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Neural correlates of the cortisol awakening response in humans

The cortisol rise after awakening (cortisol awakening response, CAR) is a core biomarker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation related to psychosocial stress and stress-related psychiatric disorders. However, the neural regulation of the CAR has not been examined in humans. Here, w...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Böhringer, Andreas (Author) , Lederbogen, Florian (Author) , Wüst, Stefan (Author) , Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 8 April 2015
In: Neuropsychopharmacology
Year: 2015, Volume: 40, Issue: 9, Pages: 2278-2285
ISSN:1740-634X
DOI:10.1038/npp.2015.77
Online Access:Verlag, teilw. kostenfrei, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.77
Verlag, teilw. kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www-nature-com.ezproxy.medma.uni-heidelberg.de/articles/npp201577
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Author Notes:Andreas Boehringer, Heike Tost, Leila Haddad, Florian Lederbogen, Stefan Wüst, Emanuel Schwarz and Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
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Summary:The cortisol rise after awakening (cortisol awakening response, CAR) is a core biomarker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation related to psychosocial stress and stress-related psychiatric disorders. However, the neural regulation of the CAR has not been examined in humans. Here, we studied neural regulation related to the CAR in a sample of 25 healthy human participants using an established psychosocial stress paradigm together with multimodal functional and structural (voxel-based morphometry) magnetic resonance imaging. Across subjects, a smaller CAR was associated with reduced grey matter volume and increased stress-related brain activity in the perigenual ACC, a region which inhibits HPA axis activity during stress that is implicated in risk mechanisms and pathophysiology of stress-related mental diseases. Moreover, functional connectivity between the perigenual ACC and the hypothalamus, the primary controller of HPA axis activity, was associated with the CAR. Our findings provide support for a role of the perigenual ACC in regulating the CAR in humans and may aid future research on the pathophysiology of stress-related illnesses, such as depression, and environmental risk for illnesses such as schizophrenia.
Item Description:Gesehen am 22.02.2018
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1740-634X
DOI:10.1038/npp.2015.77

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