Neurobiological and emotional impact of occupational stress in frontline police officers: a neuroimaging and neurochemical study.
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| Title: | Neurobiological and emotional impact of occupational stress in frontline police officers: a neuroimaging and neurochemical study. |
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| Alternate Title: | Impacto emocional y neurobiológico del estrés ocupacional en oficiales de la policía de primera línea: un estudio de neuroimágenes y neuroquímico. |
| Authors: | Wang, Wen-Yu (AUTHOR), Lin, Yi-Cheng (AUTHOR), Liu, Yi-Hsuan (AUTHOR), Lee, Pei-Lin (AUTHOR), Lin, Shang-Hua N. (AUTHOR), Chang, Li-Hung (AUTHOR), Lin, Ching-Po (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | European Journal of Psychotraumatology. Dec2025, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p1-18. 18p. |
| Subjects: | Psychological burnout, Police, Neuroplasticity, Job stress, Neurochemistry, Brain anatomy, Emotion regulation, Brain imaging |
| Abstract (English): | Background: Frontline police work demands continuous vigilance and rapid decision-making. These challenges engage neuroplastic adaptations in brain regions critical for threat processing and emotional regulation. However, the influence of chronic occupational stress on officers' emotional states, brain structure, and neurochemical regulation remains underexplored. Objective: To examine the associations between occupational stress, emotional changes, brain morphology, and neurochemical alterations in frontline police officers compared to healthy controls. Method: Thirty-three frontline police officers (mean age = 42.4 ± 8.3 years, 10 females) and thirty-six demographically matched controls (mean age = 38.0 ± 10.2 years, 13 females) underwent five neuropsychiatric assessments, structural magnetic resonance imaging with voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) targeting the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and parieto-occipital cortex (POC). Group comparisons employed p <.005 voxel-wise for VBM and false-discovery-rate (FDR)-corrected p <.05 for MRS. Correlations between burnout scores and neurotransmitter metrics (glutamate [Glu], γ-aminobutyric acid [GABA+], and excitatory/inhibitory [E/I] ratio) were assessed (p_FDR < 0.05, R2 > 0.10). Results: Frontline police officers reported significantly higher client-related burnout (CBI_3; p_FDR < 0.05). VBM revealed decreased grey matter volume in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex and right cerebellum (p <.005). MRS revealed that officers had lower levels of specific excitatory neurotransmitters (Glu/N-acetylaspartate (NAA)+N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), Gln/NAA + NAAG, and Glx/NAA + NAAG) in the dACC compared to controls (p_FDR < 0.05). Burnout scores correlated inversely with Glu and E/I ratio and positively with GABA + in the dACC (p_FDR < 0.05, R2 > 0.10). Conclusions: Occupational stress in frontline police officers is associated with elevated burnout, regional grey matter reductions, and neurochemical imbalances in the dACC. These findings highlight the neurobiological basis of stress-related burnout and may inform targeted interventions to support officer well-being. HIGHLIGHTS: Frontline police officers experienced higher levels of burnout and depressive symptoms compared to control participants. Structural and neurochemical brain alterations were observed in police officers, including reduced grey matter volume and lower excitatory neurotransmitter levels. Burnout, mood disturbances, and neurotransmitter alterations were inter-related, suggesting stress-related brain vulnerability in police officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Abstract (Spanish): | Antecedentes: El trabajo policial de primera línea demanda una continua vigilancia y rápida toma de decisiones. Estos desafíos implican adaptaciones neuroplásticas en regiones encefálicas críticas para el procesamiento de la amenaza y la regulación emocional. Sin embargo, la influencia del estrés ocupacional crónico sobre el estado emocional, estructura cerebral y regulación neuroquímica continúa sin ser explorada. Objetivo: Evaluar las asociaciones entre el estrés ocupacional, cambios emocionales, morfología cerebral y alteraciones neuroquímicas en oficiales de policía de primera línea en comparación con controles sanos. Método: Treinta y tres oficiales de policía de primera línea (edad promedio = 42.4 ± 8.3 años, 10 mujeres) y treinta y seis controles pareados demográficamente (edad promedio = 38.0 ± 10.2 años, 13 mujeres) fueron sometidos a cinco evaluaciones neuropsiquiátricas, imágenes de resonancia magnética estructural analizada mediante morfometría basada en vóxel (MBV) y a espectroscopía mediante resonancia magnética de positrones (ERM) dirigidas a la corteza cingulada anterior dorsal (CCAd) y la corteza parietooccipital (CPO). Las comparaciones entre los grupos emplearon un nivel de significancia de p <.005 a nivel de vóxel para la MBV y un valor de p corregido por tasa de descubrimientos falsos (TDF) < 0.05 para la ERM. Además, se evaluaron las correlaciones (p_FDR < 0.05, R2 > 0.10) entre las puntuaciones de agotamiento (burnout) y métricas de neurotransmisores (glutamato [Glu], ácido-γ-aminobutírico [GABA+] y la relación excitación/inhibición [E/I]). Resultados: Los oficiales de policía de primera línea reportaron un agotamiento (burnout) significativamente mayor asociado a los clientes (CBI_3; p_FDR < 0.05). El análisis mediante MBV mostró una disminución en el volumen de sustancia gris en la corteza orbitofrontal de forma bilateral y en el cerebelo derecho (p <.005). La ERM mostró que los oficiales presentaban menores niveles de neurotransmisores excitatorios específicos (Glu/N-acetilaspartato (NAA)+N-acetilaspartilglutamato (NAAG) [Gln/NAA + NAAG] y Glx/NAA + NAAG) en la CCAd en comparación con los controles (p_FDR < 0.05). Los puntajes de agotamiento (burnout) se correlacionaron de forma inversa con el Glu y con la relación E/I, y de forma positiva con GABA + en la CAAd (p_FDR < 0.05, R2 > 0.10). Conclusiones: El estrés ocupacional en los oficiales de policía de primera línea se encuentra asociado con agotamiento (burnout) elevado, reducciones regionales en la sustancia gris y desbalances neuroquímicos en la CAAd. Estos hallazgos enfatizan las bases neurobiológicas del agotamiento (burnout) asociado a estrés y pueden orientar intervenciones específicas para promover el bienestar de los oficiales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of European Journal of Psychotraumatology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Background: Frontline police work demands continuous vigilance and rapid decision-making. These challenges engage neuroplastic adaptations in brain regions critical for threat processing and emotional regulation. However, the influence of chronic occupational stress on officers' emotional states, brain structure, and neurochemical regulation remains underexplored. Objective: To examine the associations between occupational stress, emotional changes, brain morphology, and neurochemical alterations in frontline police officers compared to healthy controls. Method: Thirty-three frontline police officers (mean age = 42.4 ± 8.3 years, 10 females) and thirty-six demographically matched controls (mean age = 38.0 ± 10.2 years, 13 females) underwent five neuropsychiatric assessments, structural magnetic resonance imaging with voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) targeting the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and parieto-occipital cortex (POC). Group comparisons employed p <.005 voxel-wise for VBM and false-discovery-rate (FDR)-corrected p <.05 for MRS. Correlations between burnout scores and neurotransmitter metrics (glutamate [Glu], γ-aminobutyric acid [GABA+], and excitatory/inhibitory [E/I] ratio) were assessed (p_FDR < 0.05, R2 > 0.10). Results: Frontline police officers reported significantly higher client-related burnout (CBI_3; p_FDR < 0.05). VBM revealed decreased grey matter volume in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex and right cerebellum (p <.005). MRS revealed that officers had lower levels of specific excitatory neurotransmitters (Glu/N-acetylaspartate (NAA)+N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), Gln/NAA + NAAG, and Glx/NAA + NAAG) in the dACC compared to controls (p_FDR < 0.05). Burnout scores correlated inversely with Glu and E/I ratio and positively with GABA + in the dACC (p_FDR < 0.05, R2 > 0.10). Conclusions: Occupational stress in frontline police officers is associated with elevated burnout, regional grey matter reductions, and neurochemical imbalances in the dACC. These findings highlight the neurobiological basis of stress-related burnout and may inform targeted interventions to support officer well-being. HIGHLIGHTS: Frontline police officers experienced higher levels of burnout and depressive symptoms compared to control participants. Structural and neurochemical brain alterations were observed in police officers, including reduced grey matter volume and lower excitatory neurotransmitter levels. Burnout, mood disturbances, and neurotransmitter alterations were inter-related, suggesting stress-related brain vulnerability in police officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 20008066 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/20008066.2025.2572187 |
