Hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations: Associations with executive function in early childhood

Ella-Marie P Hennessey; Olga Kepinska; Stephanie L Haft; Megan Chan; Isabel Sunshine; Chloe Jones; Roeland Hancock; Fumiko Hoeft

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107946

Hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations: Associations with executive function in early childhood

Biol Psychol. 2020 Sep:155:107946. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107946. Epub 2020 Aug 14.

Authors

Ella-Marie P Hennessey¹, Olga Kepinska², Stephanie L Haft³, Megan Chan⁴, Isabel Sunshine⁵, Chloe Jones⁶, Roeland Hancock⁶, Fumiko Hoeft⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Dyslexia Center, University of California San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA; Multi-University Precision Learning Center, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 S. Race Street, Denver, CO, 80210, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Dyslexia Center, University of California San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Dyslexia Center, University of California San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA; Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA, 94704, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Dyslexia Center, University of California San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA; Multi-University Precision Learning Center, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA; Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA, 94704, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Dyslexia Center, University of California San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA; Multi-University Precision Learning Center, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
⁶ Brain Imaging Research Center (BIRC) & Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, 850 Bolton Road, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Dyslexia Center, University of California San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA; Multi-University Precision Learning Center, 401 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA; Brain Imaging Research Center (BIRC) & Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, 850 Bolton Road, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA; Haskins Laboratories, 300 George St #900, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA; Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi Shinjuku, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan. Electronic address: fumiko.hoeft@uconn.edu.

Abstract

Chronic stress during childhood negatively impacts cognition and physical and mental health. Exposure to stressors over time can cause hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, leading to abnormal stress hormone levels, which can be reflected in hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and hair dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentration. Although the use of HCC and DHEA to measure chronic stress in children is increasing, their effects on cognition (as indexed by executive function) remain unexplored. Accordingly, we aimed to investigate the associations of HCC, DHEA, and their ratio with measures of executive function (cognitive flexibility and working memory) in a sample of kindergarten children (N=100). We found that the expected negative association between HCC and working memory approached significance, and DHEA was significantly and positively related to cognitive flexibility. We discuss possible interpretations of our findings. Our results suggest promising areas for future investigation and encourage further exploration into HCC and DHEA as measures of chronic stress.

Keywords: Children; Chronic stress; Cortisol; Dehydroepiandrosterone; Executive function.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Child
Child, Preschool
Dehydroepiandrosterone
Executive Function* / physiology
Humans
Hydrocortisone*
Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
Pituitary-Adrenal System

Substances

Dehydroepiandrosterone
Hydrocortisone

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding