title: Higher cortisol levels at diurnal trough predict greater attentional bias towards threat in healthy young adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Attentional bias (AB), selective information processing towards threat, can exacerbate anxiety and depression. Despite growing interest, physiological determinants of AB are yet to be understood. We examined whether stress hormone cortisol and its diurnal variation pattern contribute to AB.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-seven healthy young adults underwent assessments for AB, anxious personality traits, depressive symptoms, and attentional function. Salivary cortisol was collected at three time points daily (at awakening, 30 min after awakening, and bedtime) for 2 consecutive days. We performed: (1) multiple regression analysis to examine the relationships between AB and the other measures and (2) analysis of variance (ANOVA) between groups with different cortisol variation patterns for the other measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multiple regression analysis revealed that higher cortisol levels at bedtime (p<0.001), an anxious personality trait (p=0.011), and years of education (p=0.036) were included in the optimal model to predict AB (adjusted R(2)=0.234, p<0.001). ANOVA further demonstrated significant mean differences in AB and depressive symptoms; individuals with blunted cortisol variation exhibited significantly greater AB and depression than those with moderate variation (p=0.037 and p=0.009, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neuropsychological assessment focused on attention and cortisol measurement at three time points daily.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We showed that higher cortisol levels at bedtime and blunted cortisol variation are associated with greater AB. Individuals who have higher cortisol levels at diurnal trough might be at risk of clinical anxiety or depression but could also derive more benefits from the attentional-bias-modification program.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, 252-0373 Kanagawa, Japan; Department of Health Sciences, Kitasato University School of Allied Health Sciences, Japan. Electronic address: hakamata@kitasato-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hakamata
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Administration and Psychosocial Factor Research Group, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuhei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Izawa
authors.affiliation: Clinical Engineering, Kitasato University School of Allied Health Sciences, Japan.
authors.forename: Eisuke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Clinical Engineering, Kitasato University School of Allied Health Sciences, Japan.
authors.forename: Shotaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Komi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, 252-0373 Kanagawa, Japan; Department of Health Sciences, Kitasato University School of Allied Health Sciences, Japan.
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.affiliation: Integrative Brain Imaging Radiological Technology Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriguchi
authors.affiliation: Integrative Brain Imaging Radiological Technology Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hanakawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Kitasato University School of Allied Health Sciences, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirokuni
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tagaya
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Anxiety; Attention; Attentional bias; Cortisol; Diurnal variation; Personality