Can stress induced Amygdala – Frontal connectivity changes predict perceived stress?
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2016-08-22
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en
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Stress-related disorders are one of the most common mental disorders and clarifying the influence stress exerts over our physiological systems could help screen vulnerable individuals and aid in early detection of disorders. To elucidate how stress affects our brain we explicate an amygdala – frontal cortex connectivity model, distinguishing between their sub regions. Participants (N=71, age=24.5, 19 females) underwent two resting-state scans with a well-established stress induction protocol in between to be able to detect changes in connectivity due to stress. These connectivity changes were then related to perceived stress later in life. Connectivity between the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the dorsal and ventral frontal networks increased significantly due to stress induction. Stress induced connectivity increases of the BLA and centromedial amygdala (CMA) with the dorsal network were marginally predictive of perceived stress, however only for a subsample of our participant pool (p=.073 and p=.06 respectively). Indicating that stress induced amygdala – frontal connectivity changes could be predictive of later perceived stress. Future research could focus on increasing sample size and predictive validity of amygdala – frontal connectivity in relation to other stress-related symptomatology.
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen