title: Salivary biomarkers of neural hypervigilance in trauma-exposed women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  More than half of all adults will be exposed to a traumatic event at some point in their lives, yet we do not yet have reliable biomarkers to help predict who experiences trauma-related symptoms in response to exposure. We tested the utility of salivary cortisol and salivary alpha amylase as markers of (1) neural reactivity to negative affective information and (2) neural hypervigilance in the absence of threat.
  
  
  METHODS
  20 women (mean age 23.6 +/- 5.8 years) with a history of trauma exposure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Salivary cortisol and alpha amylase reactivity were measured in response to a trauma reminder during a clinical interview. Neural reactivity to novel and familiar affective scenes was measured in a later session using functional magnetic resonance imaging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Salivary alpha amylase, but not cortisol, increased in response to the trauma reminder. Salivary alpha amylase reactivity was associated with neural reactivity in the salience network in response to novel negative scenes and neural hypervigilance as indexed by reactivity to novel neutral scenes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Salivary alpha amylase might serve as a more reliable marker of trauma-related reactivity to negative affective information, and also as a marker of hypervigilance in the absence of threatening information.
authors.affiliation: Hunter College, City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Seungyeon A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Hunter College, City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA. Electronic address: mariann.weierich@hunter.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Mariann R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Weierich
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019548:Crime Victims; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D000067073:Psychological Trauma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012742:Sex Offenses; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D014754:Violence; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases; D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Alpha-amylase; Biomarkers; Cortisol; Hypervigilance; Saliva; fMRI