Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotio... more Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotions is particularly important during and after the encounter of a stressor. However, the impact of acute stress and its associated neuroendocrine alterations on emotion regulation have received little attention so far. This study aimed to explore how stress-induced cortisol increases affect three different emotion regulation strategies. Seventy two healthy men and women were either exposed to a stressor or a control condition. Subsequently participants viewed positive and negative images and were asked to up- or down-regulate their emotional responses or simultaneously required to solve an arithmetic task (distraction). The factors stress, sex, and strategy were operationalized as between group factors (\(\textit {n = 6}\) per cell). Stress caused an increase in blood pressure and higher subjective stress ratings. An increase in cortisol was observed in male participants only. In contrast...
Die vorliegende Arbeit fokussiert prominente Stresstheorien, die Stressphysiologie und die psycho... more Die vorliegende Arbeit fokussiert prominente Stresstheorien, die Stressphysiologie und die psychologische Erforschung von Stress im Labor. Dabei werden Grundannahmen der Theorie der Erhaltung des sozialen Selbst und eine standardisierte Kontrollbedingung eines populären, psychosozialen Stressprotokolls neuroendokrinologisch und psychometrisch evaluiert. In einer weiteren Studie wird die akute Cortisolwirkung auf das deklarative menschliche Gedächtnis metaanalytisch untersucht. Dabei wird belegt, dass eine akute Erhöhung der Cortisolkonzentration im Blutplasma den Abruf von Informationen aus dem deklarativen Gedächtnis beeinträchtigt, während es in Abhängigkeit von der tagesrhythmischen, endogenen Cortisolausschüttung die Akquisition von Informationen fördert oder beeinträchtigt. In der letzten Studie wird gezeigt, dass Cortisol affektmodulierende Wirkungen hat, indem es die negative emotionale Belastung infolge einer akuten, psychosozialen Stresssituation abmildert
Die vorliegende Arbeit fokussiert prominente Stresstheorien, die Stressphysiologie und die psycho... more Die vorliegende Arbeit fokussiert prominente Stresstheorien, die Stressphysiologie und die psychologische Erforschung von Stress im Labor. Dabei werden Grundannahmen der Theorie der Erhaltung des sozialen Selbst und eine standardisierte Kontrollbedingung eines populären, psychosozialen Stressprotokolls neuroendokrinologisch und psychometrisch evaluiert. In einer weiteren Studie wird die akute Cortisolwirkung auf das deklarative menschliche Gedächtnis metaanalytisch untersucht. Dabei wird belegt, dass eine akute Erhöhung der Cortisolkonzentration im Blutplasma den Abruf von Informationen aus dem deklarativen Gedächtnis beeinträchtigt, während es in Abhängigkeit von der tagesrhythmischen, endogenen Cortisolausschüttung die Akquisition von Informationen fördert oder beeinträchtigt. In der letzten Studie wird gezeigt, dass Cortisol affektmodulierende Wirkungen hat, indem es die negative emotionale Belastung infolge einer akuten, psychosozialen Stresssituation abmildert
Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotio... more Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotions is particularly important during and after the encounter of a stressor. However, the impact of acute stress and its associated neuroendocrine alterations on emotion regulation have received little attention so far. This study aimed to explore how stress-induced cortisol increases affect three different emotion regulation strategies. Seventy two healthy men and women were either exposed to a stressor or a control condition. Subsequently participants viewed positive and negative images and were asked to up- or down-regulate their emotional responses or simultaneously required to solve an arithmetic task (distraction). The factors stress, sex, and strategy were operationalized as between group factors (n = 6 per cell). Stress caused an increase in blood pressure and higher subjective stress ratings. An increase in cortisol was observed in male participants only. In contrast to controls, ...
Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotio... more Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotions is particularly important during and after the encounter of a stressor. However, the impact of acute stress and its associated neuroendocrine alterations on emotion regulation have received little attention so far. This study aimed to explore how stress-induced cortisol increases affect three different emotion regulation strategies. Seventy two healthy men and women were either exposed to a stressor or a control condition. Subsequently participants viewed positive and negative images and were asked to up- or down-regulate their emotional responses or simultaneously required to solve an arithmetic task (distraction). The factors stress, sex, and strategy were operationalized as between group factors (n = 6 per cell). Stress caused an increase in blood pressure and higher subjective stress ratings. An increase in cortisol was observed in male participants only. In contrast to controls, ...
Stress is known to influence risk and progression of eating disorders (EDs). However, studies inv... more Stress is known to influence risk and progression of eating disorders (EDs). However, studies investigating physiological and psychological stress responses under laboratory conditions in patients with Anorexia nervosa or Bulimia nervosa are scarce and often produce conflicting findings. We therefore aimed to compare the neuroendocrine and affective stress response in ED inpatients and healthy controls. Twenty-eight female inpatients with Anorexia or Bulimia nervosa and 26 healthy women were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA) levels were assessed before as well as repeatedly after stress exposure, while heart rate and heart rate variability were determined before and during the TSST. Negative affective state was assessed at baseline and post-TSST. Compared to healthy controls, ED patients showed blunted cortisol stress responses combined with overall attenuated sAA levels. The latter was reflected in generally enhanced parasympa...
Rumination is a vulnerability factor for the onset and maintenance of emotional distress. This st... more Rumination is a vulnerability factor for the onset and maintenance of emotional distress. This study examined whether writing about life goals is associated with a decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response. 68 healthy participants either wrote about their personal life goals or a control topic. Writing about life goals was associated with a modest decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response at the post-intervention assessment. Results provide initial evidence that writing about life goals can be a helpful aid in decreasing rumination and physiological stress reactivity.
Adrenal glucocorticoids (GC) secreted during stress modulate memory. Animal and human studies inv... more Adrenal glucocorticoids (GC) secreted during stress modulate memory. Animal and human studies investigating the effects of acute GC treatment on memory have reported conflicting (enhancing as well as impairing) results. Several theories have been proposed to integrate these contradictory findings. Among the variables discussed are the timing of the GC treatment (before learning or before retrieval) and the time of day (morning versus afternoon). Here we review meta-analytically the results of 16 studies, which experimentally investigated the acute impact of cortisol treatment on human memory. The results revealed that the timing of GC application in the course of a study is a relevant variable which explains a substantial amount of the significant heterogeneity within the effect sizes. The studies which administered cortisol before retrieval (n = 4) reported a significant decrease (average effect size of d = -.49) in memory performance. Studies which administered cortisol before learning (n =12) found on average no effect (d = .08), but there is heterogeneity within these effect sizes. Further analysis on these experiments indicated that studies, which administered cortisol in the morning found a significant memory impairment (d = -.40), while studies conducted in the afternoon observed a small but significant memory enhancement (d = .22). This meta-analysis supports the idea that the timing of GC administration (before learning or before retrieval) is a major determinant of the effects of GCs on human memory. We discuss methodological limitations of the current analysis and suggest several areas for future research.
The interpersonal theory of suicidal behavior proposes that fearlessness of death and physical pa... more The interpersonal theory of suicidal behavior proposes that fearlessness of death and physical pain insensitivity is a necessary requisite for self-inflicted lethal self-harm. Repeated experiences with painful and provocative events are supposed to cause an incremental increase in acquired capability. The present study examined whether playing a first-person shooter-game in contrast to a first-person racing game increases pain tolerance, a dimension of the acquired capability construct, and risk-taking behavior, a risk factor for developing acquired capability. N=81 male participants were randomly assigned to either play an action-shooter or a racing game before engaging in a game on risk-taking behavior and performing a cold pressor task (CPT). Participants exhibited higher pain tolerance after playing an action shooter game than after playing a racing game. Furthermore, playing an action shooter was generally associated with heightened risk-taking behavior. Group-differences were not attributable to the effects of the different types of games on self-reported mood and arousal. Overall these results indicate that action-shooter gaming alters pain tolerance and risk-taking behavior. Therefore, it may well be that long-term consumption of violent video games increases a person's capability to enact lethal self-harm.
Rumination is a vulnerability factor for the onset and maintenance of emotional distress. This st... more Rumination is a vulnerability factor for the onset and maintenance of emotional distress. This study examined whether writing about life goals is associated with a decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response. 68 healthy participants either wrote about their personal life goals or a control topic. Writing about life goals was associated with a modest decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response at the post-intervention assessment. Results provide initial evidence that writing about life goals can be a helpful aid in decreasing rumination and physiological stress reactivity.
Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotio... more Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotions is particularly important during and after the encounter of a stressor. However, the impact of acute stress and its associated neuroendocrine alterations on emotion regulation have received little attention so far. This study aimed to explore how stress-induced cortisol increases affect three different emotion regulation strategies. Seventy two healthy men and women were either exposed to a stressor or a control condition. Subsequently participants viewed positive and negative images and were asked to up- or down-regulate their emotional responses or simultaneously required to solve an arithmetic task (distraction). The factors stress, sex, and strategy were operationalized as between group factors (\(\textit {n = 6}\) per cell). Stress caused an increase in blood pressure and higher subjective stress ratings. An increase in cortisol was observed in male participants only. In contrast...
Die vorliegende Arbeit fokussiert prominente Stresstheorien, die Stressphysiologie und die psycho... more Die vorliegende Arbeit fokussiert prominente Stresstheorien, die Stressphysiologie und die psychologische Erforschung von Stress im Labor. Dabei werden Grundannahmen der Theorie der Erhaltung des sozialen Selbst und eine standardisierte Kontrollbedingung eines populären, psychosozialen Stressprotokolls neuroendokrinologisch und psychometrisch evaluiert. In einer weiteren Studie wird die akute Cortisolwirkung auf das deklarative menschliche Gedächtnis metaanalytisch untersucht. Dabei wird belegt, dass eine akute Erhöhung der Cortisolkonzentration im Blutplasma den Abruf von Informationen aus dem deklarativen Gedächtnis beeinträchtigt, während es in Abhängigkeit von der tagesrhythmischen, endogenen Cortisolausschüttung die Akquisition von Informationen fördert oder beeinträchtigt. In der letzten Studie wird gezeigt, dass Cortisol affektmodulierende Wirkungen hat, indem es die negative emotionale Belastung infolge einer akuten, psychosozialen Stresssituation abmildert
Die vorliegende Arbeit fokussiert prominente Stresstheorien, die Stressphysiologie und die psycho... more Die vorliegende Arbeit fokussiert prominente Stresstheorien, die Stressphysiologie und die psychologische Erforschung von Stress im Labor. Dabei werden Grundannahmen der Theorie der Erhaltung des sozialen Selbst und eine standardisierte Kontrollbedingung eines populären, psychosozialen Stressprotokolls neuroendokrinologisch und psychometrisch evaluiert. In einer weiteren Studie wird die akute Cortisolwirkung auf das deklarative menschliche Gedächtnis metaanalytisch untersucht. Dabei wird belegt, dass eine akute Erhöhung der Cortisolkonzentration im Blutplasma den Abruf von Informationen aus dem deklarativen Gedächtnis beeinträchtigt, während es in Abhängigkeit von der tagesrhythmischen, endogenen Cortisolausschüttung die Akquisition von Informationen fördert oder beeinträchtigt. In der letzten Studie wird gezeigt, dass Cortisol affektmodulierende Wirkungen hat, indem es die negative emotionale Belastung infolge einer akuten, psychosozialen Stresssituation abmildert
Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotio... more Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotions is particularly important during and after the encounter of a stressor. However, the impact of acute stress and its associated neuroendocrine alterations on emotion regulation have received little attention so far. This study aimed to explore how stress-induced cortisol increases affect three different emotion regulation strategies. Seventy two healthy men and women were either exposed to a stressor or a control condition. Subsequently participants viewed positive and negative images and were asked to up- or down-regulate their emotional responses or simultaneously required to solve an arithmetic task (distraction). The factors stress, sex, and strategy were operationalized as between group factors (n = 6 per cell). Stress caused an increase in blood pressure and higher subjective stress ratings. An increase in cortisol was observed in male participants only. In contrast to controls, ...
Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotio... more Emotion regulation is a major prerequisite for adaptive behavior. The capacity to regulate emotions is particularly important during and after the encounter of a stressor. However, the impact of acute stress and its associated neuroendocrine alterations on emotion regulation have received little attention so far. This study aimed to explore how stress-induced cortisol increases affect three different emotion regulation strategies. Seventy two healthy men and women were either exposed to a stressor or a control condition. Subsequently participants viewed positive and negative images and were asked to up- or down-regulate their emotional responses or simultaneously required to solve an arithmetic task (distraction). The factors stress, sex, and strategy were operationalized as between group factors (n = 6 per cell). Stress caused an increase in blood pressure and higher subjective stress ratings. An increase in cortisol was observed in male participants only. In contrast to controls, ...
Stress is known to influence risk and progression of eating disorders (EDs). However, studies inv... more Stress is known to influence risk and progression of eating disorders (EDs). However, studies investigating physiological and psychological stress responses under laboratory conditions in patients with Anorexia nervosa or Bulimia nervosa are scarce and often produce conflicting findings. We therefore aimed to compare the neuroendocrine and affective stress response in ED inpatients and healthy controls. Twenty-eight female inpatients with Anorexia or Bulimia nervosa and 26 healthy women were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA) levels were assessed before as well as repeatedly after stress exposure, while heart rate and heart rate variability were determined before and during the TSST. Negative affective state was assessed at baseline and post-TSST. Compared to healthy controls, ED patients showed blunted cortisol stress responses combined with overall attenuated sAA levels. The latter was reflected in generally enhanced parasympa...
Rumination is a vulnerability factor for the onset and maintenance of emotional distress. This st... more Rumination is a vulnerability factor for the onset and maintenance of emotional distress. This study examined whether writing about life goals is associated with a decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response. 68 healthy participants either wrote about their personal life goals or a control topic. Writing about life goals was associated with a modest decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response at the post-intervention assessment. Results provide initial evidence that writing about life goals can be a helpful aid in decreasing rumination and physiological stress reactivity.
Adrenal glucocorticoids (GC) secreted during stress modulate memory. Animal and human studies inv... more Adrenal glucocorticoids (GC) secreted during stress modulate memory. Animal and human studies investigating the effects of acute GC treatment on memory have reported conflicting (enhancing as well as impairing) results. Several theories have been proposed to integrate these contradictory findings. Among the variables discussed are the timing of the GC treatment (before learning or before retrieval) and the time of day (morning versus afternoon). Here we review meta-analytically the results of 16 studies, which experimentally investigated the acute impact of cortisol treatment on human memory. The results revealed that the timing of GC application in the course of a study is a relevant variable which explains a substantial amount of the significant heterogeneity within the effect sizes. The studies which administered cortisol before retrieval (n = 4) reported a significant decrease (average effect size of d = -.49) in memory performance. Studies which administered cortisol before learning (n =12) found on average no effect (d = .08), but there is heterogeneity within these effect sizes. Further analysis on these experiments indicated that studies, which administered cortisol in the morning found a significant memory impairment (d = -.40), while studies conducted in the afternoon observed a small but significant memory enhancement (d = .22). This meta-analysis supports the idea that the timing of GC administration (before learning or before retrieval) is a major determinant of the effects of GCs on human memory. We discuss methodological limitations of the current analysis and suggest several areas for future research.
The interpersonal theory of suicidal behavior proposes that fearlessness of death and physical pa... more The interpersonal theory of suicidal behavior proposes that fearlessness of death and physical pain insensitivity is a necessary requisite for self-inflicted lethal self-harm. Repeated experiences with painful and provocative events are supposed to cause an incremental increase in acquired capability. The present study examined whether playing a first-person shooter-game in contrast to a first-person racing game increases pain tolerance, a dimension of the acquired capability construct, and risk-taking behavior, a risk factor for developing acquired capability. N=81 male participants were randomly assigned to either play an action-shooter or a racing game before engaging in a game on risk-taking behavior and performing a cold pressor task (CPT). Participants exhibited higher pain tolerance after playing an action shooter game than after playing a racing game. Furthermore, playing an action shooter was generally associated with heightened risk-taking behavior. Group-differences were not attributable to the effects of the different types of games on self-reported mood and arousal. Overall these results indicate that action-shooter gaming alters pain tolerance and risk-taking behavior. Therefore, it may well be that long-term consumption of violent video games increases a person's capability to enact lethal self-harm.
Rumination is a vulnerability factor for the onset and maintenance of emotional distress. This st... more Rumination is a vulnerability factor for the onset and maintenance of emotional distress. This study examined whether writing about life goals is associated with a decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response. 68 healthy participants either wrote about their personal life goals or a control topic. Writing about life goals was associated with a modest decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response at the post-intervention assessment. Results provide initial evidence that writing about life goals can be a helpful aid in decreasing rumination and physiological stress reactivity.
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