Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10305806 | Psychoneuroendocrinology | 2013 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
Little is known about the impact of stress and stress hormones on the processing of visceral-afferent signals. Clinical data suggest that cortisol may lower the threshold for interoceptive stimuli, while a pharmacological administration of cortisol decreases the sensitivity for physical symptoms. To clarify the role of cortisol for the processing of interoceptive signals, we investigated 16 healthy men on two occasions, once during the infusion of 4Â mg of cortisol and once during the infusion of a placebo substance. Heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEP; derived from resting EEG and ECG, during open and closed eyes), which are psychophysiological indicators for the cortical processing of cardioceptive signals, were measured over 6-min periods once before, and four times after the infusion (1-7, 11-17, 21-27 and 31-37Â min). We found that HEP amplitudes were higher during open than during closed eyes between 1 and 17Â min after cortisol infusion. There was no effect of cortisol on heart rate. We conclude that cortisol may rapidly modulate the cortical processing of cardioceptive neural signals. These results may have relevance for the effects of stress on the development and maintenance of psychosomatic symptoms.
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Authors
André Schulz, Florian Strelzyk, Diana S. Ferreira de Sá, Ewald Naumann, Claus Vögele, Hartmut Schächinger,