Endogenous cortisol-related alterations of right anterior insula functional connectivity under acute stress.

Abstract Background Previous studies have suggested that the right anterior insula (rAI) plays a vital role in salience processing and stress-related disorders. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between rAI functional connectivity changes and individual differences in cortisol responses after acute stress, in order to provide insights into psychiatric illness vulnerabilities. Methods Thirty-five young men were enrolled in a randomized, counterbalanced two-session study, with aversive movie clip combined with electrical shocks as stress stimulation and the neutral movie clip as control stimulation. Resting-state fMRI data was acquired after movie exposure. The rAI was chosen as seed for functional connectivity analysis. We then examined the effect of acute stress on rAI functional connectivity and its association with individuals’ cortisol response. Results We found decreased rAI functional connectivity in the fronto-parietal regions, but increased functional connectivity in the visual and somatosensory areas following acute stress. Moreover, stress-induced cortisol response was significantly positively correlated with the rAI functional connectivity in the medial prefrontal cortex, and negatively correlated with the orbital-frontal cortex, lingual gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus. Limitations Only young Chinese males without any trauma experience were recruited in this study. Conclusions The results suggested tight link between specific rAI functional connectivity alterations and individual stress reactivity, which may help elucidate the potential neurobiological mechanism underlying vulnerability to stress-related disorders.