Healthy Young AdultsNCT07702747
The Association Between the Stress Hormone Cortisol and Decision-making
A study testing Trier Social Stress Test in people with Healthy Young Adults, run by Marie-France Marin at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
The goal of this study is to learn how acute psychosocial stress influences decision-making in healthy young adults. It will also examine whether cortisol reactivity, a biological stress response, changes the influence of physiological emotional signals on decision-making (i.e., the gut feeling indicating risks). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 35 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Healthy Young Adults
- What is being tested?
- Trier Social Stress Test
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 116 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- 13 Sep 2021to 7 Nov 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 35 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Adult aged 18-35 years old.
Who cannot join
- Current or past psychiatric/neurodevelopmental disorders
- Physical illness
- Medication use (except hormonal contraception)
- Alcohol consumption exceeding Health Canada guidelines (>10 drinks/week for women, >15 for men)
- Smoking more than 7 cigarettes/day.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Canada1 site
Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal
Montreal, Quebec, H1N3M5
About this study
Official title: Stress-induced Cortisol Clouds the Gut Feeling in Decision-making: A Randomized Controlled Study
The goal of this study is to learn how acute psychosocial stress influences decision-making in healthy young adults. It will also examine whether cortisol reactivity, a biological stress response, changes the influence of physiological emotional signals on decision-making (i.e., the gut feeling indicating risks).
The main questions it aims to answer are:
Read more
- Does exposure to an acute psychosocial stressor affect the development of physiological emotional signals during decision-making?
- Does cortisol reactivity moderate the relationship between physiological emotional signals and decision-making?
- Are there sex differences in these relationships?
Researchers will compare participants exposed to a standardized psychosocial stress procedure, with participants exposed to a non-stressful control condition.
Participants will:
- Be randomly assigned to either a psychosocial stress condition or a control condition.
- Complete a gambling decision-making task following the experimental manipulation.
- Provide multiple saliva samples and subjective stress ratings throughout the session to assess stress reactivity.
- Undergo continuous electrodermal activity recording during the decision-making task to measure physiological emotional signals.
- Conditions
- Healthy Young Adults
- Being tested
- Trier Social Stress Test
- Keywords
- Decision-making, Stress
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Trier Social Stress TestOther
Participants completed a slightly modified version of the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), a validated psychosocial stress induction protocol. The protocol involved a 10-minute anticipation period followed by a 10-minute test phase: a 5-minute mock job interview and a 5-minute surprise mental arithmetic task. During the test phase, participants stood in front of a one-way mirror ("Panel-out" version) and were told they were being observed by behavioral analysts and recorded via camera, although no recording took place and the analysts were lab confederates.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Stress condition | Experimental | Participants completed a slightly modified version of the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), a validated psychosocial stress induction protocol. The protocol involved a 10-minute anticipation period followed by a 10-minute test phase: a 5-minute mock job interview and a 5-minute surprise mental arithmetic task. During the test phase, participants stood in front of a one-way mirror ("Panel-out" version) and were told they were being observed by behavioral analysts and recorded via camera, although no recording took place and the analysts were lab confederates. Receives: Other: Trier Social Stress Test |
| Control condition | No intervention | In the control condition, participants read magazines for an equivalent period of time to the Stress condition. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Decision-making as assessed by the Iowa Gambling Task (probability of drawing from the risky decks vs safe decks)
Decision-making was assessed using the Iowa Gambling Task. In this task, participants need to draw 100 cards among 4 decks offering different win-loss contingencies. Some card decks are risky (large gains and losses), whereas some are safe (small gains and losses). The dependent variable was a binary variable indicating whether the participant drew a card from the risky (coded as 1) or the safe decks (coded as 0).
Measured: Immediately after completing the experimental condition (Stress or control condition)
Secondary outcomes (1)
Difference in cortisol levels between the two conditions.
Cortisol (ug/dL) was quantified for six saliva samples in each condition (Stress or control).
Measured: Baseline (just before the experimental condition is conducted), 10, 20, 50, 60, 70 minutes after the beginning of the experimental condition.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted14 Jul 2026
- Study start13 Sep 2021
- Primary completion7 Nov 2024
- Study completion7 Nov 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Healthy Young AdultsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 116 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Marie-France Marin
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor-investigator, Marie-France Marin, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en santé Mentale de Montréal
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07702747
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2021-2508
- Status last verified
- Jul 2026
- First submitted
- 1 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 14 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: The anonymized dataset used for the present study will be shared on the public repository Open Science Framework.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 14 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Stress-induced Cortisol Clouds the Gut Feeling in Decision-making: A Randomized Controlled Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07702747
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2021-2508
- Conditions
- Healthy Young Adults
- Keywords
- Decision-making, Stress
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 116 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Marie-France MarinUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 13 Sep 2021 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 7 Nov 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 7 Nov 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 14 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this study is to learn how acute psychosocial stress influences decision-making in healthy young adults. It will also examine whether cortisol reactivity, a biological stress response, changes the influence of physiological emotional signals on decision-making (i.e., the gut feeling indicating risks).
The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does exposure to an acute psychosocial stressor affect the development of physiological emotional signals during decision-making?
- Does cortisol reactivity moderate the relationship between physiological emotional signals and decision-making?
- Are there sex differences in these relationships?
Researchers will compare participants exposed to a standardized psychosocial stress procedure, with participants exposed to a non-stressful control condition.
Participants will:
- Be randomly assigned to either a psychosocial stress condition or a control condition.
- Complete a gambling decision-making task following the experimental manipulation.
- Provide multiple saliva samples and subjective stress ratings throughout the session to assess stress reactivity.
- Undergo continuous electrodermal activity recording during the decision-making task to measure physiological emotional signals.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Stress condition | Experimental | Other: Trier Social Stress TestParticipants completed a slightly modified version of the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), a validated psychosocial stress induction protocol. The protocol involved a 10-minute anticipation period followed by a 10-minute test phase: a 5-minute mock job interview and a 5-minute surprise mental arithmetic task. During the test phase, participants stood in front of a one-way mirror ("Panel-out" version) and were told they were being observed by behavioral analysts and recorded via camera, although no recording took place and the analysts were lab confederates. |
| Control condition | No intervention | –In the control condition, participants read magazines for an equivalent period of time to the Stress condition. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 35 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Adult aged 18-35 years old.
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Current or past psychiatric/neurodevelopmental disorders
- Physical illness
- Medication use (except hormonal contraception)
- Alcohol consumption exceeding Health Canada guidelines (>10 drinks/week for women, >15 for men)
- Smoking more than 7 cigarettes/day.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Trier Social Stress TestParticipants completed a slightly modified version of the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), a validated psychosocial stress induction protocol. The protocol involved a 10-minute anticipation period followed by a 10-minute test phase: a 5-minute mock job interview and a 5-minute surprise mental arithmetic task. During the test phase, participants stood in front of a one-way mirror ("Panel-out" version) and were told they were being observed by behavioral analysts and recorded via camera, although no recording took place and the analysts were lab confederates. | Other | Stress condition |
Primary outcome
Decision-making as assessed by the Iowa Gambling Task (probability of drawing from the risky decks vs safe decks)
Time frame: Immediately after completing the experimental condition (Stress or control condition)
Decision-making was assessed using the Iowa Gambling Task. In this task, participants need to draw 100 cards among 4 decks offering different win-loss contingencies. Some card decks are risky (large gains and losses), whereas some are safe (small gains and losses). The dependent variable was a binary variable indicating whether the participant drew a card from the risky (coded as 1) or the safe decks (coded as 0).
1 secondary outcome
Difference in cortisol levels between the two conditions.
Time frame: Baseline (just before the experimental condition is conducted), 10, 20, 50, 60, 70 minutes after the beginning of the experimental condition.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 14 Jul 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. The anonymized dataset used for the present study will be shared on the public repository Open Science Framework.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Trier Social Stress Test in people with Healthy Young Adults, run by Marie-France Marin at 1 site in Canada.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 14 Jul 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Decision-making as assessed by the Iowa Gambling Task (probability of drawing from the risky decks vs safe decks) (time frame: Immediately after completing the experimental condition (Stress or control condition)). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 14 Jul 2026.