The DOI matches its Crossref record; 50 of the 53 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Covariance Between Psychological and Endocrine Responses to Pharmacological Challenge and Psychosocial Stress: A Question of Timing
Abstract
Objective: To test if the covariance of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and subjective-psychological responses to stress is dependent on different dynamics of these systems. Although stress theories typically assume substantial correlations of psychological and endocrine stress responses, studies have produced inconsistent results. One reason for this might be imperfect coupling of the different stress response systems. However, inconsistent correlations might also be a result of different on-/offsets of these stress responses, i.e., specific dynamics of the systems. Methods: HPA axis indicators and subjective-psychological states were repeatedly and synchronously measured in a pharmacological challenge test (injection of corticotropin-releasing hormone and infusion of arginine vasopressin; Study 1; n = 42) and a psychosocial stress situation (Trier Social Stress Test; Study 2; n = 219). Cross-correlation analysis was used to test for lag effects in HPA axis reactivity and psychoendocrine responses. Results: Analyses revealed high cross-correlations of adrenocorticotropic hormone with cortisol responses (up to r = .80 in Study 1 and r = .56 in Study 2) and positive associations of psychological with endocrine stress responses (up to r = .48 in Study 1 and r = .54 in Study 2) at nonzero lags. Subjective-psychological responses preceded HPA axis responses. Moreover, high levels of cortisol were associated with lower later levels of anxiety and activation. Conclusions: The findings suggest that psychoendocrine stress responses are more closely coupled than previous studies suggested. Due to different dynamics of the systems, endocrine responses lag behind psychological responses. ACTH = adrenocorticotropic hormone; AD-ACL = Activation-Deactivation Adjective Checklist; AVP = arginine vasopressin; BMI = body mass index; CRH = corticotropin-releasing hormone; ELISA = enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; EDTA = ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid; HPA = hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal; STAI-S = State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State Version; TSST = Trier Social Stress Test.
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“Covariance between stress response systems can only be detected when these specific dynamics are considered [54].”
From Self-soothing touch and being hugged reduce cortisol responses to stress: A randomized controlled trial on stress, physical touch, and social identity (2021) · cites this paper as [54]
In the citing paper
“As a possible explanation, it has been proposed that in comparison to the slow endocrine response, it is more difficult to detect the rapid changes in emotional states (Campbell and Ehlert, 2012;Schlotz et al., 2008).”
From Cortisol Response to Stress: The Role of Expectancy and Anticipatory Stress Regulation (2020) · cites this paper as Schlotz et al., 2008
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Metadata
- Authors
- Schlotz, W., Kumsta, R., Layes, I., Entringer, S., Jones, A., & Wüst, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Southampton (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Schlotz, Wolff
- Venue
- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Published
- 2008-09
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 787-796
- ISSN
- 0033-3174 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2075194189
- Cited by
- 237
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 3.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychosomatic Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- FreiDok plus (Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg) (submittedVersion)
- Open Repository and Bibliography (University of Luxembourg) (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Keywords
- hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, psychosocial stress, cortisol, ACTH, corticotropin-releasing factor, vasopressin, anxiety, cross correlation function, lagged effects, Trier Social Stress Test
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Adult, Anxiety, Arginine Vasopressin, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Edetic Acid, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Female, Hormones, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Male, Mathematics, Middle Aged, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Saliva, Social Behavior, Speech, Stress, Psychological, Task Performance and Analysis, Time Factors, Vasoconstrictor Agents, Body Mass Index, Young Adult
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