Kurz M, Richer R, Abel L, Hauck F, Ringgold V, Schindler-Gmelch L, Eskofier B, Rohleder N (2024)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2024
Book Volume: 160
Article Number: 106862
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106862
Background
Acute psychosocial stress induction protocols are crucial for laboratory assessment of HPA axis activation. While the Trier Social Stress test (TSST), the gold standard for stress induction, is well-established and highly standardized, the available control protocols are less standardized and lack comparability to the TSST. To address this issue, we adapted the existing friendly Trier Social Stress Test (f-TSST) protocol to better match the tasks performed in the TSST.
Methods
We added an easy-to-perform mental arithmetics task and reduced the speech time from the initially proposed ten to five minutes. Forty-one participants (44% women, 24.0 ± 3.5 years) underwent both the TSST and our f-TSST adaptation (f-TSST+) on two consecutive days in randomized order. Stress responses were measured by salivary cortisol and subjective assessments. To assess behavior during both conditions, we recorded body posture and movements using a sensor-based motion capture suit.
Results
Cortisol (F = 4.97, p < 0.001) and self-reported stress (F = 9.85, p < 0.01) show that the f-TSST+ protocol leads to significantly lower stress responses than the TSST, which is also observed in the original f-TSST. Concurrently, we found significant differences in body posture and movements between the interview and the mental arithmetics phases in both conditions (T = 9.08, p < 0.001).
Conclusion
Our results suggest that the f-TSST+ protocol is a valuable extension to the existing f-TSST since it provides a better-balanced study protocol and a better behavioral comparability to the TSST while concurrently not activating the HPA axis.
APA:
Kurz, M., Richer, R., Abel, L., Hauck, F., Ringgold, V., Schindler-Gmelch, L.,... Rohleder, N. (2024). f-TSST+: An extension to the friendly Trier Social Stress Test that enables better behavioral comparability during acute psychosocial stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106862
MLA:
Kurz, Miriam, et al. "f-TSST+: An extension to the friendly Trier Social Stress Test that enables better behavioral comparability during acute psychosocial stress." Psychoneuroendocrinology 160 (2024).
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