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Associations of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) with cortical activation asymmetry during the course of an exam stress period

Associations of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) with cortical activation asymmetry during the course of an exam stress period
Associations of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) with cortical activation asymmetry during the course of an exam stress period
The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is a cortisol rise which is distinct from the circadian rise in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity before awakening. The CAR has been shown to be related to experiences of stress and negative affect, and activation of neocortical networks has been suggested as a mechanism. Right-sided cortical activation has been shown to be correlated with negative affect, and an association of electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry measures with cortisol secretion has been demonstrated. Therefore, we investigated for associations of the CAR with lateralised trait-like cortical activation and with changes in EEG asymmetry during a putative stressful period. We examined 37 undergraduate students before, during, and after an academic exam period. CARs were measured five times and EEG was measured both about 6 weeks before the beginning of the exams and 1 day before an exam. Trait-like interindividual differences in posterior cortical asymmetry were differentially associated with CARs at different measurement occasions. Participants with greater right centroparietal cortical trait activation showed an increased CAR in anticipation of the exams, whereas all other participants showed an increased CAR in response to the exams. Furthermore, EEG measures taken directly before the exam revealed that greater right frontal cortical activation was related to higher cortisol levels after awakening. The results suggest that lateralised cortical activation moderates CAR changes during the course of a stressful period. Lateralised cortical activation may be an important link between the CAR and health-related variables like experiences of stress and negative affect.
cortisol awakening response (car), eeg alpha asymmetry, cortical activation, academic exam, stress, saliva
0306-4530
83-91
Hewig, Johannes
ebb27172-f901-4734-8da9-bd28c9c9d622
Schlotz, Wolff
49499d5e-4ff4-4ad3-b5f7-eec11b25b5db
Gerhards, Friedemann
5ea3eb83-5664-41e8-b645-ef811d691469
Breitenstein, Caterina
154c658b-33df-4f5b-aac9-f0efc1f18fa7
Lürken, Alexander
453ee263-6931-4711-9ba1-58cc9b7b0535
Naumann, Ewald
9c616a78-5b15-4809-a570-c2930d2d9a7c
Hewig, Johannes
ebb27172-f901-4734-8da9-bd28c9c9d622
Schlotz, Wolff
49499d5e-4ff4-4ad3-b5f7-eec11b25b5db
Gerhards, Friedemann
5ea3eb83-5664-41e8-b645-ef811d691469
Breitenstein, Caterina
154c658b-33df-4f5b-aac9-f0efc1f18fa7
Lürken, Alexander
453ee263-6931-4711-9ba1-58cc9b7b0535
Naumann, Ewald
9c616a78-5b15-4809-a570-c2930d2d9a7c

Hewig, Johannes, Schlotz, Wolff, Gerhards, Friedemann, Breitenstein, Caterina, Lürken, Alexander and Naumann, Ewald (2008) Associations of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) with cortical activation asymmetry during the course of an exam stress period. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 33 (1), 83-91. (doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2007.10.004).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is a cortisol rise which is distinct from the circadian rise in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity before awakening. The CAR has been shown to be related to experiences of stress and negative affect, and activation of neocortical networks has been suggested as a mechanism. Right-sided cortical activation has been shown to be correlated with negative affect, and an association of electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry measures with cortisol secretion has been demonstrated. Therefore, we investigated for associations of the CAR with lateralised trait-like cortical activation and with changes in EEG asymmetry during a putative stressful period. We examined 37 undergraduate students before, during, and after an academic exam period. CARs were measured five times and EEG was measured both about 6 weeks before the beginning of the exams and 1 day before an exam. Trait-like interindividual differences in posterior cortical asymmetry were differentially associated with CARs at different measurement occasions. Participants with greater right centroparietal cortical trait activation showed an increased CAR in anticipation of the exams, whereas all other participants showed an increased CAR in response to the exams. Furthermore, EEG measures taken directly before the exam revealed that greater right frontal cortical activation was related to higher cortisol levels after awakening. The results suggest that lateralised cortical activation moderates CAR changes during the course of a stressful period. Lateralised cortical activation may be an important link between the CAR and health-related variables like experiences of stress and negative affect.

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More information

Published date: January 2008
Keywords: cortisol awakening response (car), eeg alpha asymmetry, cortical activation, academic exam, stress, saliva

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 50015
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/50015
ISSN: 0306-4530
PURE UUID: 0fa9cddd-3e80-4827-aa8e-8f136e822c34

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Date deposited: 11 Jan 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 10:01

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Contributors

Author: Johannes Hewig
Author: Wolff Schlotz
Author: Friedemann Gerhards
Author: Caterina Breitenstein
Author: Alexander Lürken
Author: Ewald Naumann

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