Acute Cortisol Reactivity Is Associated With Increased Connectivity From Default Mode To Cognitive Control Networks In Remitted Adolescent-Onset Depression

Glucocorticoids are one proposed mediator of medial prefrontal cortex regulation of limbic response to stress. In depression, cortisol reactivity attenuates frontal-subcortical activation in response to the mild acute stressor of emotional/cognitive challenges during fMRI. Sensitivity of neural networks to stress may persist after remission of clinical symptoms but has not yet been studied.