Neuroendocrine modulation of cognitive emotion regulation - Exploring the role of stress system dominance

• Applicant: Dr. Valerie Lena Jentsch
• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 540649511

Emotion regulation (ER) is indispensable for healthy psychological adaptation, while deficient ER is associated with the development and maintenance of psychological disorders. ER influences how individuals respond to and recover from stressful events, but in turn can also be altered by stress. Acute stress leads to an activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, leading to the release of (nor)adrenaline and glucocorticoids (GCs). Yet, despite its crucial clinical relevance, research on acute stress effects on cognitive ER is still relatively scarce and somewhat inconsistent, revealing either beneficial, impairing, or null effects. Initial studies showed that timing of the ER task relative to stress exposure is a potential moderating factor for understanding stress effects on cognitive ER. However, these studies have mainly focused on the stress hormone cortisol and the characterization of non-genomic/genomic GC mechanisms by varying the delay between stressor and ER task in a time range of predominant GC release and action (i.e., between 30 and 90 min after stress onset). Most of this work revealed ER improvements in both time windows indicating a generally beneficial effect of cortisol on ER. Interestingly, only two studies tested ER somewhat earlier (i.e., up to 15min after stress onset) and found impairing stress effects, indicating rapidly instantiating catecholaminergic actions to undermine cognitive ER. The current research project aims to investigate whether the dominance of one stress system over the other (SNS vs. HPA axis) determines the direction of stress effects on cognitive ER. To prompt stress system dominance, we will use a combination of different methodological approaches, including (1) a direct comparison of the effects of psychosocial stress vs. physical exercise on ER combined with an (2) experimental manipulation of stress/exercise duration and (3) temporal delay between stress/exercise and ER to explore to what extent the effects are subject to similar or distinct temporal dynamics (study 1). Furthermore, (4) the application of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation will serve to specifically investigate the noradrenergic modulation of cognitive ER in an isolated fashion (study 2). We will focus on two cognitive ER strategies - cognitive reappraisal and distraction – which were identified as being most effective in modulating emotional responses and linked to positive short- and long-term outcomes. Emotional responsivity will be assessed via self-report and pupillometry. We expect cognitive ER to be deteriorated whenever SNS is predominantly activated, while HPA axis dominance should rather lead to ER improvements. The knowledge gained from this project will contribute to a better understanding of how different stressors (psychosocial vs. physical) alter ER processes and will provide new insights into their underlying neuroendocrine mechanisms.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Oliver Tobias Wolf