What Stress Does to Your Brain: A Review of Neuroimaging Studies
Abstract
Abstract
Objective:
Recent neuroimaging studies aimed at investigating effects of psychological stress on the neural activity have used a range of experimental paradigms to elicit an acute stress response. The goal of this review is to, first, summarize results from these studies from a perspective of task design and, second, assess the appropriateness of the different stress tasks used.
Method:
We completed a PubMed search on recent articles that have examined the effects of psychological stress on neural processes in a neuroimaging environment. Selected articles were arranged according to the stress task used in the following categories: script-driven stress stimuli, Stroop colour-word interference task, speech in front of an audience, serial subtraction, and Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST).
Results:
Only studies using serial subtraction or the MIST were able to induce a significant cortisol stress response in their participants. Most consistent findings include decreased activity in orbitofrontal regions in response to stress. Additional findings of note are increases in activity in the frontal lobes, particularly the anterior cingulate cortex, as well as deactivation of the limbic system, particularly the hippocampus.
Conclusion:
Research to date is beginning to outline the involvement of prefrontal and limbic regions in perception and modulation of psychological stress. However, additional research is needed in designing a neuroimaging stress task that will yield a significant cortisol stress response consistently, across populations and laboratories.
Résumé
Objectif:
Les récentes études de neuroimagerie visant à rechercher les effets du stress psychologique sur l'activité neuronale ont utilisé une gamme de paradigmes expérimentaux pour provoquer une réponse aiguë au stress. Le but de cette revue est d'abord de résumer les résultats de ces études du point de vue de l'organisation du travail, et ensuite, d'évaluer la pertinence des différentes tâches de stress utilisées.
Méthode:
Nous avons cherché dans PubMed les articles récents qui ont examiné les effets du stress psychologique sur les processus neuronaux dans un environnement de neuroimagerie. Les articles choisis ont été classés selon la tâche de stress utilisée dans les catégories suivantes: les stimuli de stress guidés par scénario, le test d'interférence couleur/mot de Stroop, le discours devant un auditoire, et le test du stress d'imagerie de Montréal (MIST).
Résultats:
Seules les études utilisant une série d'images de soustraction ou le MIST étaient capables de provoquer une réponse au stress en cortisol significatif chez les participants. Les résultats les plus cohérents comprennent l'activité réduite des régions orbitofrontales en réponse au stress. Les résultats additionnels dignes de mention sont des augmentations de l'activité dans les lobes frontaux, surtout dans le cortex cingulaire antérieur, ainsi que la désactivation du système limbique, en particulier, l'hippocampe.
Conclusion:
Jusqu'ici, la recherche commence à déterminer l'implication des régions préfrontale et limbique dans la perception et la modulation du stress psychologique. Toutefois, il faut plus de recherches pour concevoir un test de stress par neuroimagerie qui produira de façon constante une réponse au stress en cortisol significatif, dans les populations et les laboratoires.
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Article first published online: January 1, 2009
Issue published: January 2009
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PubMed: 19175975
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