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Finseth TT, Smith B, Van Steenis AL, Glahn DC, Johnson M, Ruttle P, Shirtcliff BA, Shirtcliff EA. When virtual reality becomes psychoneuroendocrine reality: A stress(or) review. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 166:107061. [PMID: 38701607 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
This review article was awarded the Dirk Hellhammer award from ISPNE in 2023. It explores the dynamic relationship between stressors and stress from a historical view as well as a vision towards the future of stress research via virtual reality (VR). We introduce the concept of a "syncytium," a permeable boundary that blurs the distinction between stress and stressor, in order to understand why the field of stress biology continues to inadequately measure stress alone as a proxy for the force of external stressors. Using Virtual Reality (VR) as an illustrative example to explicate the black box of stressors, we examine the distinction between 'immersion' and 'presence' as analogous terms for stressor and stress, respectively. We argue that the conventional psychological approaches to stress measurement and appraisal theory unfortunately fall short in quantifying the force of the stressor, leading to reverse causality fallacies. Further, the concept of affordances is introduced as an ecological or holistic tool to measure and design a stressor's force, bridging the gap between the external environment and an individual's physiological response to stress. Affordances also serve to ameliorate shortcomings in stress appraisal by integrating ecological interdependencies. By combining VR and psychobiological measures, this paper aims to unravel the complexity of the stressor-stress syncytium, highlighting the necessity of assessing both the internal and external facets to gain a holistic understanding of stress physiology and shift away from reverse causality reasoning. We find that the utility of VR extends beyond presence to include affordance-based measures of immersion, which can effectively model stressor force. Future research should prioritize the development of tools that can measure both immersion and presence, thereby providing a more comprehensive understanding of how external stressors interact with individual psychological states.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brandon Smith
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, USA
| | | | - David C Glahn
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA
| | - Megan Johnson
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, USA
| | - Paula Ruttle
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, USA
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Ilkevič E, Hausmann M, Grikšienė R. Emotion recognition and regulation in males: Role of sex and stress steroids. Front Neuroendocrinol 2024; 74:101145. [PMID: 38862092 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2024.101145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Understanding emotions in males is crucial given their higher susceptibility to substance use, interpersonal violence, and suicide compared to females. Steroid hormones are assumed to be critical biological factors that affect and modulate emotion-related behaviors, together with psychological and social factors. This review explores whether males' abilities to recognize emotions of others and regulate their own emotions are associated with testosterone, cortisol, and their interaction. Higher levels of testosterone were associated with improved recognition and heightened sensitivity to threatening faces. In contrast, higher cortisol levels positively impacted emotion regulation ability. Indirect evidence from neuroimaging research suggested a link between higher testosterone levels and difficulties in cognitive emotion regulation. However, this notion must be investigated in future studies using different emotion regulation strategies and considering social status. The present review contributes to the understanding of how testosterone and cortisol affect psychological well-being and emotional behavior in males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Ilkevič
- Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Life Science Center, Vilnius University, Lithuania
| | | | - Ramunė Grikšienė
- Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Life Science Center, Vilnius University, Lithuania.
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Constantinou E, Vlemincx E, Panayiotou G. Testing emotional response coherence assumptions: Comparing emotional versus non-emotional states. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14359. [PMID: 37282750 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Although central to theories of emotion, emotional response coherence, that is, coordination among various emotion response systems, has received inconsistent empirical support. This study tests a basic assumption of response coherence, that is, that it characterizes emotional states defining their beginning and end. To do so, we (a) compare response coherence between emotional versus non-emotional states and (b) examine how emotional coherence changes over time, before, during, and after an emotional episode. Seventy-nine participants viewed neutral, pleasant, and unpleasant film clips and rated continuously how pleasant they felt (experience) before (anticipation), during, and after (recovery) each clip. Autonomic physiological arousal responses (skin conductance level, heart rate; physiology) and facial expressions (corrugator, zygomatic activity; expression) were recorded. Within-person cross-correlations between all emotional response pairs were calculated for each phase. Analyses comparing coherence during emotional versus neutral film viewing showed that only experience-expression coherence was higher for emotional versus neutral films, indicating specificity for emotional states. Examining coherence across phases indicated that coherence increased from anticipation to emotional film viewing, as expected, for experience-expression and experience-physiology pairs (SCL only). Of those pairs, increased coherence returned to baseline during recovery, as theoretically assumed, only for experience-corrugator activity coherence. Current findings provide empirical support for theoretical views of response coherence as a defining feature of emotional episodes, but mostly for the coherence between experience and facial expressions. Further research needs to investigate the role of sympathetic arousal indices, as well as the role of response coherence in emotional recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Constantinou
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Elke Vlemincx
- Department of Health Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam Movement Sciences Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Boehme M, Rémond-Derbez N, Lerond C, Lavalle L, Keddani S, Steinmann M, Rytz A, Dalile B, Verbeke K, Van Oudenhove L, Steiner P, Berger B, Vicario M, Bergonzelli G, Colombo Mottaz S, Hudry J. Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum Reduces Perceived Psychological Stress in Healthy Adults: An Exploratory Clinical Trial. Nutrients 2023; 15:3122. [PMID: 37513541 PMCID: PMC10383821 DOI: 10.3390/nu15143122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Emerging science shows that probiotic intake may impact stress and mental health. We investigated the effect of a 6-week intervention with Bifidobacterium longum (BL) NCC3001 (1 × 1010 CFU/daily) on stress-related psychological and physiological parameters in 45 healthy adults with mild-to-moderate stress using a randomized, placebo-controlled, two-arm, parallel, double-blind design. The main results showed that supplementation with the probiotic significantly reduced the perceived stress and improved the subjective sleep quality score compared to placebo. Comparing the two groups, momentary subjective assessments concomitant to the Maastricht Acute Stress Test revealed a lower amount of pain experience in the probiotic group and a higher amount of relief at the end of the procedure in the placebo group, reflected by higher scores in the positive affect state. The awakening of the salivary cortisol response was not affected by the intervention, yet the reduction observed in the salivary cortisol stress response post-intervention was higher in the placebo group than the probiotic group. Multivariate analysis further indicated that a reduction in perceived stress correlated with a reduction in anxiety, in depression, and in the cortisol awakening response after the 6-week intervention. This exploratory trial provides promising insights into BL NCC3001 to reduce perceived stress in a healthy population and supports the potential of nutritional solutions including probiotics to improve mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Boehme
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
| | - Noëla Rémond-Derbez
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
| | - Clara Lerond
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
| | - Luca Lavalle
- Clinical Research Unit, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (L.L.); (A.R.); (S.C.M.)
| | - Sonia Keddani
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
| | - Myriam Steinmann
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
| | - Andreas Rytz
- Clinical Research Unit, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (L.L.); (A.R.); (S.C.M.)
| | - Boushra Dalile
- Translational Research Center in Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID), Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (B.D.); (K.V.); (L.V.O.)
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kristin Verbeke
- Translational Research Center in Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID), Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (B.D.); (K.V.); (L.V.O.)
| | - Lukas Van Oudenhove
- Translational Research Center in Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID), Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (B.D.); (K.V.); (L.V.O.)
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Pascal Steiner
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
| | - Bernard Berger
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
| | - Maria Vicario
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
| | - Gabriela Bergonzelli
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
| | - Sara Colombo Mottaz
- Clinical Research Unit, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (L.L.); (A.R.); (S.C.M.)
| | - Julie Hudry
- Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland; (N.R.-D.); (S.K.); (M.S.); (P.S.); (B.B.); (M.V.); (J.H.)
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Revisiting the stress recovery hypothesis: Differential associations of cortisol stress reactivity and recovery after acute psychosocial stress with markers of long-term stress and health. Brain Behav Immun Health 2023; 28:100598. [PMID: 36820051 PMCID: PMC9937905 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2023.100598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to excessive and long-term stress may result in dysregulation of the stress system, including the acute stress response. In particular, failure to downregulate stress-related reactivity may lead to prolonged stress responses and the accumulation of allostatic load. However, the contribution of altered acute cortisol recovery to chronic stress and associated health impairments has often been neglected. Addressing this lack of research, we explored whether recovery from - more so than reactivity to - acute stress captures the basal stress load of an individual. Using Piecewise Growth Curve Models with Landmark Registration, we analyzed cortisol reactivity and recovery slopes of 130 healthy participants exposed to a standardized psychosocial laboratory stressor. Reactivity and recovery were predicted by measures indicative of long-term stress and its downstream effects, including self-report questionnaires, diurnal cortisol indices [cortisol awakening response (CAR); diurnal cortisol slope], markers of pro-inflammatory activity (interleukin-6; high-sensitive C-reactive protein), and hippocampal volume (HCV). Among these measures, only an increased CAR was specifically and consistently associated with relatively impaired recovery. Since the CAR represents the physiological enhancement needed to meet the anticipated demands of the forthcoming day, this finding may highlight the contribution of cognitive processes in determining both CAR and acute stress recovery. Furthermore, greater cortisol reactivity covaried with smaller HCV, showing that increased acute reactivity translates to health-relevant downstream effects. The lack of further associations between long-term and acute stress measures may arise from biases in self-reported chronic stress and the rigorously health-screened study sample. Overall, our findings suggest that while cortisol stress recovery might not supersede reactivity as an indicator of the long-term stress load or associated health effects, recovery and reactivity have differential utility in describing individuals' allostatic states.
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Simon L, Rab SL, Goldstein P, Magal N, Admon R. Multi-trajectory analysis uncovers latent associations between psychological and physiological acute stress response patterns. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 145:105925. [PMID: 36115320 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Encounter with an acute stressor elicits multiple physiological and psychological response trajectories that spread at different times-scales and directions. Associating a single physiological response trajectory with a specific psychological response has remained a challenge, due to putative interactions between the different stress response pathways. Hence, multidimensional analysis of stress response trajectories may be better suited to account for response variability. To test this, 96 healthy female participants underwent a robust acute laboratory stress induction procedure while their psychological [positive and negative affect (PANAS)] and physiological [heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), saliva cortisol (CORT)] responses were recorded before, during and after stress. Combining these data using unsupervised group-based multi-trajectory modelling uncovered three latent classes that best accounted for variability across psychological and physiological stress response trajectories. These classes were labelled based on their psychological response patterns as: A prototypical response group that depict a moderate increase in negative and decrease in positive affect during stress, with both patterns recovering after stress offset (n = 55); A heightened response group that depict excessive affective responses during stress that recover after stress offset (n = 24); and a lack of recovery group that depict a moderate increase in negative and decrease in positive affect during stress, with both patterns not recovering after stress offset (n = 17). With respect to physiological acute stress trajectories, all three groups exhibited comparable increases in HR and CORT during stress that recovered after stress offset, yet only the prototypical group expressed the expected stress-induced reduction in HRV, while the other two groups exhibited blunted HRV response. Critically, focusing on a single physiological stress response trajectory, including HRV, did not account for psychological response variability and vice versa. Taken together, a multi-trajectory approach may better account for the multidimensionality of acute stress response and uncover latent associations between psychological and physiological response patterns. Compared to the other two groups, the prototypical group also exhibited significantly lower overall stress scores based on the DASS-21 scale. This, alongside the uncovered response patterns, suggest that latent psycho-physiological associations may shed light on stress response adaptivity or lack thereof.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Simon
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Sharona L Rab
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Pavel Goldstein
- School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Noa Magal
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Roee Admon
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
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Acute stress affects peripersonal space representation in cortisol stress responders. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 142:105790. [PMID: 35605473 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Peripersonal space is the representation of the space near the body. It is implemented by a dedicated multisensory-motor network, whose purpose is to predict and plan interactions with the environment, and which can vary depending on environmental circumstances. Here, we investigated the effect on the PPS representation of an experimentally induced stress response and compared it to a control, non-stressful, manipulation. We assessed PPS representation in healthy humans, before and after a stressful manipulation, by quantifying visuotactile interactions as a function of the distance from the body, while monitoring salivary cortisol concentration. While PPS representation was not significantly different between the control and experimental group, a relation between cortisol response and changes in PPS emerged within the experimental group. Participants who showed a cortisol stress response presented enhanced visuotactile integration for stimuli close to the body and reduced for far stimuli. Conversely, individuals with a less pronounced cortisol response showed a reduced difference in visuotactile integration between the near and the far space. In our interpretation, physiological stress resulted in a freezing-like response, where multisensory-motor resources are allocated only to the area immediately surrounding the body.
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