Acute Stressors and Cortisol Responses: A Theoretical Integration and Synthesis of Laboratory Research.

Abstract

This meta-analysis reviews 208 laboratory studies of acute psychological stressors and tests a theoretical model delineating conditions capable of eliciting cortisol responses. Psychological stressors increased cortisol levels; however, effects varied widely across tasks. Consistent with the theoretical model, motivated performance tasks elicited cortisol responses if they were uncontrollable or characterized by social-evaluative threat (task performance could be negatively judged by others), when methodological factors and other stressor characteristics were controlled for. Tasks containing both uncontrollable and social-evaluative elements were associated with the largest cortisol and adrenocorticotropin hormone changes and the longest times to recovery. These findings are consistent with the animal literature on the physiological effects of uncontrollable social threat and contradict the belief that cortisol is responsive to all types of stressors.

Performance on a declarative memory task is better in high than low cortisol responders to psychosocial stress

“…More realistic paradigms, such as the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al, 1993), combine tasks known to elicit HPA axis changes due to incontrollable and socialevaluative characteristics of the situation (Dickerson and Kemeny, 2004). In studies using the TSST or similar paradigms, psychosocial stress mostly resulted in impaired memory retreival (Kirschbaum et al, 1996;Lupien et al, 1997;Wolf et al, 2001b;Kuhlmann et al, 2005b), with some studies showing enhanced consolidation (Abercrombie et al, 2006;Beckner et al, 2006).…”

Mood and autonomic responses to repeated exposure to the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G)

“…The original TSST consists of a free speech and a mental arithmetic task (serial subtraction) in front of an audience. Extensive evidence supports the effectiveness of the TSST in inducing a multidimensional stress response (Dickerson & Kemeny, 2004;Campbell & Ehlert, 2012).…”

“…Since factors such as novelty and unpredictability are important determinants of stress provocation (Dickerson & Kemeny, 2004), repeated stress exposure poses a challenge for the correct choice of a stressor and makes interpretation of response alterations difficult. Kirschbaum et al (1993) developed a standardized stress-provoking procedure, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), inducing a psychobiological stress response in humans.…”

Protocol for a randomized controlled study of Iyengar yoga for youth with irritable bowel syndrome

“…Each laboratory session will involve three samples: immediately upon arrival (initial baseline measure); directly after completing the questionnaires (second baseline measure); and 20 minutes after the end of the visceral sensitivity task (maximal stress response). A meta-analysis of acute psychological stress reveals that the overall peak cortisol response occurs 21-40 minutes from onset of an acute stressor level [120]. One of the most prominent features in studies of adrenocortical responses under physical and psychological stimulation is the large variation in both baseline levels and in response magnitude between subjects.…”