Neural traces of stress: cortisol related sustained enhancement of amygdala-hippocampal functional connectivity

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

卷:7

Ricardo eTarrasch¹  Ilana ePodlipsky²  Roee eAdmon³  Eyal eFruchter⁴  Daniel S Pine⁵  Naftali eStern⁶  Yona eGreenman⁶  Talma eHendler⁷  Tamar eLin⁷  Ilan eWald⁷  Sharon eVaisvaser⁷  Yair eBar-Haim⁷ 

[1] Division of Mental Health, Medical Corps, IDF;

[2] Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Sourasky Medical Center;

[3] McLean Hospital, Harvard medical School;

[4] Medical Corps, IDF;

[5] National Institutes of Health;

[6] Sourasky Medical Center;

[7] Tel Aviv University;

[8] Tel-Aviv University;

关键词: fMRI;    Default Mode Network;    Recovery;    default-mode Network;    Resting-state functional connectivity;    Limbic coupling;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnhum.2013.00313

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Stressful experiences modulate neuro-circuitry function, and the temporal trajectory of these alterations, elapsing from early disturbances to late recovery, heavily influences resilience and vulnerability to stress. Such effects of stress may depend on processes that are engaged during resting-state, through active recollection of past experiences and anticipation of future events, all known to involve the default mode network (DMN). By inducing social stress and acquiring resting-state fMRI before stress, immediately following it, and two hours later, we expanded the time-window for examining the trajectory of the stress response. Throughout the study repeated cortisol samplings and self-reports of stress levels were obtained from 51 healthy young males. Post-stress alterations were investigated by whole brain resting-state functional connectivity of two central hubs of the DMN: the posterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus. Results indicate a 'recovery' pattern of DMN connectivity, in which all alterations, ascribed to the intervening stress, returned to pre-stress levels. The only exception to this pattern was a stress-induced rise in amygdala-hippocampal connectivity, which was sustained for as long as two hours following stress induction. Furthermore, this sustained enhancement of limbic connectivity was inversely correlated to individual stress-induced cortisol responsiveness (AUCi) and characterized only the group lacking such increased cortisol (i.e., non-responders). Our observations provide evidence of a prolonged post-stress response profile, characterized by both the comprehensive balance of most DMN functional connections and the distinct time and cortisol dependent ascent of intra-limbic connectivity. These novel insights into neuro-endocrine relations are another milestone in the ongoing search for individual markers in stress-related psychopathologies.

【 授权许可】

Unknown