Research consistently shows that stress negatively affects both mental and physical health. Yet models of stress have thus far not investigated the individual differences in neurocognitive processes that translate perceptions of threat into psychological, physiological, neuroendocrine, and immunological stress responses. That is, no studies to date have examined the complete relationship between the brain's response to threat and the ensuing biological and psychological stress responses, and how these pathways are moderated by key individual differences related to stress reactivity and coping. We hypothesize that the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) and the amygdala are critically involved in these pathways and that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) regulates the reactivity of this pathway. We will test these relations in the proposed project. In a parent project (MH506880), participants complete individual difference measures of neuroticism, self-esteem, and optimism and participate in a laboratory stress challenge (the TSST), during which autonomic responses, cortisol, and pro-inflammatory cytokines are assessed at baseline, following the stress challenge, and following a recovery period. The current proposal seeks to add a neuroimaging component to this project. We will select a sample of 30 participants from the parent project to complete tasks previously demonstrated to evoke ACC (Cyberball and Go-NoGo tasks) and amygdala (Threat Perception task) activity; as well as PFC activity involved in negative emotion regulation (Cyberball task). We will use these measures to assess whether the magnitude of the ACC, amygdala, and PFC responses is related to individual differences in neuroticism, optimism, and self-esteem and to autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immunologic stress reactivity. We test the predictions that neuroticism will be negatively associated with PFC activity and positively associated with ACC, amygdala, and stress reactivity whereas self-esteem and optimism will show the opposite pattern, correlating positively with PFC activity and negatively with ACC, amygdala, and stress reactivity. Evidence in support of these novel hypotheses will greatly enhance understanding of stress processes and will provide the first investigation in humans of the role of neural mechanisms in mediating the pathway from environmental threat to biological stress reactivity. As such, the proposed work integrates research from health psychology, psychoneuroimmunology, and social neuroscience. Supportive evidence will flesh out the neural mechanisms through which individual differences affect biological responses to stress and elucidate the risk factors for stress- related mental and physical health problems.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21MH071521-01A1
Application #
6920972
Study Section
Social Psychology, Personality and Interpersonal Processes Study Section (SPIP)
Program Officer
Quinn, Kevin J
Project Start
2005-08-01
Project End
2007-05-31
Budget Start
2005-08-01
Budget End
2006-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$161,639
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
092530369
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
Eisenberger, Naomi I (2012) The neural bases of social pain: evidence for shared representations with physical pain. Psychosom Med 74:126-35
Jarcho, Johanna M; Berkman, Elliot T; Lieberman, Matthew D (2011) The neural basis of rationalization: cognitive dissonance reduction during decision-making. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 6:460-7
Berkman, Elliot T; Lieberman, Matthew D (2010) Approaching the bad and avoiding the good: lateral prefrontal cortical asymmetry distinguishes between action and valence. J Cogn Neurosci 22:1970-9
Way, Baldwin M; Creswell, J David; Eisenberger, Naomi I et al. (2010) Dispositional mindfulness and depressive symptomatology: correlations with limbic and self-referential neural activity during rest. Emotion 10:12-24
Berkman, Elliot T; Burklund, Lisa; Lieberman, Matthew D (2009) Inhibitory spillover: intentional motor inhibition produces incidental limbic inhibition via right inferior frontal cortex. Neuroimage 47:705-12
Taylor, Shelley E; Burklund, Lisa J; Eisenberger, Naomi I et al. (2008) Neural bases of moderation of cortisol stress responses by psychosocial resources. J Pers Soc Psychol 95:197-211
Eisenberger, Naomi I; Taylor, Shelley E; Gable, Shelly L et al. (2007) Neural pathways link social support to attenuated neuroendocrine stress responses. Neuroimage 35:1601-12
Burklund, Lisa J; Eisenberger, Naomi I; Lieberman, Matthew D (2007) The face of rejection: rejection sensitivity moderates dorsal anterior cingulate activity to disapproving facial expressions. Soc Neurosci 2:238-53
Eisenberger, Naomi I; Way, Baldwin M; Taylor, Shelley E et al. (2007) Understanding genetic risk for aggression: clues from the brain's response to social exclusion. Biol Psychiatry 61:1100-8
Eisenberger, Naomi I; Gable, Shelly L; Lieberman, Matthew D (2007) Functional magnetic resonance imaging responses relate to differences in real-world social experience. Emotion 7:745-54

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