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NIH study shows brain patterns associated with better coping skills

Recent findings from an NIH-funded study indicated brain patterns associated with resilient coping to stress.

“This important finding points to specific brain adaptations that predict resilient responses to stress,” George F. Koob, PhD, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said in a press release. “The findings also indicate that we might be able to predict maladaptive stress responses that contribute to excessive drinking, anger, and other unhealthy reactions to stress.”

To measure changes in brain activation during stress, Rajita Sinha, PhD, of Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues conducted functional MRI while study participants were exposed to highly threatening, violent and stressful images followed by neutral, non-stressful images for 6 minutes each. Non-brain indicators of stress, including heart rate and cortisol levels, were also measured.

Analysis indicated three distinct patterns of response to stress. The first pattern involved sustained activation of brain regions associated with response to potential threats. The second pattern involved increased activation, followed by decreased activation of a circuit connecting brain areas associated with stress reaction and adaptation.

“The third pattern helped predict those who would regain emotional and behavioral control to stress,” Sinha said in the release.

This pattern involved “neuroflexibility” in a circuit between the medial prefrontal cortex and forebrain regions, including the ventral striatum, extended amygdala and hippocampus, during sustained stress exposure, according to researchers.

Participants that did not exhibit this neuroflexibility in the prefrontal cortex during stress reported higher levels of binge drinking, anger outbursts and other maladaptive coping behaviors.

According to Sinha and colleagues, these findings suggest that such individuals may have increased risk for alcohol use disorder or emotional dysfunction, which are often associated with exposure to high stress levels. – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.