title: Biofeedback-based training for stress management in daily hassles: an intervention study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The day-to-day causes of stress are called daily hassles. Daily hassles are correlated with ill health. Biofeedback (BF) is one of the tools used for acquiring stress-coping skills. However, the anatomical correlates of the effects of BF with long training periods remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate this.
  
  
  METHODS
  PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSIGNED RANDOMLY TO TWO GROUPS: the intervention group and the control group. Participants in the intervention group performed a biofeedback training (BFT) task (a combination task for heart rate and cerebral blood flow control) every day, for about 5 min once a day. The study outcomes included MRI, psychological tests (e.g., Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and Brief Job Stress Questionnaire), and a stress marker (salivary cortisol levels) before (day 0) and after (day 28) the intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed significant improvements in the psychological test scores and salivary cortisol levels in the intervention group compared to the control group. Furthermore, voxel-based morphometric analysis revealed that compared to the control group, the intervention group had significantly increased regional gray matter (GM) volume in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, which is an anatomical cluster that includes mainly the left hippocampus, and the left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex. The GM regions are associated with the stress response, and, in general, these regions seem to be the most sensitive to the detrimental effects of stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that our BFT is effective against the GM structures vulnerable to stress.
authors.affiliation: Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kotozaki
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Hikaru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan ; Department of Community Medical Supports, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Takamitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shinada
authors.affiliation: Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan ; Department of Community Medical Supports, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan ; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taki
authors.affiliation: Hitachi Ltd. Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogino
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiguchi
authors.affiliation: Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan ; Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan ; Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryuta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawashima
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology / Q000379:methods*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Biofeedback training; daily hassles; hippocampus; orbitofrontal cortex; subgenual anterior cingulate cortex