Department of Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nägelsbachstraße 49a, Erlangen, 91052, Germany.
Trials. 2024 Nov 20;25(1):783. doi: 10.1186/s13063-024-08620-w.
Changes in response patterns of biological stress systems, including responses of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to repeated stress, can promote the development and progression of chronic diseases via changes in downstream inflammatory processes. The aim of this project is thus to investigate, whether habituation of biological stress system activity including responses of the inflammatory system can be modified. Aiming to test for possible paths of action, a randomized controlled study with two intervention programs designed to manipulate cognitive coping strategies will be carried out. By increasing either ruminative or self-compassionate thoughts among healthy young adults, the intervention programs are expected to affect the regulation of occurring emotions as expressed by the responsiveness of biological systems during repeated stress exposure.
In this study, a total of 120 healthy adults will complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) on two consecutive days. Immediately after the first stress induction, participants will be randomly assigned to two experimental conditions designed to manipulate cognitive coping strategies (rumination vs. self-compassion) or a control condition. Measures of HPA axis (salivary cortisol) and autonomic activity (salivary alpha amylase, heart rate, heart rate variability) as well as inflammatory markers (plasma interleukin(IL)-6, expression rates of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine genes) will be repeatedly assessed throughout the experimental sessions. Response and habituation indices of these measures will be calculated and compared between the experimental conditions and the control condition.
The results should provide insight into whether modifying response patterns of biological stress systems could reverse a significant biological mechanism in the development of stress-related diseases.
German Clinical Trials Register (DKRS), DRKS00034790. Registered on August 12, 2024, https://www.drks.de/DRKS00034790 .
生物应激系统反应模式的变化，包括交感神经系统（SNS）和下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴对反复应激的反应，可通过下游炎症过程的变化促进慢性疾病的发展和进展。因此，本项目的目的是研究生物应激系统活性（包括炎症系统的反应）的适应是否可以改变。为了测试可能的作用途径，将进行一项随机对照研究，该研究有两个旨在操纵认知应对策略的干预方案。通过在健康的年轻成年人中增加沉思或自我同情的想法，干预方案有望影响在反复应激暴露过程中生物系统反应所表达的情绪调节。
在这项研究中，共有 120 名健康成年人将在连续两天内完成特里尔社会应激测试（TSST）。在第一次应激诱导后，参与者将被随机分配到两个旨在操纵认知应对策略（沉思与自我同情）的实验条件或一个对照条件。在整个实验过程中，将反复测量 HPA 轴（唾液皮质醇）和自主活动（唾液 α-淀粉酶、心率、心率变异性）以及炎症标志物（血浆白细胞介素（IL）-6、促炎和抗炎细胞因子基因的表达率）。将计算这些测量的反应和适应指数，并在实验条件和对照条件之间进行比较。
结果应该提供关于是否可以改变生物应激系统的反应模式来逆转与应激相关疾病发展中重要生物学机制的见解。
德国临床试验注册处（DKRS），DRKS00034790。于 2024 年 8 月 12 日注册，https://www.drks.de/DRKS00034790。
