title: Stress hormones are associated with the neuronal correlates of instructed fear conditioning.
abstract: The effects of sex and stress hormones on classical fear conditioning have been subject of recent experimental studies. A correlation approach between basal cortisol concentrations and neuronal activation in fear-related structures seems to be a promising alternative approach in order to foster our understanding of how cortisol influences emotional learning. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, participants with varying sex hormone status (20 men, 15 women taking oral contraceptives, 15 women tested in the luteal phase) underwent an instructed fear conditioning protocol with geometrical figures as conditioned stimuli and an electrical stimulation as unconditioned stimulus. Salivary cortisol concentrations were measured and afterwards correlated with fear conditioned brain responses. Results revealed a positive correlation between basal cortisol levels and differential activation in the amygdala in men and OC women only. These results suggest that elevated endogenous cortisol levels are associated with enhanced fear anticipation depending on current sex hormone availability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany. Christian.J.Merz@psychol.uni-giessen.de
authors.forename: Christian Josef
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Merz
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vaitl
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tabbert
authors.forename: Oliver Tobias
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones