Conditioning cortisol in healthy young women - A randomized controlled trial

PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY

卷:124

Article

Tekampe, Judith^1,2  van Middendorp, Henriet¹  Biermasz, Nienke R.³  Sweep, Fred C. G. J.⁴  Meijer, Onno C.³  Pelsma, Iris C. M.³  Pereira, Alberto M.³  Hermus, Ad R. M. M.⁵  Evers, Andrea W. M.^1,2,6 

[1] Leiden Univ, Heath Med & Neuropsychol Unit, Leiden, Netherlands

[2] Radboud Univ Nijmegen, Dept Med Psychol, Med Ctr, Nijmegen, Netherlands

[3] Leiden Univ, Ctr Endocrine Tumors Leiden CETL, Dept Internal Med, Div Endocrinol & Metab,Med Ctr, Leiden, Netherlands

[4] Radboud Univ Nijmegen, Dept Lab Med, Med Ctr, Nijmegen, Netherlands

[5] Radboud Univ Nijmegen, Dept Internal Med, Div Endocrinol, Med Ctr, Nijmegen, Netherlands

[6] Leiden Univ, Dept Psychiat, Med Ctr, Leiden, Netherlands

关键词: Learned placebo effects;    Conditioning;    Cortisol;    Stress;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.105081

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Background: Learned placebo effects induced by pharmacological conditioning affect immune and endocrine outcomes and may offer new possibilities for clinical applications. Whether or not cortisol is subject to this type of associative learning processes, and whether conditioning may affect responses to stress, is currently unclear. Method: A randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 48 healthy young women. During acquisition, participants received a pill containing either 100 mg hydrocortisone (unconditioned stimulus) or placebo, paired with a gustatory conditioned stimulus on three consecutive days. During evocation, all participants received placebo paired with the conditioned stimulus, again on three consecutive days. During the third evocation trial, participants underwent a psychosocial stress task. The main outcome parameter salivary cortisol and secondary outcome parameters salivary alpha-amylase, self-reported positive affect and tension, heart rate, and skin conductance level were measured at several time points. Results: Significant baseline group differences on cortisol were found at several time points, which complicate the interpretation of group differences. During the first evocation session, the conditioned group showed a moderately smaller cumulative decrease in salivary cortisol from baseline than the placebo control group. No significant differences were found between the groups on cortisol during the second and third evocation or in response to stress, nor on other outcome measures. Conclusion: Although the results provide potential further indications for effects of conditioning on cortisol, baseline differences make it impossible to draw clear conclusions. No indications for possible effects of conditioning on the cortisol stress response or autonomous or affective responses to stress were found.

【 授权许可】

Free