Salivary biomarkers of neural hypervigilance in trauma-exposed women

Abstract

ObjectivesMore than half of all adults will be exposed to a traumatic event at some point in their lives, yet we do not yet have reliable biomarkers to help predict who experiences trauma-related symptoms in response to exposure. We tested the utility of salivary cortisol and salivary alpha amylase as markers of (1) neural reactivity to negative affective information and (2) neural hypervigilance in the absence of threat. Participants20 women (mean age 23.6 +/− 5.8 years) with a history of trauma exposure. MeasuresSalivary cortisol and alpha amylase reactivity were measured in response to a trauma reminder during a clinical interview. Neural reactivity to novel and familiar affective scenes was measured in a later session using functional magnetic resonance imaging. ResultsSalivary alpha amylase, but not cortisol, increased in response to the trauma reminder. Salivary alpha amylase reactivity was associated with neural reactivity in the salience network in response to novel negative scenes and neural hypervigilance as indexed by reactivity to novel neutral scenes. ConclusionsSalivary alpha amylase might serve as a more reliable marker of trauma-related reactivity to negative affective information, and also as a marker of hypervigilance in the absence of threatening information.