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Sex differences in cognitive regulation of psychosocial achievement stress: brain and behavior.

ABSTRACT: Although cognitive regulation of emotion has been extensively examined, there is a lack of studies assessing cognitive regulation in stressful achievement situations. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging in 23 females and 20 males to investigate cognitive downregulation of negative, stressful sensations during a frequently used psychosocial stress task. Additionally, subjective responses, cognitive regulation strategies, salivary cortisol, and skin conductance response were assessed. Subjective response supported the experimental manipulation by showing higher anger and negative affect ratings after stress regulation than after the mere exposure to stress. On a neural level, right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and right superior temporal gyrus (STG) were more strongly activated during regulation than nonregulation, whereas the hippocampus was less activated during regulation. Sex differences were evident: after regulation females expressed higher subjective stress ratings than males, and these ratings were associated with right hippocampal activation. In the nonregulation block, females showed greater activation of the left amygdala and the right STG during stress than males while males recruited the putamen more robustly in this condition. Thus, cognitive regulation of stressful achievement situations seems to induce additional stress, to recruit regions implicated in attention integration and working memory and to deactivate memory retrieval. Stress itself is associated with greater activation of limbic as well as attention areas in females than males. Additionally, activation of the memory system during cognitive regulation of stress is associated with greater perceived stress in females. Sex differences in cognitive regulation strategies merit further investigation that can guide sex sensitive interventions for stress-associated disorders.

SUBMITTER: Kogler L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6869735 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sex differences in cognitive regulation of psychosocial achievement stress: brain and behavior.

Kogler Lydia L Gur Ruben C RC Derntl Birgit B

Human brain mapping 20141106 3

Although cognitive regulation of emotion has been extensively examined, there is a lack of studies assessing cognitive regulation in stressful achievement situations. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging in 23 females and 20 males to investigate cognitive downregulation of negative, stressful sensations during a frequently used psychosocial stress task. Additionally, subjective responses, cognitive regulation strategies, salivary cortisol, and skin conductance response were asse ...[more]

PMID: 25376429

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Project description:Elevations in brain interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) during chronic stress exposure have been implicated in behavioral and cognitive impairments associated with depression and anxiety. Two critical regulators of brain IL-1β production during times of stress are glucocorticoids and catecholamines. These hormones work in opposition to one another to inhibit (via glucocorticoid receptors) or stimulate (via beta-adrenergic receptors: β-AR) IL-1β production. While chronic stress often heightens both corticosterone and catecholamine levels, it remains unknown as to how chronic stress may affect the "yin-yang" balance between adrenergic stimulation and glucocorticoid suppression of brain IL-1β. To investigate this further, male and female rats underwent 4 days of stress exposure or served as non-stressed controls. On day 5, animals were administered propranolol (β-AR antagonist), metyrapone (a glucocorticoid synthesis inhibitor), vehicle, or both drugs and brain IL-1β mRNA was measured by rtPCR in limbic brain areas. In males, administration of propranolol had no effect on IL-1β expression in non-stressed controls but significantly reduced IL-1β in the hippocampus and amygdala of chronically stressed animals. In females, propranolol significantly reduced IL-1β in the amygdala and hypothalamus of both control and stressed rats. In male rats, metyrapone treatment significantly increased IL-1β mRNA regardless of stress treatment in all brain areas, while in female rats metyrapone only increased IL-1β in the hypothalamus. Interestingly, propranolol treatment blocked the metyrapone-induced increase in brain IL-1β indicating the increase in brain IL-1β following metyrapone treatment was due to increase β-AR activation. Additional studies revealed that metyrapone significantly increases norepinephrine turnover in the hypothalamus and medial prefrontal cortex in male rats and that microglia appear to be the cell type contributing to the production of IL-1β. Overall, data reveal that stress exposure in male rats affects the regulation of brain IL-1β by the norepinephrine-β-AR pathway, while stress had no effect in the regulation of brain IL-1β in female rats.

Dataset Information

Sex differences in cognitive regulation of psychosocial achievement stress: brain and behavior.

Publications

Sex differences in cognitive regulation of psychosocial achievement stress: brain and behavior.

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