Depression is generally precipitated by stressful life events, which suggests that there could be differences in response to stress in individuals at risk for depression compared to normal subjects. To test this hypothesis, we compared individuals who scored high on ruminative coping, a risk factor for depression, to individuals low on ruminative coping. We used the Trier Social Stress Test (TS...

Modulation of frontal lobes activity is believed to be an important pathway trough which the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress response impacts cognitive and emotional functioning. Here, we investigate the effects of stress on metacognition, which is the ability to monitor and control one's own cognition. As the frontal lobes have been shown to play a critical role in metacogniti...

BACKGROUND Decreased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is implicated in enhanced stress responses. The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with psychological changes; for example, carriers of the Met allele exhibit increased harm avoidance as well as a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety disorder. METHODS To analyze the effects of BDNF Val66Met on stress resp...

OBJECTIVE The stress-induced release of cortisol has been linked to detrimental health outcomes. Therefore, strategies to attenuate cortisol stress responses are of interest for prevention and treatment of stress-related symptoms and problems. Previous studies have found protective effects of cognitive-behavioral stress management training--which focuses on the modification of stress-inducing c...

High glucocorticoid stress-responses are associated with prolonged freezing reactions and decreased active approach and avoidance behavior in animals. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of cortisol responses and trait avoidance on approach-avoidance behavior in humans. Twenty individuals were administered a computerized approach-avoidance (AA)-task before and after stress...

Growing evidence suggests that lower subjective social status (SSS), which reflects where a person positions himself on a social ladder in relation to others, is independently related to poor health. People who rate themselves lower in status also experience more frequent stressors and report higher stress than those who rate themselves higher in status, and chronic stress can enhance an indivi...

In the emotion regulation process more than one strategy is often used, though studies continue to rely on manipulation of alone. This study compares effects Combined Cognitive Reappraisal (CCR: acceptance and reappraise via perspective-taking) suppression using Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). One hundred participants were randomly assigned two groups subjective, physiological, behavioural dat...

Background. Adults born extremely preterm appear to have more difficulty managing the stresses of early adulthood than their term-born peers. Objective. To examine the effects of being born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW; birth weight < 1000 g) versus at full term on cardiovascular responses to stress. Method. Cardiovascular responses were elicited during administration of a widely used la...

Stress-related research has employed several procedures to activate the human stress system. Two of the most commonly used laboratory paradigms are the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and the Cold Pressor Test (CPT). We combined their most stressful features to create a simple laboratory stress test capable of eliciting strong autonomic and glucocorticoid stress responses. In comparison with th...