Neural mechanisms of acute stress and trait anxiety in adolescents

•The Montreal Imaging Stress Task is an effective acute stressor for adolescents.•Acute stress exposure impacts fMRI measures of brain activation in adolescents.•Hippocampal deactivation during acute stress is associated with cortisol release.•Trait anxiety is linked to stress-related hippocampus, VS, and putamen activity.•Males exhibit greater putamen deactivation during acute stress than females.