Stress-Related Hormonal Assays for Fear-Potentiated Startle Study
Disciplines
Cognitive Science | Development Studies | Medicine and Health Sciences | Psychology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
The goal of this study is to identify factors associated with emotion dysregulation . This research aims to understand whether and how psychophysiological and biological factors modulate fear learning and memory in women who are and are not using hormonal contraceptives and men. The project uses a fear conditioning model using the startle reflex to identify emotion dysregulation. Our role in this project is to run assays and analyze the saliva samples collected to determine levels of hormones of interest, such as cortisol and DHEA-S levels. Other assays that will be performed include Estrogen and Progesterone. DHEA-S, or dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate, and cortisol are both steroid hormones that have been found to have a solid connection to psychological conditions such as stress, anxiety, and fear. Fear-potentiated startle has been more prominent in individuals with a high cortisol/DHEA-S ratio. Fear-potentiated startle is also positively associated with cortisol and negatively associated with DHEA-S. We will detect and quantify the amount of DHEA-S in these samples using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Psychological Science
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ebony Glover
Additional Faculty
Sharon Pearcey, WCHHS - Nursing, spearcey@kennesaw.edu Anna Rosenhauer, arosenha@kennesaw.edu Doreen Wagner, dwagne18@kennesaw.edu
Stress-Related Hormonal Assays for Fear-Potentiated Startle Study
The goal of this study is to identify factors associated with emotion dysregulation . This research aims to understand whether and how psychophysiological and biological factors modulate fear learning and memory in women who are and are not using hormonal contraceptives and men. The project uses a fear conditioning model using the startle reflex to identify emotion dysregulation. Our role in this project is to run assays and analyze the saliva samples collected to determine levels of hormones of interest, such as cortisol and DHEA-S levels. Other assays that will be performed include Estrogen and Progesterone. DHEA-S, or dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate, and cortisol are both steroid hormones that have been found to have a solid connection to psychological conditions such as stress, anxiety, and fear. Fear-potentiated startle has been more prominent in individuals with a high cortisol/DHEA-S ratio. Fear-potentiated startle is also positively associated with cortisol and negatively associated with DHEA-S. We will detect and quantify the amount of DHEA-S in these samples using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).