Examining habituation and sensitization across repetitive laboratory stress inductions using the MAST

Quaedflieg, Conny W.E.M.; Meyer, Thomas; Ruitenbeek, Peter van; Smeets, Tom

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.12.009

Cited by 46 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…the social stress component). Previous studies have shown that the MAST is an effective stress task (Smeets et al., ; Meyer et al., ; Quaedflieg et al., ; Shilton et al., ). The control version included immersion of the left hand into lukewarm water (36 °C), a simple counting task, no video‐taping and no monitoring by the experimenter.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Fear of pain and cortisol reactivity predict the strength of stress‐induced hypoalgesia

Timmers

Kaas

Quaedflieg

et al. 2018

European Journal of Pain

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BackgroundAcute stress can have an effect on pain sensitivity, yet the direction of the effect – whether it is hypoalgesic or hyperalgesic – is mixed across studies. Moreover, which part of the stress response influences pain sensitivity is still unclear. In the current experimental study, we aim to examine the effect of acute stress on heat pain thresholds and pain tolerance levels in healthy participants, while taking into account individual differences in stress responses.MethodsForty‐two healthy participants were randomly assigned to either a well‐validated stress paradigm: the Maastricht Acute Stress Task (MAST; combining physical and psychological stressors) or to a nonstressful version of the task. Heat pain thresholds and tolerance levels were assessed at three times: prior to the MAST, immediately after the MAST during the presumed sympatho‐adrenal medullary (SAM) response, and 15 min after MAST to cover the presumed hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis response. Stress responses were assessed both subjectively and physiologically.ResultsWe observed that the acute stress induction led to increased heat pain thresholds, an effect that was present only in participants showing a cortisol response following stress induction and only in the presumed HPA axis time window. The strength of this hypoalgesic effect was further predicted by the change in cortisol and by fear of pain levels.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that the HPA axis – and not the autonomic – stress response specifically underlies this stress‐induced hypoalgesic effect, having important implications for clinical states with HPA axis dysfunctions.SignificanceThis experimental study shows that an acute stress induction – that combines physical and psychological stressors – increases heat pain thresholds, but not tolerance in healthy participants. Furthermore, the magnitude of this stress‐induced hypoalgesic effect is predicted by cortisol reactivity and fear of pain, revealing specific involvement of the HPA axis stress system and interactions with pain‐related psychosocial aspects.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Fear of pain and cortisol reactivity predict the strength of stress‐induced hypoalgesia

Timmers

Kaas

Quaedflieg

et al. 2018

European Journal of Pain

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“…At all times, participants were allowed to remove their hand from the water and/or stop the entire stress induction procedure (12 participants stopped the procedure, but continued with the ensuing tasks; these participants were included in all data analyses). 82% of our participants showed a cortisol increase of at least 1.5 nmol/l in response to the stress induction (Miller et al, 2013), which falls in the normal range of responding (Quaedflieg et al, 2016). After the stress induction, participants were allowed to put their hand into lukewarm water for approximately 1 min to warm up their hand, which also served to prevent additional hand movements during the following task.…”

Section: Stress Induction and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Defensive freezing links Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal-axis activity and internalizing symptoms in humans

Niermann

Figner

Tyborowska

et al. 2017

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA)-axis plays an important role in the expression of defensive freezing. Adaptive freezing reactivity, characterized by an immediate increase in acute stress and timely termination upon threat offset or need to act, is essential for adequate stress coping. Blunted HPA-axis activity in animals is associated with blunted freezing reactivity and internalizing symptoms. Despite their potential relevance, it remains unknown whether these mechanisms apply to humans and human psychopathology. Using a well-established method combining electrocardiography and posturography, we assessed freezing before, immediately after, and one hour after a stress induction in 92 human adolescents. In line with animal models, human adolescents showed stress-induced freezing, as quantified by relative reductions in heart rate and body sway after, as compared to before, stress. Moreover, relatively lower basal cortisol was associated with reduced stress-induced freezing reactivity (i.e., less immediate freezing and less recovery). Path analyses showed that decreased freezing recovery in individuals with reduced cortisol levels was associated with increased levels of internalizing symptoms. These findings suggest that reduced freezing recovery may be a promising marker for the etiology of internalizing symptoms.

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“…Acute stress was elicited using the 'Maastricht Acute Stress Test' (MAST), a potent and reliable procedure to elicit subjective, autonomic and glucocorticoid stress responses (Quaedflieg et al, 2017;Smeets et al, 2012). To assess the intentional control of fear imaginings, the current study employed an adapted version of the 'Imagine/No-Imagine' task, tailored to the retrieval versus suppression of future feared events (Benoit et al, 2016…”

Section: Preprint: Stress Impairs Intentional Forgetting Of Future Fementioning

confidence: 99%

The impairing effect of acute stress on the intentional forgetting of future fears and its moderation by working memory capacity

Ashton¹,

Cw²

2020

Preprint

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Unwanted imaginations of future fears can, to some extent, be avoided. This is achieved by control mechanisms similar to those engaged to intentionally forget unwanted memories. Intentional forgetting relies on the executive control network, whose functioning is impaired after exposure to acute stress. This study investigates whether acute stress affects the ability to intentionally control future fears and, furthermore, whether individual differences in executive control predict a susceptibility to these effects. The study ran over two consecutive days. On day 1, the working memory capacity of one hundred participants was assessed. Thereafter, participants provided descriptions and details of fearful episodes that they imagined might happen in their future. On day 2, participants were exposed to either the stress or no-stress version of the Maastricht Acute Stress Test, after which participants performed the Imagine/No-Imagine task. Here, participants repeatedly imagined some future fears and suppressed imaginings of others. Results demonstrated that, in unstressed participants, suppression successfully induced forgetting of the episodes’ details compared to a baseline condition. However, the observed reduction in anxiety toward these events remained unchanged. Acute stress was found to selectively impair intentional forgetting and, further, this effect was moderated by working memory capacity. Specifically, low working memory predicted a susceptibility to these detrimental effects. These findings provide novel insights into conditions under which our capacity to actively control future fears is reduced, which may have considerable implications for understanding stress-related psychopathologies and symptomatologies characterized by unwanted apprehensive thoughts.

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Examining habituation and sensitization across repetitive laboratory stress inductions using the MAST

Cited by 46 publications

References 26 publications

Fear of pain and cortisol reactivity predict the strength of stress‐induced hypoalgesia

Fear of pain and cortisol reactivity predict the strength of stress‐induced hypoalgesia

Defensive freezing links Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal-axis activity and internalizing symptoms in humans

The impairing effect of acute stress on the intentional forgetting of future fears and its moderation by working memory capacity

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