A large-scale perspective on stress-induced alterations in resting-state networks

Abstract

Stress is known to induce large-scale neural modulations. However, its neural effect once the stressor is removed and how it relates to subjective experience are not fully understood. Here we used a statistically sound data-driven approach to investigate alterations in large-scale resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) induced by acute social stress. We compared rsfMRI profiles of 57 healthy male subjects before and after stress induction. Using a parcellation-based univariate statistical analysis, we identified a large-scale rsFC change, involving 490 parcel-pairs. Aiming to characterize this change, we employed statistical enrichment analysis, identifying anatomic structures that were significantly interconnected by these pairs. This analysis revealed strengthening of thalamo-cortical connectivity and weakening of cross-hemispheral parieto-temporal connectivity. These alterations were further found to be associated with change in subjective stress reports. Integrating report-based information on stress sustainment 20 minutes post induction, revealed a single significant rsFC change between the right amygdala and the precuneus, which inversely correlated with the level of subjective recovery. Our study demonstrates the value of enrichment analysis for exploring large-scale network reorganization patterns, and provides new insight on stress-induced neural modulations and their relation to subjective experience.

Cardiovascular and autonomic reactivity to psychological stress: Neurophysiological substrates and links to cardiovascular disease

“…This approach is conceptually similar to seed-based analyses, with the distinction that it involves characterizing connectivity across every seed-to-seed pair rather than a few a priori selected pairs or regions. Recently, Maron-Katz and colleagues (2016) examined connectivity across 490 brain regions before and after a stress induction, and found that stress increased connectivity of the thalamus and cerebral cortex, and reduced connectivity between the parietal and temporal lobes. A more extended summary of this line of research bearing on stressor-evoked changes in network-level changes can be found in Tables 2 and 3.…”

Disrupted prefrontal functional connectivity during post-stress adaption in high ruminators

“…Furthermore, the study of Meron-Katz (2016) used a large scale network approach which investigated FC changes through stress between different brain areas. Following stress, the authors reported increased absolute resting state FC and more concretely increased thalamo-cortical FC, including the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes 36 . However, also decreased FC between cross-hemispherical temporo-parietal areas has been reported in this study.…”

“…There is a large body of literature on the issue of stress effects on brain activity 34 and connectivity (e.g., see the review by van Oort 35 ). With respect to the effects of stress on resting state FC directly after the stress-induction four studies exist 36 – 39 . In three of these studies a seed based approach has been used, which consistently yielded the result of increased FC between the amygdala and DMN related brain areas such as the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus 35 , 37 – 39 .…”

Tired and misconnected: A breakdown of brain modularity following sleep deprivation

“…If so this group is suggested to have a non‐random association with the established function [Huang et al, ]. Such enrichment is assigned with a p‐value that is calculated using a hypergeometric test, and can thus be used as a statistically sound way of characterizing groups of neural parcels (see examples in [Lahav et al, ; Maron‐Katz et al, ]. This analysis was conducted using the RichMind toolbox (http://acgt.cs.tau.ac.il/RichMind [Maron‐Katz et al, ]).…”