title: Stress Response to the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Environment in Healthy Adults Relates to the Degree of Limbic Reactivity during Emotion Processing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Imaging techniques are increasingly being used to examine the neural correlates of stress and emotion processing; however, relations between the primary stress hormone cortisol, the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) environment, and individual differences in response to emotional challenges are not yet well studied. The present study investigated whether cortisol activity prior to, and during, an fMRI scan may be related to neural processing of emotional information.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-six healthy individuals (10 female) completed a facial emotion perception test during 3-tesla fMRI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prescan cortisol was significantly correlated with enhanced amygdala, hippocampal, and subgenual cingulate reactivity for facial recognition. Cortisol change from pre- to postscanning predicted a greater activation in the precuneus for both fearful and angry faces. A negative relationship between overall face accuracy and activation in limbic regions was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Individual differences in response to the fMRI environment might lead to a greater heterogeneity of brain activation in control samples, decreasing the power to detect differences between clinical and comparison groups. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.
authors: The University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Mich., USA.
authors: Anne L
authors: AL
authors: Weldon
authors: Melissa
authors: M
authors: Hagan
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Van Meter
authors: Rachel H
authors: RH
authors: Jacobs
authors: Michelle T
authors: MT
authors: Kassel
authors: Kathleen E
authors: KE
authors: Hazlett
authors: Brennan D
authors: BD
authors: Haase
authors: Aaron C
authors: AC
authors: Vederman
authors: Erich
authors: E
authors: Avery
authors: Emily M
authors: EM
authors: Briceno
authors: Robert C
authors: RC
authors: Welsh
authors: Jon-Kar
authors: JK
authors: Zubieta
authors: Sara L
authors: SL
authors: Weisenbach
authors: Scott A
authors: SA
authors: Langenecker