LIFE EVENTS, FRONTAL ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM LATERALITY, AND FUNCTIONAL IMMUNE STATUS AFTER ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESSORS IN ADOLESCENTS

Objective: Past studies have found that environmental stress affects c ellular immune function and that extensive variability exists in the m agnitude and direction of stress-induced immune changes. Past research also suggests that individuals with greater right, relative to left, resting frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) activation perceive environ mental stress as more aversive and have lower baseline cellular immune function. In this study, we examined environmental stressors, resting frontal EEG laterality, and immune responses to short-term psychologi cal stressors in adolescent boys. Methods: A sample of twenty-four 14- 16 year old right-handed boys underwent a recording of resting EEG and collections of blood taken before and after a laboratory protocol des igned to induce psychological stress, Blood samples were used to measu re changes in mitogen lymphoproliferative responses, natural killer (N K) cell activity, and T-cell phenotypic subsets. Life events were meas ured using self-report questionnaires, Results: Life events and fronta l laterality showed a first order interaction in predicting changes in lymphocyte proliferation to tetanus toroid (R(2) increment = .26, p < .01) and pokeweed mitogen (R(2) increment = .25, p < .02). The intera ction also predicted changes in NK activity (R(2) increment = .24, p < .02). Conclusions: Changes in lymphocyte proliferation and NK activit y were associated with negative life events only among individuals wit h greater left frontal cortical activation Our results suggest that re cent psychosocial stress and individual differences in resting frontal cortical activation are together linked to immunologic responses to a cute psychological stressors.