Table 3. Subjective emotional reactions to experimental stimuli, PANAS mood measures over 4 days of HCT exposure, and HCT-induced elevations in salivary cortisol levels.
| PANAS mood ratings | Measure | Test | Placebo | Single dose | Extended dose | F/T value | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effects of hydrocortisone | Multivariate pillai's | — | — | — | F(22,86)=1.179 | 0.288 | |
| Attentivness | Omnibus effect of group | 2.353 (0.146) | 2.353 (0.143) | 2.604 (0.146) | F(2,52)=0.994 | 0.377 | |
| Fatigue | Omnibus effect of group | 1.861 (0.092) | 1.908 (0.09) | 1.886 (0.092) | F(2,52)=0.067 | 0.935 | |
| Fear | Omnibus effect of group | 1.285 (0.059) | 1.134 (0.058) | 1.254 (0.059) | F(2,52)=1.863 | 0.165 | |
| Guilty | Omnibus effect of group | 1.149 (0.044) | 1.057 (0.043) | 1.142 (0.044) | F(2,52)=1.386 | 0.259 | |
| Hostile | Omnibus effect of group | 1.237 (0.058) | 1.151 (0.056) | 1.251 (0.058) | F(2,52)=0.908 | 0.410 | |
| Jovial | Omnibus effect of group | 2.19 (0.135) | 2.313 (0.132) | 2.349 (0.135) | F(2,52)=0.383 | 0.684 | |
| Sad | Omnibus effect of group | 1.158 (0.083) | 1.126 (0.081) | 1.372 (0.083) | F(2,52)=2.615 | 0.083 | |
| Self-assured | Omnibus effect of group | 1.744 (0.143) | 1.901 (0.139) | 2.161 (0.143) | F(2,52)=2.185 | 0.123 | |
| Serenity | Omnibus effect of group | 2.614 (0.13) | 2.879 (0.128) | 2.927 (0.13) | F(2,52)=1.684 | 0.196 | |
| Shy | Omnibus effect of group | 1.237 (0.06) | 1.105 (0.059) | 1.177 (0.06) | F(2,52)=1.24 | 0.298 | |
| Surprise | Omnibus effect of group | 1.361 (0.07) | 1.257 (0.069) | 1.228 (0.07) | F(2,52)=0.99 | 0.378 | |
|
Emotion evoked by stimuli |
Measure |
Test |
Placebo |
Single dose |
Extended dose |
F/T
value |
p-value |
| Effects of hydrocortisone | Multivariate Pillai's | — | — | — | F(78,32)=1.015 | 0.497 | |
| Sad IAPS and faces | Happiness | Omnibus effect of group | 1.9 (0.24) | 1.87 (0.21) | 1.59 (0.17) | F(2,53)=0.586 | 0.560 |
| Sadness | Omnibus effect of group | 4.32 (0.5) | 5.41 (0.40) | 4.38 (0.34) | F(2,53)=2.189 | 0.122 | |
| Valence | Omnibus effect of group | 3.59 (0.21) | 3.22 (0.16) | 3.23 (0.13) | F(2,53)=1.681 | 0.196 | |
| Arousal | Omnibus effect of group | 3.45 (0.43) | 4.07 (0.32) | 4.80 (0.31) | F(2,53)=3.292 | 0.045* | |
| —Single dose vs placebo | T(39)=1.215 | 0.695 | |||||
| —Extended dose vs placebo | T(39)=2.565 | 0.039* | |||||
| Happy IAPS and face | Happiness | Omnibus effect of group | 5.35 (0.42) | 6.01 (0.40) | 5.00 (0.35) | F(2,53)=2.068 | 0.136 |
| Sadness | Omnibus effect of group | 1.24 (0.08) | 1.40 (0.17) | 1.09 (0.04) | F(2,53)=1.787 | 0.177 | |
| Valence | Omnibus effect of group | 6.49 (0.21) | 6.59 (0.25) | 6.34 (0.15) | F(2,53)=0.309 | 0.736 | |
| Arousal | Omnibus effect of group | 3.64 (0.37) | 4.00 (0.39) | 4.32 (0.38) | F(2,53)=1.190 | 0.312 | |
| Neutral IAPS and face | Happiness | Omnibus effect of group | 2.91 (0.36) | 3.19 (0.32) | 2.62 (0.33) | F(2,53)=0.776 | 0.465 |
| Sadness | Omnibus effect of group | 2.02 (0.28) | 2.54 (0.28) | 1.75 (0.17) | F(2,53)=2.371 | 0.103 | |
| Valence | Omnibus effect of group | 5.02 (0.04) | 4.89 (0.09) | 4.89 (0.06) | F(2,53)=1.180 | 0.315 | |
| Arousal | Omnibus effect of group | 2.03 (0.27) | 2.16 (0.17) | 2.50 (0.29) | F(2,53)=1.016 | 0.369 | |
| Sad faces | Happiness | Omnibus effect of group | 1.89 (0.28) | 1.98 (0.24) | 1.62 (0.21) | F(2,53)=0.631 | 0.536 |
| Sadness | Omnibus effect of group | 3.91 (0.51) | 4.64 (0.48) | 3.57 (0.41) | F(2,53)=1.156 | 0.322 | |
| Valence | Omnibus effect of group | 3.91 (0.20) | 3.73 (0.18) | 3.73 (0.18) | F(2,53)=0.524 | 0.595 | |
| Arousal | Omnibus effect of group | 2.64 (0.39) | 3.02 (0.37) | 3.75 (0.48) | F(2,53)=1.748 | 0.184 | |
| Happy faces | Happiness | Omnibus effect of group | 4.75 (0.45) | 5.34 (0.44) | 4.29 (0.43) | F(2,53)=1.828 | 0.171 |
| Sadness | Omnibus effect of group | 1.33 (0.10) | 1.49 (0.19) | 1.14 (0.06) | F(2,53)=1.731 | 0.187 | |
| Valence | Omnibus effect of group | 6.15 (0.21) | 6.15 (0.23) | 5.90 (0.25) | F(2,53)=0.315 | 0.731 | |
| Arousal | Omnibus effect of group | 2.76 (0.38) | 3.12 (0.39) | 3.77 (0.47) | F(2,53)=1.378 | 0.261 | |
| Neutral faces | Happiness | Omnibus effect of group | 2.47 (0.36) | 2.77 (0.33) | 2.10 (0.34) | F(2,53)=0.949 | 0.394 |
| Sadness | Omnibus effect of group | 2.49 (0.37) | 3.11 (0.36) | 2.07 (0.26) | F(2,53)=2.246 | 0.116 | |
| Valence | Omnibus effect of group | 4.88 (0.03) | 4.70 (0.09) | 4.76 (0.14) | F(2,53)=0.967 | 0.387 | |
| Arousal | Omnibus effect of group | 1.85 (0.28) | 2.00 (0.22) | 2.67 (0.44) | F(2,53)=2.001 | 0.145 | |
| Sad IAPS | Happiness | Omnibus effect of group | 1.79 (0.22) | 1.76 (0.21) | 1.52 (0.16) | F(2,53)=0.433 | 0.651 |
| Sadness | Omnibus effect of group | 4.82 (0.51) | 6.17 (0.38) | 5.08 (0.43) | F(2,53)=3.026 | 0.057 | |
| Valence | Omnibus effect of group | 3.32 (0.23) | 2.70 (0.19) | 2.89 (0.16) | F(2,53)=2.668 | 0.079 | |
| Arousal | Omnibus effect of group | 4.23 (0.50) | 5.13 (0.39) | 5.87 (0.27) | F(2,53)=3.980 | 0.025* | |
| —Single dose vs placebo | T(39)=1.605 | 0.349 | |||||
| —Extended dose vs placebo | T(39)=2.813 | 0.019* | |||||
| Happy faces | Happiness | Omnibus effect of group | 5.95 (0.41) | 6.68 (0.43) | 5.37 (0.41) | F(2,53)=2.191 | 0.122 |
| Sadness | Omnibus effect of group | 1.15 (0.08) | 1.40 (0.17) | 1.19 (0.11) | F(2,53)=1.578 | 0.216 | |
| Valence | Omnibus effect of group | 6.83 (0.22) | 7.02 (0.30) | 6.59 (0.19) | F(2,53)=0.531 | 0.591 | |
| Arousal | Omnibus effect of group | 4.52 (0.42) | 4.88 (0.50) | 5.13 (0.35) | F(2,53)=0.436 | 0.649 | |
| Neutral IAPS | Happiness | Omnibus effect of group | 3.26 (0.39) | 3.61 (0.34) | 3.03 (0.39) | F(2,53)=0.748 | 0.478 |
| Sadness | Omnibus effect of group | 1.61 (0.23) | 1.97 (0.25) | 1.51 (0.14) | F(2,53)=1.213 | 0.306 | |
| Valence | Omnibus effect of group | 5.15 (0.07) | 5.09 (0.12) | 5.02 (0.03) | F(2,53)=0.448 | 0.641 | |
| Arousal | Omnibus effect of group | 2.15 (0.27) | 2.31 (0.19) | 2.69 (0.25) | F(2,53)=1.423 | 0.250 | |
|
Saliva cortisol measures |
Measure |
Test |
Placebo |
Single dose |
Extended dose |
F/T
value |
p-value |
| Effects of hydrocortisone | Cortisol | Repeated Measures Time X Group (quadradic Fit) | — | — | — | F(2,53)=26.152 | 0.0000000125* |
| Average cortisol during scanning | Omnibus effect of group | 0.04 (0.02) | 7.709 (1.0) | 0.058 (0.01) | F(2,52)=204.24 | 0.005* | |
| —Single dose vs placebo | T(39)=8.34 | 0.00000000003* | |||||
| —Extended dose vs placebo | T(38)=0.006 | 0.995 | |||||
| Cortisol peak | Omnibus effect of group | 0.14(0.03) | 23.04(4.02) | 0.16(0.03) | F(2,53)=95.056 | 0.010 | |
| —Single dose vs placebo | T(39)=6.47 | 0.00000003 |
Extended Dose vs. Placebo T(38)=0.018 0.996. Subjective arousal was only significantly increased in reaction to viewing sad stimuli in the extended dose group.
Similar non-significant effects of hydrocortisone on arousal were also seen on other types of stimuli (see also Figure 3 and Figure 4).
*Bold value indicate p<0.05 for omnibus tests or after Bonferroni correction.