Keulers Esther H H, Stiers Peter, Nicolson Nancy A, Jolles Jelle
Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Brain Res. 2015 Feb 19;1598:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2014.12.022. Epub 2014 Dec 13.
MRI participation has been shown to induce subjective and neuroendocrine stress reactions. A recent aging study showed that cortisol levels during fMRI have an age-dependent effect on cognitive performance and brain functioning. The present study examined whether this age-specific influence of cortisol on behavioral and brain activation levels also applies to adolescence. Salivary cortisol as well as subjective experienced anxiety were assessed during the practice session, at home, and before, during and after the fMRI session in young versus old male adolescents. Cortisol levels were enhanced pre-imaging relative to during and post-imaging in both age groups, suggesting anticipatory stress and anxiety. Overall, a negative correlation was found between cortisol output during the fMRI experiment and brain activation magnitude during performance of a gambling task. In young but not in old adolescents, higher cortisol output was related to stronger deactivation of clusters in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. In old but not in young adolescents, a negative correlation was found between cortisol and activation in the inferior parietal and in the superior frontal cortex. In sum, cortisol increased the deactivation of several brain areas, although the location of the affected areas in the brain was age-dependent. The present findings suggest that cortisol output during fMRI should be considered as confounder and integrated in analyzing developmental changes in brain activation during adolescence.
磁共振成像（MRI）检查已被证明会引发主观和神经内分泌应激反应。最近一项关于衰老的研究表明，功能磁共振成像（fMRI）期间的皮质醇水平对认知表现和大脑功能具有年龄依赖性影响。本研究探讨了皮质醇对行为和大脑激活水平的这种年龄特异性影响是否也适用于青少年期。在年轻和年长男性青少年的练习阶段、在家中以及fMRI检查前、检查期间和检查后，评估了唾液皮质醇以及主观感受到的焦虑程度。两个年龄组在成像前的皮质醇水平均高于成像期间和成像后，这表明存在预期性应激和焦虑。总体而言，在fMRI实验期间的皮质醇分泌量与赌博任务执行期间的大脑激活强度之间存在负相关。在年轻青少年而非年长青少年中，较高的皮质醇分泌量与前扣带回和后扣带回皮质簇的更强失活有关。在年长青少年而非年轻青少年中，发现皮质醇与顶下小叶和额上回的激活之间存在负相关。总之，皮质醇增加了几个脑区的失活，尽管大脑中受影响区域的位置具有年龄依赖性。目前的研究结果表明，在分析青少年期大脑激活的发育变化时，应将fMRI期间的皮质醇分泌量视为一个混杂因素并加以综合考虑。
