Setting the tone for the day: Cortisol awakening response proactively modulates fronto-limbic circuitry for emotion processing
The cortisol awakening response (CAR) has been linked to a variety of emotion-related psychiatric conditions and is proposed to prepare the brain for upcoming stress and challenges. Yet, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of such proactive effects on emotional processing remain elusive. In th...
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| author | Changming Chen Bingsen Xiong Wenlong Tan Yanqiu Tian Shouwen Zhang Jianhui Wu Peng Song Shaozheng Qin |
| author_facet | Changming Chen Bingsen Xiong Wenlong Tan Yanqiu Tian Shouwen Zhang Jianhui Wu Peng Song Shaozheng Qin |
| author_sort | Changming Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The cortisol awakening response (CAR) has been linked to a variety of emotion-related psychiatric conditions and is proposed to prepare the brain for upcoming stress and challenges. Yet, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of such proactive effects on emotional processing remain elusive. In the current double-blinded, pharmacologically-manipulated study, 36 male adults (DXM group) received cortisol-repressive dexamethasone on the previous night, then performed the Emotional Face Matching Task (EFMT) during fMRI scanning the next afternoon. Relative to the placebo group (31 male adults), the DXM group exhibited lower accuracy in the emotion matching condition, but not in the sensorimotor control condition. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses revealed significant task-by-group interaction involving the right and left amygdala, but not the medial orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC) or hippocampus. Specifically, the DXM group exhibited stronger functional connectivity between the right amygdala and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) during emotion condition but reduced connectivity in the same network during control condition, as compared to the placebo group. Meanwhile, the DXM group exhibited weaker left amygdala–right posterior middle temporal gyrus (rMTG) connectivity than the placebo group during control condition, but there was no group effect in the connectivity during emotion condition. These results indicate that the CAR proactively modulates fronto-limbic functional organization for emotion processing in male adults. Our findings support a causal link between CAR and its proactive effects on emotional processing, and suggest a model of CAR-mediated brain preparedness where CAR sets a tonic tone for the upcoming day to actively regulate neuroendocrinological responses to emotionally charged stimuli on a moment-to-moment basis. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-933e5ca9219a4904bea328829dba114c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1095-9572 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage |
| spelling | doaj-art-933e5ca9219a4904bea328829dba114c2025-08-20T03:48:15ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722025-07-0131512125110.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121251Setting the tone for the day: Cortisol awakening response proactively modulates fronto-limbic circuitry for emotion processingChangming Chen0Bingsen Xiong1Wenlong Tan2Yanqiu Tian3Shouwen Zhang4Jianhui Wu5Peng Song6Shaozheng Qin7School of Educational Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 401331, ChinaBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaNeuroelectrophysiology Department, Beijing DaWangLu Emergency Hospital, Beijing, 100122, China; Corresponding authors.Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, ChinaDepartment of Medical Oncology, The Second Medical Center and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China; Corresponding authors.Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & International Data Group/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Corresponding authors.The cortisol awakening response (CAR) has been linked to a variety of emotion-related psychiatric conditions and is proposed to prepare the brain for upcoming stress and challenges. Yet, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of such proactive effects on emotional processing remain elusive. In the current double-blinded, pharmacologically-manipulated study, 36 male adults (DXM group) received cortisol-repressive dexamethasone on the previous night, then performed the Emotional Face Matching Task (EFMT) during fMRI scanning the next afternoon. Relative to the placebo group (31 male adults), the DXM group exhibited lower accuracy in the emotion matching condition, but not in the sensorimotor control condition. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses revealed significant task-by-group interaction involving the right and left amygdala, but not the medial orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC) or hippocampus. Specifically, the DXM group exhibited stronger functional connectivity between the right amygdala and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) during emotion condition but reduced connectivity in the same network during control condition, as compared to the placebo group. Meanwhile, the DXM group exhibited weaker left amygdala–right posterior middle temporal gyrus (rMTG) connectivity than the placebo group during control condition, but there was no group effect in the connectivity during emotion condition. These results indicate that the CAR proactively modulates fronto-limbic functional organization for emotion processing in male adults. Our findings support a causal link between CAR and its proactive effects on emotional processing, and suggest a model of CAR-mediated brain preparedness where CAR sets a tonic tone for the upcoming day to actively regulate neuroendocrinological responses to emotionally charged stimuli on a moment-to-moment basis.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105381192500254XCortisol awakening responseAmygdalaPrefrontal cortexHippocampusfMRIEmotion |
| spellingShingle | Changming Chen Bingsen Xiong Wenlong Tan Yanqiu Tian Shouwen Zhang Jianhui Wu Peng Song Shaozheng Qin Setting the tone for the day: Cortisol awakening response proactively modulates fronto-limbic circuitry for emotion processing NeuroImage Cortisol awakening response Amygdala Prefrontal cortex Hippocampus fMRI Emotion |
| title | Setting the tone for the day: Cortisol awakening response proactively modulates fronto-limbic circuitry for emotion processing |
| title_full | Setting the tone for the day: Cortisol awakening response proactively modulates fronto-limbic circuitry for emotion processing |
| title_fullStr | Setting the tone for the day: Cortisol awakening response proactively modulates fronto-limbic circuitry for emotion processing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Setting the tone for the day: Cortisol awakening response proactively modulates fronto-limbic circuitry for emotion processing |
| title_short | Setting the tone for the day: Cortisol awakening response proactively modulates fronto-limbic circuitry for emotion processing |
| title_sort | setting the tone for the day cortisol awakening response proactively modulates fronto limbic circuitry for emotion processing |
| topic | Cortisol awakening response Amygdala Prefrontal cortex Hippocampus fMRI Emotion |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105381192500254X |
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