Progressively decreased functional coupling within task positive
networks during acute stress signals stress resilience: the promotion
role of reward system
Abstract
Over the past decade, studies have demonstrated that a shift in
attentional patterns from goal-oriented top-down attention to bottom-up
attention to external stimuli under acute stress involve reallocating
resources between different neurocognitive networks,which is a
heterogeneous process. However, it remains unclear that how this neural
functional coupling regulates the activation and termination of
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the major endocrine stress
system. To bridge this konwledge gap, seventy-seven participants (age,
17–22 years, 37 women) were recruited for a ScanSTRESS brain imaging
study, and their salivary cortisol levels during stress were collected.
In addition, we assessed individual differences in the sensitivity of
behavioral activation system (BAS) and funtional connectivity of the
brain in all participants. We found that functional couplings among the
dorsal attention network (DAN), central executive network (CEN) and
visual network (VN) decreased significantly during repeated stress
induction. The decline of functional connectivity could single a rapid
cortisol recovery and the level of BAS could moderate the relationship
between neural changes and cortisol reactivity and recovery. In all,
this study suggested the important role of functional connectivity
between CEN and DAN in the process of stress resilience, and the
promotive effects of reward sensitivity measured by behavioral
activation system.