Discussion
mental disorders, stress-related mental disorders, personality traits, approach-avoidance behaviors
Stress contributes to the onset and maintenance of several mental disorders in which imbalances in approach-avoidance behaviors play a central role. Investigating how two stress subsystems, e.g., the HPA axis and the SNS, influence approach-avoidance behavior in healthy participants could therefore have important implications for understanding the etiology of stress-related mental disorders. To understand these complex interactions, we investigated the role of cortisol, NA, gender, sex hormones, and personality traits on approach-avoidance behaviors in a foraging-under-threat task, namely the AACT.