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Comparative Study
. 2012;7(6):e38994.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038994. Epub 2012 Jun 11.

The combined dexamethasone/TSST paradigm--a new method for psychoneuroendocrinology

Julie Andrews  1 , Catherine D'Aguiar, Jens C Pruessner
Affiliations
Comparative Study

The combined dexamethasone/TSST paradigm--a new method for psychoneuroendocrinology

Julie Andrews et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Abstract

The two main physiological systems involved in the regulation of the stress response are the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). However, the interaction of these systems on the stress response remains poorly understood. To better understand the cross-regulatory effects of the different systems involved in stress regulation, we developed a new stress paradigm that keeps the activity of the HPA constant when exposing subjects to psychosocial stress. Thirty healthy male participants were recruited and randomly assigned to either a dexamethasone (DEX; n = 15) or placebo (PLC; n = 15) group. All subjects were instructed to take the Dexamethasone (2 mg) or Placebo pill the night before coming to the laboratory to undergo the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST). Salivary cortisol, salivary alpha amylase (sAA), heart rate, blood pressure and subjective stress were assessed throughout the protocol. As expected, the DEX group presented with suppressed cortisol levels. In comparison, their heart rate was elevated by approximately ten base points compared to the PLC group, with increases throughout the protocol and during the TSST. Neither sAA, nor systolic or diastolic blood pressures showed significant group differences. Subjective stress levels significantly increased from baseline, and were found to be higher before and after the TSST after DEX compared to placebo. These results demonstrate a significant interaction between the HPA and the SNS during acute stress. The SNS activity was found to be elevated in the presence of a suppressed HPA axis, with some further effects on subjective levels of stress. The method to suppress the HPA prior to inducing stress was found to completely reliable, without any adverse side effects. Therefore, we propose this paradigm as a new method to investigate the interaction of the two major stress systems in the regulation of the stress response.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Timeline of the testing procedure.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Effects of the TSST on the cortisol release in relation of the two experimental conditions: dexamethasone (n = 15) and placebo (n = 15).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Effects of the TSST on the subjective stress ratings in relation of the two experimental conditions: dexamethasone (n = 15) and placebo (n = 15).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Effects of the TSST on the salivary alpha-amylase in relation of the two experimental conditions: dexamethasone (n = 15) and placebo (n = 15).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Effects of the TSST on the heart rate in relation of the two experimental conditions: dexamethasone (n = 15) and placebo (n = 15).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Effects of the TSST on the heart rate in 1-minute intervals during and 5 minutes post-TSST in relation of the two experimental conditions: dexamethasone (n = 15) and placebo (n = 15).
Figure 7
Figure 7. Effects of the TSST on the systolic blood pressure in relation of the two experimental conditions: dexamethasone (n = 15) and placebo (n = 15).
Figure 8
Figure 8. Effects of the TSST on the diastolic blood pressure in relation of the two experimental conditions: dexamethasone (n = 15) and placebo (n = 15).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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