Neural sensitivity to social rejection is associated with inflammatory responses to social stress

Abstract

Although stress-induced increases in inflammation have been implicated in several major disorders, including cardiovascular disease and depression, the neurocognitive pathways that underlie inflammatory responses to stress remain largely unknown. To examine these processes, we recruited 124 healthy young adult participants to complete a laboratory-based social stressor while markers of inflammatory activity were obtained from oral fluids. A subset of participants (n = 31) later completed an fMRI session in which their neural responses to social rejection were assessed. As predicted, exposure to the laboratory-based social stressor was associated with significant increases in two markers of inflammatory activity, namely a soluble receptor for tumor necrosis factor-α (sTNFαRII) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In the neuroimaging subsample, greater increases in sTNFαRII (but not IL-6) were associated with greater activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, brain regions that have previously been associated with processing rejectionrelated distress and negative affect. These data thus elucidate a neurocognitive pathway that may be involved in potentiated inflammatory responses to acute social stress. As such, they have implications for understanding how social stressors may promote susceptibility to diseases with an inflammatory component.P sychological stress is intimately related to human health and well-being. It increases susceptibility to the common cold (1), elevates risk for several major diseases (2), and is a strong, independent predictor of morbidity and mortality. In a recent epidemiological study, for example, males experiencing high levels of stress were 32% more likely to die during a 22-y assessment period than were those experiencing low levels of stress (3).

Intelligent Evolution, Complexity and Self-Organization

“…Exposure to an acute episode of social rejection or to rejection-related cues (for example the unemployment) has been shown to activate both the dACC and the anterior insula. Greater activity found in the dACC, in turn, has been associated with greater self-reported feelings of social distress (Slavich et al, 2010).…”

Cytokine responses and math performance: The role of stereotype threat and anxiety reappraisals

“…While IL-6 in particular can exert both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects (Scheller, Chalaris, Schmidt-Arras, & Rose-John, 2011), prior research characterizes increases in IL-6 specifically in response to a stressor as signaling an inflammatory response (Dickerson et al, 2009;John-Henderson, Rheinschmidt, Mendoza-Denton, & Francis, 2014;Slavich, Way, Eisenberger, & Taylor, 2010). In this research, we assessed changes in IL-6 in oral mucosal transudate (OMT).…”

“…In this research, we assessed changes in IL-6 in oral mucosal transudate (OMT). While levels of inflammatory cytokines in OMT are not a reflection of systemic inflammation, which is assessed through blood (Fernandez-Botran, Miller, Burns, & Newton, 2011), inflammatory markers in OMT have been shown to be affected by acute situational stressors (Chiang, Eisenberger, Seeman, & Taylor, 2012;John-Henderson et al, 2014;Slavich et al, 2010).…”

Recovery of lost face of burn patients, perceived changes, and coping strategies in the rehabilitation stage

“…Our research indicated that perceived social rejection was a significant factor in the lives of burn patients, which is key to understanding the poor self-concepts described in our model. Emerging neuroscience evidence suggests that certain human brain areas that light up during physical pain are also activated during emotional pain induced by social rejection [43,44]. An interplay between social rejection and physical suffering may add further challenges, especially in a relation-based society.…”