Cognitive factors and stress-induced changes in catecholamine biochemistry

The purpose of the present research was to determine whether dysfunctional attitudes, a cognitive attribute, predicted changes in catecholamine biochemistry. A cognitive task was used to induce stress in female subjects (n=21), and levels of plasma norepinephrine (NE) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured at three time points: at baseline (T1); immediately after stress exposure (T2); and 40 min later (T3). Dysfunctional attitudes were significantly and positively related to levels of plasma NE at T3, controlling for baseline levels. Dysfunctional attitudes were not significantly related to plasma HVA levels at any time point. Our findings provide initial support for the idea that dysfunctional attitudes, an attribute shown to play an important role in some forms of unipolar depression, predict stress-induced alterations in noradrenergic output.