A Comparison of Acute Psychobiological Responses to Laboratory Stress Tests

A Comparison of Acute Psychobiological Responses to the Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test and the Trier Social Stress Test

The Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test (MMST) is a validated laboratory stress test that combines cognitive, emotional, acoustic and motivational stress components. However the utility of the MMST as a viable alternative to the more commonly used Trier social stress test (TSST) to elicit HPA reactivity remains unclear as meaningful increases in saliva cortisol (> 2.5 nmol/l) have been shown to occur in <50% of participants yet the TSST typically elicits meaningful increases in saliva cortisol in >70% of participants; likely as a consequence of the greater social evaluative component in the TSST.

Using a randomised between groups design, this study aims to compare psychobiological responses to the MMST and TSST.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stress, Psychological; Stress, Physiological
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: MMST; Behavioral: TSST

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 31
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Merseyside
    • Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, L3 3AF
      • Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Participants who…

• have read and signed the study informed consent
• are healthy, recreationally active men and women aged 18-35 years
• are willing to provide saliva samples throughout through the duration of the study
• are using monophasic birth control (women only)

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants who…

• have a recent history or are a current smoker
• are currently taking prescription/Over-the-counter medication (excluding females taking oral combined contraception
• consume ≥ 91 units of alcohol per month
• have a clinically diagnosed history of cardiovascular and/or metabolic disease including diabetes and abnormal blood pressure
• are pregnant
• have a recent or ongoing viral or bacterial illness in past 4 weeks
• have a clinically diagnosed psychiatric disorder
• have a clinically diagnosed sleeping disorder
• have a clinically diagnosed gambling addiction
• BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 - calculated in the online health screening questionnaire
• Endurance trained or engage in ≥3.5 hours of physical activity a week

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: MMST	Behavioral: MMST; Participants randomised to the MMST group will complete the computer based paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT-C) in the presence of one observer and is informed that incorrect answers result in reduced monetary compensation. Simultaneously, the participant is exposed to emotionally evocative images and white noise via headphones
Active Comparator: TSST	Behavioral: TSST; Participants randomly assigned to the TSST condition will be exposed to a traditional TSST protocol. The TSST consists of a preparation phase (5 min), followed by a mock job interview and a mental arithmetic task (5 min each) in front of a panel consisting of two observers and a video recording device.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in saliva cortisol (pre-post stress)	Changes in the concentration of saliva free cortisol assessed by ELISA.	Change from 5 minutes pre to peak post stress test (MMST or TSST)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Heart rate	Continuous measurement of heart rate will be assessed using a telemetric chest strap.	Continuously assessed from 30 minutes before to 60 minutes after the stress tests and control tests
State anxiety inventory (STAI-S) response to acute psychological stress	assessed using the state scale of the state trait anxiety inventory (STAI-S), consisting of a 20-item scale for measuring the intensity of anxiety as an emotional state (S-Anxiety). The range of possible scores for form Y of the STAI varies from a minimum score of 20 to a maximum score of 80. STAI scores are commonly classified as "no or low anxiety" (20-37), "moderate anxiety" (38-44), and "high anxiety" (45-80)	Change from 5 minutes pre to after stress challenge (immediately after acute psychological stress and 60 minutes after the test) will be compared.
Salivary alpha amylase (sAA)	a biomarker for stress-induced activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), assessed by ELISA.	Change from 5 minutes pre to immediately post stress test

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Liverpool John Moores University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Neil P Walsh, PHD, Liverpool John Moores University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 26, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 14, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): October 9, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 27, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 27, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): October 4, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 25, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 24, 2023
• Last Verified: September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological
• Other Study ID Numbers: ORION study 1B

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No