Inverse association between stress induced cortisol elevations and negative emotional reactivity to stress in humans

Abstract

Greater cortisol reactivity to stress is often assumed to lead to heightened negative affective reactivity to stress. Conversely, a growing body of evidence demonstrates mood-protective effects of cortisol elevations in the context of acute stress. We administered a laboratory-based stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and measured cortisol and emotional reactivity in 68 adults (48 women) between the ages of 25 and 65. In accordance with our pre-registered hypothesis (https://osf.io/t8r3w) and prior research, negative affective reactivity was inversely related to cortisol reactivity assessed immediately after the stressor. We found that greater cortisol response to acute stress is associated with smaller increases in negative affect, consistent with mood-protective effects of cortisol elevations in response to acute stress.

Keywords:

• Cortisol
• glucocorticoids
• emotion
• negative affect
• stress
• TSST

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Emotion and Wellness study participants, the Center for Healthy Minds Research Support Core, the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin for assistance in recruitment, and the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center’s Assay Services for salivary cortisol processing (NIH P51OD011106). We would also like to thank current and former research staff and TSST judges, including Leonard Black, Gabriela Marulanda, Lauren Gresham, Jeanne Harris, and Corrina Frye.

Author contributions

SMS, MAR, RJD are key personnel and designed the R01-funded project from which this investigation is drawn, including methods and procedures related to the TSST. ALB, ECN, & SMS collected and processed data. SMS, AJF, ETH, MAR, DWG, & HCA planned analyses for TSST data. HCA analyzed the data, with assistance from DWG, SMS, & ALB. HCA wrote the first draft and all authors provided input on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data are shared and available through the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive.

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health [R01MH043454, Davidson and Schaefer]. In addition, Dr. Grupe is supported by a National Institute of Mental Health career development award [K01MH117222]. Dr. Richard J. Davidson is the founder, president, and serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit organization, Healthy Minds Innovations, Inc. No other authors have any conflicts of interest or competing interest.

Notes on contributors

Heather C. Abercrombie

Heather Abercrombie is a Scientist and Licensed Psychologist at the UW-Madison Center for Healthy Minds. Her research has focused primarily on the relationship between acute cortisol elevations and psychological function in depressed and non-depressed humans.

Alexandra L. Barnes

Alexandra Barnes is an Associate Research Specialist at the UW-Madison Center for Healthy Minds.

Elizabeth C. Nord

Elizabeth Nord is a Research Specialist at the UW-Madison Center for Healthy Minds.

Anna J. Finley

Anna Finley is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the UW-Madison Center for Healthy Minds.

Estelle T. Higgins

Estelle Higgins is a Graduate Student in the UW-Madison Department of Psychology.

Daniel W. Grupe

Daniel Grupe is a Scientist at the UW-Madison Center for Healthy Minds.

Melissa A. Rosenkranz

Melissa Rosenkranz is Core Faculty at the Center for Healthy Minds, Distinguished Chair in Contemplative Neuroscience, and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UW-Madison.

Richard J. Davidson

Richard Davidson is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Founder and Director of the UW-Madison Center for Healthy Minds, and Founder of Healthy Minds Innovations. He is also co-PI on the NIH grant that funded this research.

Stacey M. Schaefer

Stacey Schaefer is a Scientist at UW-Madison and Co-Leader on the MIDUS Neuroscience Project. She is also Co-PI on the NIH grant that funded this research.