fronto-central electrodes, an effect that did not differ in magnitude between both sexes. By contrast, stressor effects on N2 amplitude differed by sex: In females, N2 amplitude was decreased in the TSST condition, while in males, no stress effects were observed. Exploratory correlational analyses suggested that a stress-induced P300 amplitude reduction, at least in males, could be due to a modulation of adrenergic activity. These results are consistent with sex differences in the manner in which stress affects lower-level, stimulus-driven vs. higher-level, more controlled processing stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siri-Maria Kamp
- Neurocognitive Psychology Unit, University of Trier, Germany.
| | - Glen Forester
- Neurocognitive Psychology Unit, University of Trier, Germany
| | - C Carolyn Vatheuer
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany
| | - Gregor Domes
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany
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