Cortisol awakening response predicts intrinsic functional connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex in the afternoon of the same day.
Cortisol awakening response (CAR) is the cortisol secretory activity in the first 30-60 min immediately after awakening in the morning. Alterations in CAR as a trait have been associated with changes in the brain structure and function. CAR also fluctuates over days. Little, however, is known about the relationship between CAR as a state and brain activity. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated whether the CAR predicts intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) of the brain in the afternoon of the same day. Data from forty-nine healthy participants were analyzed. Salivary cortisol levels were assessed immediately after awakening and 15, 30 and 60 min after awakening, and resting-state fMRI data were obtained in the afternoon. Global FC strength (FCS) of each voxel was computed to provide a whole-brain characterization of intrinsic functional architecture. Correlation analysis was used to examine whether CAR predicts the intrinsic FC of core brain networks. We observed that the CAR was positively correlated with the FCS of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Further analysis revealed that higher CAR predicted stronger positive mPFC connectivity with regions in the default mode network. Our findings suggest that the HPA activity after awakening in the early morning may predict intrinsic functional connectivity of mPFC at rest in the afternoon of the same day.
Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jianhui
J
Wu
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Shen
S
Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Wanqing
W
Li
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Shaozheng
S
Qin
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Yong
Y
He
Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Zhi
Z
Yang
Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Tony W
TW
Buchanan
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: liuchao@bnu.edu.cn.
Chao
C
Liu
Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: zhangk@psych.ac.cn.
Kan
K
Zhang
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D006854:Hydrocortisone
Cortisol awakening response; Default mode network; Medial prefrontal cortex; Resting-state fMRI