Butler K, et al. – In a healthy adult male population, researchers assessed the link between cortisol awakening response (CAR) and early life stress (ELS) and executive function (EF), respectively. Findings were indicative of an association between ELS and chronic changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)–axis function. Data also suggested that these changes might be associated with impairments in problem solving/planning.

Methods

• This study was performed in a healthy adult male population (n = 109, aged 21–63).
• As previous inconsistencies in CAR and ELS association studies may be the result of not considering ELS-related factors such as cumulative exposure, type of stressor and developmental timing of ELS, these were also investigated in this study.

Results

• Researchers observed that CAR was significantly elevated in individuals reporting ELS compared to those reporting no ELS (p = 0.007) and that an elevated CAR predicted poorer problem solving/planning (p = 0.046).
• They also noted that cumulative exposure, type of stressor and developmental timing of ELS significantly impacted the CAR.