Alterations of autonomic nervous system and HPA axis basal activity and reactivity to acute stress: a comparison of traumatized adolescents and healthy controls

Abstract

Alterations in neurobiological stress systems such as the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis contribute to the development and maintenance of psychological and behavioral problems after traumatic experiences. Investigating neurobiological parameters and how these relate to each other may provide insight into the complex mechanisms at play. Whereas the preponderance of studies focuses on either the ANS or the HPA axis separately, the current study is the first to evaluate relations between posttraumatic stress and both basal activity during rest and stress reactivity of the ANS as well as the HPA axis in a sample of traumatized adolescents and healthy controls. The traumatized sample (n ¼ 77), based on clinical levels of posttraumatic stress, was a convenience sample that was recruited within residential institutions, was compared to a healthy control sample (n ¼ 48) recruited within the general community. For the ANS, we expected increased SNS and decreased PNS activity during rest and increased SNS and decreased PNS reactivity to social stress among traumatized adolescents compared to healthy controls. Regarding the HPA axis, we expected increased basal cortisol levels and decreased cortisol reactivity to stress in the traumatized sample. Compared to healthy controls, traumatized adolescents exhibited significantly higher sympathetic and lower parasympathetic activation during rest and increased sympathetic reactivity to acute stress (ANS parameters). Outcomes on the HPA axis (i.e. cortisol) indicated that traumatized adolescents showed increased cortisol levels during rest and blunted cortisol reactivity to acute stress. Implications for clinical relevance and trauma-focused treatment purposes are discussed.

Dampened autonomic nervous system responses to stress and substance use in adolescence

“…Indeed, earlier use of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis are associated with greater initial frequency of use of other substances (Richmond‐Rakerd et al., 2017), and youth who initiate use at an earlier age tend to use substances alone and engage in riskier use whereas late initiators tend to use at social gatherings (Kingston et al., 2017). Although dampened reactivity is often a risk factor for poorer mental health, exaggerated SNS reactivity has been previously found in adolescents who experience clinical trauma relative to healthy controls (Schuurmans et al., 2021), and it is possible that exaggerated reactivity may be observed for at‐risk youth.…”

Associations between Autonomic and Endocrine Reactivity to Stress in Adolescence: Related to the Development of Anxiety?

“…Disturbances in the functioning of both the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis have been associated with adverse emotional development in youth [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Only recently, interest in the interaction between the two systems has increased [ 7 , 8 ], although logically, the reactivity of these systems is at least reciprocal to some extent [ 9 , 10 ]. On the functional level, the locus coeruleus, activating the ANS, and the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus are both innervated by corticotrophin and noradrenalin [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

The burden of early life stress in chronic inflammatory bowel diseases

“…Recent studies pointed out the link between exposure to early traumatic and stressful experiences such as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse or neglect, and long-term deleterious consequences on both physical and mental health. ELS may permanently affect cognitive and emotional maturation (Heim et al, 2010;Herzog and Schmahl, 2018;Humphreys et al, 2019;Teicher et al, 2015Teicher et al, , 2016 and physiological functions such as the regulation of stress adaptation, inflammatory status, and immune systems (Agorastos et al, 2019;Danese and Lewis, 2017;Heim et al, 2010;Schuurmans et al, 2021;Smith and Pollak, 2020), especially if they occur in sensitive periods (perinatal, childhood, and adolescence) (Hambrick et al, 2019;Schalinski et al, 2016). The ELS study, with the largest cohort of participants (17,000), has highlighted the link between people who have experienced ELS and negative health outcomes, such as increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease or depression in adulthood, compared with those who did not experience such events in childhood (Felitti et al, 1998).…”