Clinical Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute for Health and Behaviour, Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Dev Psychopathol. 2022 Aug;34(3):1013-1024. doi: 10.1017/S0954579420001613. Epub 2021 Jan 15.
Acute stress affects interoception, but it remains unclear if this is due to activation of the sympatho-adreno-medullary (SAM) or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. This study aimed to investigate the effect of SAM axis activation on interoceptive accuracy (IAcc). Central alpha2-adrenergic receptors represent a negative feedback mechanism of the SAM axis. Major depressive disorder and adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are associated with alterations in the biological stress systems, including central alpha2-adrenergic receptors. Here, healthy individuals with and without ACE as well as depressive patients with and without ACE ( = 114; all without antidepressant medication) were tested after yohimbine (alpha2-adrenergic antagonist) and placebo. We assessed IAcc and sensibility in a heartbeat counting task. Increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after yohimbine confirmed successful SAM axis activation. IAcc decreased after yohimbine only in the healthy group with ACE, but remained unchanged in all other groups (Group × Drug interaction). This effect may be due to selective upregulation of alpha2-adrenergic receptors after childhood trauma, which reduces capacity for attention focus on heartbeats. The sympathetic neural pathway including alpha2-adrenergic circuitries may be essential for mediating interoceptive signal transmission. Suppressed processing of physical sensations in stressful situations may represent an adaptive response in healthy individuals who experienced ACE.
急性应激会影响内脏感知，但目前尚不清楚这是由于交感肾上腺髓质（SAM）系统还是下丘脑垂体肾上腺皮质轴的激活所致。本研究旨在探讨 SAM 轴激活对内脏感知准确性（IAcc）的影响。中枢 α2-肾上腺素能受体代表了 SAM 轴的负反馈机制。重度抑郁症和不良的童年经历（ACE）与生物应激系统的改变有关，包括中枢 α2-肾上腺素能受体。在这里，我们对有 ACE 和无 ACE 的健康个体以及有 ACE 和无 ACE 的抑郁患者（n = 114；均未服用抗抑郁药物）进行了测试，这些个体在服用育亨宾（α2-肾上腺素能拮抗剂）和安慰剂前后接受了测试。我们在心跳计数任务中评估了 IAcc 和敏感性。育亨宾后收缩压和舒张压的升高证实了 SAM 轴的成功激活。仅在有 ACE 的健康组中，育亨宾后 IAcc 下降，但在所有其他组中均保持不变（组间×药物相互作用）。这种效应可能是由于童年创伤后 α2-肾上腺素能受体的选择性上调，从而降低了对心跳的注意力集中能力。包括 α2-肾上腺素能回路在内的交感神经通路可能对于介导内脏感知信号传递至关重要。在经历 ACE 的健康个体中，在压力情况下对身体感觉的处理受到抑制，这可能代表一种适应性反应。
