Table 2.
Overview of studies on the associations between endogenous cortisol and brain activity during psychological stress.
| Reference | Participants (mean age, percentage females) | Stressor | Analysis | Results for HVs For ↑ cortisol - reported as either correlation with cortisol, or as a group difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole brain | ||||
| Kukolja et al., 2008 | 20 HV young (Mage=23.8, 45%) 12 HV old (Mage=58.5, 33.33%) |
Encoding and recognition task | WB | WB encoding: interaction cortisol and age in L middle frontal gyrus (pos relation in young subjects) WB retrieval: interaction cortisol and age in L middle frontal gyrus, R inferior frontal gyrus, R hippocampal formation (neg relation older subjects) |
| Radke et al., 2018 | 80 HV (Mage=24.54, 50%) | Cyberball task (social exclusion) | WB | ↑ inferior frontal gyrus, ↑ middle temporal gyrus |
| Dedovic et al., 2014 | 26 HV (Mage=21.9, 53.8%) 23 sub depr (Mage=21.9, 47.8%) |
MIST | WB ROI |
WB: No significant associations ROI: No significant associations with hippocampus, medial OFC, sgACC |
| Orem et al., 2019 | 239 HV (Mage=19.44, 47.3%) | MIST | WB ROI |
WB: No significant associations ROI: No significant associations with amygdala, hippocampus |
| Root et al., 2009 | 20 HV (Mage=31, 45%) | Fear evoking images | WB ROI |
WB: ↑ L middle temporal gyrus and ↑ frontal regions (including R middle frontal gyrus and R middle orbital frontal gyrus), ↓ L&R insula, ↓ frontal regions (including R superior and inferior frontal gyri), ↓ L&R lateral orbital frontal gyrus ROI: ↑ amygdala, ↑ hippocampus, ↓ vmPFC |
| ROI | ||||
| Pruessner et al., 2008 | 40 HV (Mage=23.1, 50%) | MIST | ROI Resp vs non-resp |
ROI: ↓ hippocampus, no association with ACC Resp < non-resp: L ACC, R orbitofrontal/inferior frontal gyrus, L dlPFC |
| Kogler et al., 2015 | 40 HV (Mage=24.5, 57.5%) | MIST | ROI | No significant associations with amygdala, hippocampus, putamen |
| Admon et al., 2015 | 29 HV (Mage=45.7, 45.7%) 31 rMDD (Mage=47.4, 51.5%) |
International Affective Picture System (IAPS) | ROI | No significant associations with bilateral caudate, NAcc, putamen rMDD: ↑ caudate |
| Akdeniz et al., 2014 | 23 HV German (Mage=23.35, 60.9%) 23 HV Migrant (Mage=22.61, 52.2%) |
ScanSTRESS (arithmetic task) | ROI | ↑ pACC |
| Boehringer et al., 2015 | 25 HV (Mage=41.88, 56%) | MIST | ROI | ↑ pACC* |
| Lederbogen et al., 2011 | 32 HV (Mage=43.6, 50%) | MIST | ROI | ↓ amygdala, ↓ hippocampus |
| Mareckova et al., 2017 | 41 HV (0.46%) 31 psychosis (0.48%) 27 MDD (0.52%) Mage males=45.02, Mage females=44.33 |
IAPS | ROI | ↓ L OFC, ↓ L mPFC** |
| Kogler et al., 2017 | 77 HV (Mage=24.56, 51.9%) | MIST | ROI | No significant associations with R insula, R STG |
| Dahm et al., 2017 | 83 HV (Mage=27, 59%) | ScanSTRESS (mental spatial rotation and arithmetic subtraction) | ROI (mediation analysis) | No significant associations with amygdala, dACC, insula Mediation analysis: conscientiousness mediates the relationship between insula & amygdala activation and cortisol |
| Ming et al., 2017 | 36 HV (Mage=22.19, 50%) 36 MDE (Mage=22.81, 52.78%) 33 rem MDE (Mage = 21.67, 51.52%) |
MIST | ROI | ↓ vmPFC |
| van Stegeren et al., 2007 | 14 HV responders (50%) 14 HV non-responders (50%) Mage=20.93 |
emotional images | ROI Resp vs non-resp |
ROI: ↑ amygdala Resp > non-resp: amygdala |
| Responders vs non-responders | ||||
| Dedovic et al., 2009 | 7 HV responders 13 HV non-responders |
eventMIST | Resp v non-resp | Direct comparison not significant (resp > non-resp: dmPFC L&R, dlPFC R, temporal lobe L) |
| Khalili-Mahani et al., 2010 | 9 HV responders (0%) 10 HV non-responders (0%) |
MIST | Resp vs non-resp | ROI: ↓ L hippocampus Resp > non-resp: middle temporal gyrus, R lateral PFC, R rostral ACC Resp < non-resp: hippocampus |
| Streit et al., 2014 | 42 HV (Mage=28, 47%) | ScanSTRESS (arithmetic task) | Resp vs non-resp | Resp > non-resp: amygdala |
| Wheelock et al., 2016 | 53 HV (Mage=18.68, 43.4%) | MIST | Resp vs non-resp | ROI: ↓ vmPFC Resp < non-resp: vmPFC, PCC, insula, superior temporal gyrus |
| Cerebral blood flow | ||||
| Wang et al., 2005 | 23 HV stress (Mage=24.1, 47%) 7 HV control (Mage=23, 60%) |
arithmetic task | CBF | ROI: ↑ ventral R PFC, ↑ ACC, ↑ precuneus, ↑ L&R angular gyri/inferior parietal cortex, ↑ antromedial prefrontal cortex |
| Wang et al., 2007 | 32 HV (Mage=23.55, 50%) | arithmetic task | CBF | Males: ↑ R PFC, ↓ L OFC/ inferior FC Females: ↑ L thalamus, ↑ dACC, ↓ L IFC |
Note: HV = healthy volunteer; WB = whole brain; L = left; R = right; pos = positive; neg = negative; MIST = Montreal Imaging Stress Task; ROI = region of interest; OFC = orbitofrontal cortex; sgACC = subgenual anterior cingulate cortex; vmPFC = ventromedial prefrontal cortex; Resp = responders; non-resp = non-responders; ACC = anterior cingulate cortex; d1PFC = dorsolateral prefronal cortex; rMDD = major depressive disorder in remission; NAcc = nucleus accumbens; pACC = perigenual anterior cingulate cortex; mPFC = medial prefrontal cortex; STG = superior temporal gyrus; dACC = dorsal ACC; dmPFC = dorsomedial prefrontal cortex; IFC = inferior frontal cortex
*
Does not survive correction for multiple comparisons
**
only in females