What influences the treatment expectations of an individual patient? Genes, hormones, stress?

This central research project provides uniform, standardised psychometric tools for the measurement of anxiety, stress and negative affect in all collaborative research centre projects. In parallel with the psychometric measurements, it will investigate whether and to what extent treatment expectations are influenced by the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic nervous system by analysing the awakening response of cortisol and alpha-amylase activity in saliva. Together these findings will enable us to comment on possible psychological and neuroendocrine predictors that influence the treatment expectations and outcomes of patients.

Recommended reading:

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Grigoleit JS, Kullmann JS, Oberbeck R, Schedlowski M, Engler H (2013) Salivary α-amylase response to endotoxin administration in humans. Psychoneuroendocrinol. 38:1819-1823. PubMed

Petrakova L, Boy K, Mittmann L, Möller L, Engler H, Schedlowski M (2017) Salivary alpha-amylase and noradrenaline responses to corticotropin-releasing hormone administration in humans. Biol Psychol. 127:34-39. PubMed

Rief W, Burton C, Frostholm L, Henningsen P, Kleinstäuber M, Kop WJ, Löwe B, Martin A, Malt U, Rosmalen J, Schröder A, Shedden-Mora M, Toussaint A, van der Feltz-Cornelis C on behalf of the EURONET-SOMA Group (2017) Core outcome domains for clinical trials on somatic symptom disorder, bodily distress disorder and functional somatic syndromes: EURONET-SOMA recommendations. Psychosom Med 79:1008-1015. PubMed