The STRESS-NL database: A resource for human acute stress studies across the Netherlands

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Physiology

Background:

• Human acute stress response involves complex neurobiological, physiological, and behavioral changes.
• Laboratory-based studies using acute stress paradigms are crucial for understanding stress.
• Individual studies often have limited sample sizes, hindering robust statistical analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the STRESS-NL database, a collaborative initiative for data sharing in human acute stress research.
• To create a framework for meta-analytical and hypothesis-driven data analyses with high statistical power.
• To accelerate the understanding of the human acute stress response in both healthy and clinical populations.

Main Methods:

• An interdisciplinary initiative involving 12 Dutch research groups from 6 universities.
• Compilation of (neuro)biological, physiological, and behavioral data from 42 independent studies.
• Inclusion of data from 5529 participants across 57 experiments, with cortisol measurements as a common, but not mandatory, outcome.

Main Results:

• The STRESS-NL database currently contains data from 5529 participants (6-99 years old).
• Data originates from 57 experiments within 42 distinct studies, reflecting diverse stress paradigms and outcome measures.
• The database infrastructure facilitates proof-of-principle and meta-analytical investigations.

Conclusions:

• The STRESS-NL database provides a powerful resource for advancing human stress research.
• Data accumulation and combination enable high-powered explorative and hypothesis-driven analyses.
• Future expansion to international studies and similar rodent databases holds significant scientific promise.