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Bärtl C, Henze GI, Peter HL, Giglberger M, Bohmann P, Speicher N, Konzok J, Kreuzpointner L, Waller L, Walter H, Wüst S, Kudielka BM. Neural and cortisol responses to acute psychosocial stress in work-related burnout: The Regensburg Burnout Project. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 161:106926. [PMID: 38118266 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While several attempts have been made to elucidate the pathophysiology of burnout, neural stress responses have not yet been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine salivary cortisol and - for the first time - neural responses to acute psychosocial stress within a strictly specified sample consisting of individuals suffering from burnout (BO group) and a healthy comparison group (HC group). METHODS After a multi-stage recruitment procedure based on burnout symptomatology and pathogenesis, 55 individuals suffering from burnout (25 women) and 61 individuals serving as HC group (31 women) out of an initial sample of 1022 volunteers were exposed to acute psychosocial stress during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) applying ScanSTRESS. RESULTS No differences were found between the BO and the HC group with respect to cortisol and mean neural stress responses. However, an exploratory comparison of neural stress responses of the first and second run of ScanSTRESS (exposure-time effect) revealed group-specific response patterns in one cluster peaking in the left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). While the neural activation of the HC group was higher in the first compared to the second run of ScanSTRESS (i.e., decreasing activation), this pattern was reversed in the BO group (i.e., increasing activation). CONCLUSIONS Our analysis mainly did not provide evidence for altered acute cortisol and mean neural stress responses in burnout. However, the BO group was characterized by a limited capacity to show decreasing activation over stress exposure-time and exhibited instead increasing activation. Importantly, this group difference manifested in the left dACC which is both involved in neural stress processing and affected in individuals suffering from burnout. Given the present results, it seems promising to further examining temporal dynamics of neural stress responses in (sub-) clinical conditions such as burnout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Bärtl
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Gina-Isabelle Henze
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Division of Mind and Brain Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hannah L Peter
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Marina Giglberger
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Patricia Bohmann
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Nina Speicher
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Julian Konzok
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | | | - Lea Waller
- Division of Mind and Brain Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Division of Mind and Brain Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Wüst
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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