The bidirectional interplay between stress and cognitive emotion regulation

Emotion regulation (ER) is an indispensable part of mental health and psychophysiological adaptation. It influences how individuals respond to and recover from stressful events, but in turn can also be altered by stress. ER relies on a cognitive control system involving prefrontal regions inhibiting emotion-related limbic structures, such as the amygdala. Among various ER strategies, cognitive reappraisal is commonly viewed as highly effective and linked to positive short- and long-term outcomes. However, acute stress rapidly impairs prefrontal top-down control and strengthens amygdala activity, which could lead to ER failures under stress. Contrary to this scenario, the somewhat delayed release of the stress hormone cortisol has been rather linked to affect-protecting effects and emotion regulatory engagement. Yet, despite its crucial relevance for basic science and clinical applications alike, the impact of acute stress on ER processes and the different contributions of rapid and delayed neuroendocrine actions are by far not understood. On the other hand, ER is vital for understanding successful adaptation and resilience to stress. This symposium will therefore outline how acute stress and associated stress mediators modulate cognitive ER, but also how emotion regulatory processes might alter subjective, physiological, and neuroendocrine stress reactivity. In the first talk, Katja Langer will characterize the time-dependent effects of acute stress and cortisol administration on the regulatory strategies cognitive reappraisal and distraction by testing ER performance at three different timepoints (10 min, 30 min, 90 min) after stress exposure. Thereafter, Valerie Jentsch will present recent findings from a pharmacological neuroimaging study providing evidence for opposing rapid non-genomic and slow genomic cortisol effects on the neural network underlying cognitive reappraisal. The physiological stress response is highly adaptive, as it prepares the body to handle acute challenges and potential threats. However, the inability to habituate to repeated stress exposure leading to prolonged intense stress responsivity is linked to more physical and mental health symptoms and thus considered maladaptive. In the next talk, Nicolas Rohleder will show how the habitual use of the two ER strategies cognitive reappraisal and suppression is related to habituation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis among healthy adults exposed to a psychosocial stressor on two consecutive days. ER dysfunctions are associated with a broad range of mental disorders and increasingly incorporated as a transdiagnostic marker and treatment target in psychotherapeutic interventions. The last talk by Sophie Bögemann will focus on the implementation of an ER-training during stressful situations in daily life. The developed plattform allows for real-time, personalized triggering of app-based interventions based on psychological and physiological stress signals. Taken together, this symposium explores the bidirectional effects of stress and cognitive ER by providing evidence from subjective and neuroendocrine measures as well as peripheral and central physiology. It will thereby not only provide new insights into the underlying mechanisms of stress-induced ER alterations but also expand our current understanding of how ER can affect stress-related health outcomes which will help in designing new behavioral interventions that may foster stress resilience.