title: Coordination of cortisol response to social evaluative threat with autonomic and inflammatory responses is moderated by stress appraisals and affect.
abstract: Recent approaches to stress regulation have emphasized coordination among multiple biological systems. This study builds on evidence that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity should be considered in coordination with other stress-sensitive biological systems to characterize healthy responses. Healthy African-Americans (n=115) completed the Trier Social Stress Test, and biological responses were assessed through salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), alpha amylase (sAA), and C-reactive protein (sCRP). Multilevel modeling demonstrated that cortisol responses typically aligned with changes in DHEA-S, sAA, and sCRP across the session. At the same time, the degree of cortisol coordination with sAA and sCRP varied by participants' subjective stress following the task; participants with higher secondary stress appraisals showed greater cortisol-sAA alignment, whereas those experiencing more negative affect showed greater cortisol-sCRP alignment. Results highlight the importance of a multisystem approach to stress and suggest that positive HPA axis coordination with the autonomic response, but not with the immune/inflammatory response, may be adaptive.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, United States; Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research, Arizona State University, United States. Electronic address: hlaurent@uoregon.edu.
authors.forename: Heidemarie K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Laurent
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, United States; Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, United States. Electronic address: tlucas@med.wayne.edu.
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, United States; Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, United States.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, United States; Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, United States.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goetz
authors.affiliation: Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research, Arizona State University, United States; Department of Acute and Chronic Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, United States; Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States; Salivary Bioscience Laboratory and Department of Psychology, University of Nebrask, United States.
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Granger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000378:metabolism*; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D000516:alpha-Amylases; D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Alpha-amylase; C-reactive protein; Coordination; Cortisol; DHEA-S; Stress; Trier Social Stress Test