Ren Yipeng, Liu Yadong, Zhao Xiaolin, Hu Weiyu, Wei Zhenni, Tang Zihan, Luo Jiahao, Li Mengyi, Guo Kaige, Wu Yan, Yang Juan
Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Ministry of Education), Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Neuroscience. 2023 May 1;517:61-69. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.03.008. Epub 2023 Mar 15.
Previous studies revealed that high long-term hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis activity measured by the hair cortisol concentrations predicts lower acute stress cortisol response and reported the influences of hair cortisol on brain activity during acute stress exposure. However, considering that long-term HPA axis activity has a close relationship with the brain's resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC), the current study aimed to explore the role of RSFC between limbic and salience network in this relationship. Seventy-seven healthy participants underwent resting-state imaging scans before performing the acute ScanSTRESS task. Saliva samples were collected to assess the levels of acute stress salivary cortisol. Hair samples were also collected, and the corticosteroid concentration extracted from these samples were used as a biomarker of long-term HPA axis activity. High hair cortisone (HairE) levels predicted lower acute stress cortisol response. Moreover, high HairE levels were significantly correlated with enhanced RSFC between limbic and salience networks, while RSFC was negatively associated with acute stress cortisol response. Importantly, the RSFC between left insula and left parahippocampus mediated the association between HairE and acute cortisol stress response. Taken together, this study uncovers the important role of RSFC between salience and limbic networks in the long-term relationship between HairE and acute cortisol response and contributes to a deeper understanding of the individual differences in acute stress response.
以往的研究表明，通过头发皮质醇浓度测量的长期下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺（HPA）轴高活性预示着较低的急性应激皮质醇反应，并报道了头发皮质醇在急性应激暴露期间对大脑活动的影响。然而，考虑到长期HPA轴活性与大脑静息态功能连接（RSFC）密切相关，本研究旨在探讨边缘网络与突显网络之间的RSFC在这种关系中的作用。77名健康参与者在执行急性ScanSTRESS任务之前进行了静息态成像扫描。收集唾液样本以评估急性应激唾液皮质醇水平。还收集了头发样本，从这些样本中提取的皮质类固醇浓度用作长期HPA轴活性的生物标志物。高头发皮质醇（HairE）水平预示着较低的急性应激皮质醇反应。此外，高HairE水平与边缘网络和突显网络之间增强的RSFC显著相关，而RSFC与急性应激皮质醇反应呈负相关。重要的是，左侧岛叶和左侧海马旁回之间的RSFC介导了HairE与急性皮质醇应激反应之间的关联。综上所述，本研究揭示了突显网络与边缘网络之间的RSFC在HairE与急性皮质醇反应的长期关系中的重要作用，并有助于更深入地理解急性应激反应中的个体差异。
