The effect of cognitive reappraisal and early-life maternal care on neuroendocrine stress responses

Abstract

Early-life adversity (ELA) is related to profound dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, reflected in both, blunted or exaggerated cortisol stress responses in adulthood. Emotion regulation strategies such as cognitive reappraisal might contribute to this inconsistent finding. Here, we investigate an interaction of early-life maternal care (MC), where low MC represents a form of ELA, and instructed emotion regulation on cortisol responses to acute stress. Ninety-three healthy young women were assigned to a low (n = 33) or high (n = 60) MC group, based on self-reported early-life MC. In the laboratory, participants received regulation instructions, asking to cognitively reappraise (reappraisal group, n = 45) or to focus on senses (control group, n = 48) during subsequent stress exposure, induced by the Trier Social Stress Test. Salivary cortisol and subjective stress levels were measured repeatedly throughout the experiment. Multilevel model analyses confirmed a MC by emotion regulation interaction effect on cortisol trajectories, while controlling for hormonal status. Individuals with low MC in the control compared with the reappraisal group showed increased cortisol responses; individuals with high MC did not differ. These results highlight the significance of emotion regulation for HPA axis stress regulation following ELA exposure. They provide methodological and health implications, indicating emotion regulation as a promising target of treatment interventions for individuals with a history of ELA.

Figure 1

Cortisol trajectories (baseline adjusted) (a) and cortisol reactivity (b) in the four experimental groups. Values represent mean ± SE. The AUCi indicates overall cortisol reactivity between t = 0 and t = 40. AUCi = area under the curve with respect to increase, MC = maternal care, TSST = Trier Social Stress Test.

Figure 2

Trajectories of subjective stress (a), negative affect (b) and positive affect levels (c) in the four experimental groups. Values (baseline adjusted) represent mean ± SE. MC = maternal care, TSST = Trier Social Stress Test.

Figure 3

Overview of study procedure. The manipulation of emotion regulation required participants to either use cognitive reappraisal (RG) or to focus on senses (CG) during the TSST. TSST = Trier Social Stress Test, RG = reappraisal group, CG = control group.