The biological effects of acute psychosocial stress on delay discounting

• Published in: Psychoneuroendocrinology Vol. 38; no. 10; pp. 2300 - 2308
• Main Authors: Kimura, Kenta, Izawa, Shuhei, Sugaya, Nagisa, Ogawa, Namiko, Yamada, Kosuke C, Shirotsuki, Kentaro, Mikami, Ikuyo, Hirata, Kanako, Nagano, Yuichiro, Hasegawa, Toshikazu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; C-reactive protein; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Cortisol; Decision Making - physiology; Delay discounting; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heart Rate - physiology; Hormones and behavior; HPA axis; Humans; Hydrocortisone - analysis; Hydrocortisone - metabolism; Impulsivity; Inter-temporal choice; Male; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reward; Saliva - chemistry; Saliva - metabolism; Stress, Psychological - metabolism; Stress, Psychological - physiopathology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Time Factors; TSST; Young Adult; Impulsivity; C-reactive protein; TSST; Cortisol; HPA axis; Delay discounting; Inter-temporal choice; Corticosteroid; Choice; Hypothalamohypophysoadrenal axis; Steroid hormone; Acute; Antiinflammatory agent; Reinforcement delay; Psychosocial factor; Hydrocortisone; Glucocorticoid; Subjective evaluation; Stress; Adrenal hormone; Value; Biological effect; Reward; C reactive protein
• ISSN: 0306-4530; 1873-3360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.04.019

Summary Organisms prefer to receive rewards sooner rather than later because they excessively discount the subjective value of future rewards, a phenomenon called delay discounting. Recent studies have reported an association between cortisol—which is secreted by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis—and delay discounting. However, no study has examined whether acutely induced psychosocial stress modulates delay discounting. Thus, the present study examined the effect of acute psychosocial stress and its hormonal and inflammatory correlates on the rate of delay discounting. To accomplish this purpose, we assessed the participants’ discounting rates using the questionnaire version with inter-temporal choice before and after an acute psychosocial stress task (the Trier Social Stress Test; TSST). The results demonstrated that TSST increased rates of delay discounting in only cortisol responders (not in non-responders), indicating the possible influence of the pathway from the HPA axis to the dopaminergic systems under acute stress. Furthermore, the findings of correlation analysis indicated a U-shaped relationship between baseline level of C-reactive protein and delay discounting rate, suggesting a complex relationship between inflammatory markers and delay discounting rate.