Stress (Psychology)SAURONNCT07857239
Stress Through Audition: Uptake, Recovery, Oscillations During Nature Exposure
A study testing Natural soundscape auditory exposure and Urban soundscape auditory exposure in people with Stress (Psychology) and Environment, run by Hôpital le Vinatier.
Trial summary
The protocol the investigators propose aims to address certain gaps by developing a multimodal paradigm, based on: Induction of acute stress via the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST), a standardised protocol recognised for its effectiveness in activating both the HPA axis and the autonomic nervous system. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 45 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Stress (Psychology), Environment
- What is being tested?
- Natural soundscape auditory exposure and Urban soundscape auditory exposure
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 60 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- 30 Nov 2026to 30 Nov 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
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 45 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Men and women between 18 and 45 years of age inclusive;
- Informed about the study and having signed the consent form;
- With normal vision (with or without correction);
- Able to understand the experimental instructions;
- Covered by the French social security system;
- Proficient in spoken, read, and written French.
Who cannot join
- Having a vision or hearing impairment that could prevent the proper performance of tasks involving reading on a screen or paper and listening to auditory stimuli;
- Being a smoker;
- Having a somatic condition, particularly a neurological or endocrine disorder, or a circulatory disorder in the extremities (Raynaud's disease);
- Having or having had a personal or first-degree family history of diagnosed psychiatric disorders (according to Axis 1 of the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - DSM-5);
- Taking medication (except for oral contraceptives);
- Being pregnant or breastfeeding;
- Being under a protective measure (guardianship, conservatorship, protective order, etc.)
Trial locations and contacts
No sites are listed yet. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Frédéric Pr Frédéric Haesebaert, PhD contact
About this study
Official title: A Stress Study Through Auditory Soundscapes: Uptake, Recovery and Cerebral Oscillations During Nature Versus Urban Exposure
The protocol the investigators propose aims to address certain gaps by developing a multimodal paradigm, based on:
- Induction of acute stress via the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST), a standardised protocol recognised for its effectiveness in activating both the HPA axis and the autonomic nervous system.
- A 10-minute auditory exposure to two types of soundscapes (natural vs urban), designed in accordance with ecological standards (recordings taken from real-world environments and featuring representative natural and anthropogenic sound components, with the aim of making the stimulus as close as possible to real-life experiences).
- A battery of synchronised, multimodal measurements, including hormonal measurements (salivary cortisol at 10 time points), continuous autonomic nervous system measurements (HR, HRV, BP), a high-density EEG and analysis via EEG Source Imaging (ESI), a battery of cognitive tests typically sensitive to stress (Continuous Visual Attention Task, N-back, Delay Discounting Task), and a light polysomnography study conducted at home to assess delayed effects on sleep.
Read more
This design will enable the investigators to examine, as comprehensively as possible, the dynamics of post-stress recovery across several levels of analysis (biological, cerebral, cognitive and behavioural). It will also enable the investigators to identify the specific effects of the sound environment on each of these levels. By cross-referencing neurophysiological, hormonal and behavioural responses, we hope to document how natural sound environments actively regulate stress and cognition and to explore the mechanisms involved.
This project could pave the way for applications in mental health, preventive neuroscience, acoustic urban planning and non-pharmacological interventions, by providing a rigorous scientific foundation to support recommendations for the design or management of stress in professional, educational or clinical settings.
- Conditions
- Stress (Psychology), Environment
- Being tested
- Natural soundscape auditory exposure, Urban soundscape auditory exposure
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Natural soundscape auditory exposureBehavioural
10-minute passive auditory exposure to a standardized natural soundscape assembled from real-world recordings normalized and characterized. Delivered via headphones in a seated, resting position immediately following MAST-induced acute stress. Single administration per participant
Urban soundscape auditory exposureBehavioural
10-minute passive auditory exposure to a standardized urban soundscape assembled from real-world recordings normalized and characterized. Delivered via headphones in a seated, resting position immediately following MAST-induced acute stress. Single administration per participant.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Participants exposed to the natural soundscape | Experimental | Participants undergo the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST) to induce acute stress, followed by a 10-minute auditory exposure to a standardized natural soundscape delivered via headphones. Physiological (cortisol, HR, HRV, BP), cerebral (high-density EEG with source imaging), and cognitive measures are collected before and after the stress induction and the soundscape exposure. Receives: Behavioral: Natural soundscape auditory exposure |
| Participants exposed to the urban soundscape | Active comparator | Participants undergo the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST) to induce acute stress, followed by a 10-minute auditory exposure to a standardized urban soundscape delivered via headphones. Physiological (cortisol, HR, HRV, BP), cerebral (high-density EEG with source imaging), and cognitive measures are collected before and after the stress induction and the soundscape exposure. Receives: Behavioral: Urban soundscape auditory exposure |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in salivary cortisol concentration following acute stress and a natural soundscape exposure.
Salivary cortisol will be measured as a biological marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation, in response to an acute stress induction (MAST) followed by a 10-minute auditory exposure to a natural soundscape.
Measured: Day 1
Change in salivary cortisol concentration following acute stress and an urban soundscape exposure.
Salivary cortisol will be measured as a biological marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation, in response to an acute stress induction (MAST) followed by a 10-minute auditory exposure to an urban soundscape.
Measured: Day 1
Secondary outcomes (6)
Post-stress cognitive performance across sustained attention task for the urban soundscape arm.
Cognitive performance assessed via computerized task: the Continuous Visual Attention Task (CVAT, sustained attention) for the urban soundscape arm.
Measured: Day 1
Post-stress cognitive performance across sustained attention task for the natural soundscape arm.
Cognitive performance assessed via computerized task: the Continuous Visual Attention Task (CVAT, sustained attention) for the natural soundscape arm.
Measured: Day 1
Post-stress cognitive performance across working memory task for the urban soundscape arm.
Cognitive performance assessed via computerized task: the N-back task (working memory) for the urban soundscape arm.
Measured: Day 1
Post-stress cognitive performance across working memory task for the natural soundscape arm.
Cognitive performance assessed via computerized task: the N-back task (working memory) for the natural soundscape arm.
Measured: Day 1
Post-stress cognitive performance across decision-making task for the urban soundscape arm.
Cognitive performance assessed via computerized task: the Delay Discounting Task (decision-making) for the urban soundscape arm.
Measured: Day 1
Post-stress cognitive performance across decision-making task for the natural soundscape arm.
Cognitive performance assessed via computerized task: the Delay Discounting Task (decision-making) for the natural soundscape arm.
Measured: Day 1
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 Oct 2026
- Study start30 Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion30 Nov 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Nov 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Stress (Psychology)Studies 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
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Participants are assigned to one of two experimental arms: 10-minute auditory exposure to a natural soundscape or an urban soundscape, following induction of a standardized acute stress test (Maastricht Acute Stress Test, MAST). Physiological (salivary cortisol, HR, HRV, BP), cerebral (high-density EEG, EEG Source Imaging), and cognitive (CVAT, N-back, Delay Discounting Task) measurements are collected before and after sound exposure, allowing for inter-group comparison of post-stress recovery dynamics according to the type of sound environment. Delayed sleep monitoring using mild home polysomnography completes the assessment.
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Hôpital le Vinatier
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07857239
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- PRVT-03
- Acronym
- SAURON
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 16 Sep 2026
- Last updated
- 5 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No