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Merz CJ, Wolf OT. How stress hormones shape memories of fear and anxiety in humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104901. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Lupien SJ, Leclaire S, Majeur D, Raymond C, Jean Baptiste F, Giguère CE. ‘Doctor, I am so stressed out!’ A descriptive study of biological, psychological, and socioemotional markers of stress in individuals who self-identify as being ‘very stressed out’ or ‘zen’. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 18:100454. [PMID: 35573809 PMCID: PMC9092258 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Surveys report that about three-quarters of visits to general practitioners in America are for stress-related complaints. Animal and human studies have consistently demonstrated that exposure to acute and/or chronic stress leads to the activation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and/or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and to the production of catecholamines and glucocorticoids. Yet, many studies performed in humans do not report significant associations between subjective feelings of stress and increases in these stress biomarkers. Consequently, it is not clear whether the stress-related complaints of individuals are associated with significant increases in these stress biomarkers. In the present study, we measured whether individuals who self-identify as being ‘very stressed out’ or ‘zen’ present differences in psychological (depression and anxiety symptoms), biological (basal and reactive levels of glucocorticoids and alpha-amylase) and socioemotional (emotion regulation, mind wandering, personality, resilience and positive mental health) factors associated with stress. Salivary levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase were obtained in the home environment and in reaction to the Trier Social Stress Test in 123 adults aged between 19 and 55 years. All participants completed questionnaires assessing the psychological and socioemotional factors described above. The results showed that groups significantly differed on almost all psychological and socioemotional factors, although we found no significant group differences on biological markers of stress (cortisol or alpha-amylase). These results suggest that when people complain of being ‘very stressed out’, what they may really be alluding to is an experience of psychological distress that is related to poor emotion regulation capacities. It is thus possible that the construct of stress used by people to discuss their internal state of 'stress' is quite different than the construct of stress measured in animal and human laboratories using biomarkers of 'stress'. ‘Very stressed out’ individuals present more symptoms of depression and anxiety than ‘zen’ individuals. They also present more difficulties in emotion regulation and more mind wandering. However, there is no difference between groups on basal alpha-amylase and reactive cortisol and alpha-amylase. ‘Stress’ in the public may be more related to difficulties in emotion regulation capacities than to dysregulations of stress biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia J. Lupien
- Research Center of the University Institute in Mental Health of Montreal, Canada
- Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Montreal, Canada
- Corresponding author. Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Research Centre, Montreal Mental Health University Institute, 7401, Hochelaga Stress, Montréal, Quebec, Canada, H1N 3M5.
| | - Sarah Leclaire
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Montreal, Canada
- Research Center of the University Institute in Mental Health of Montreal, Canada
- Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Canada
| | - Danie Majeur
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Montreal, Canada
- Research Center of the University Institute in Mental Health of Montreal, Canada
- Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Canada
| | - Catherine Raymond
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Montreal, Canada
- Research Center of the University Institute in Mental Health of Montreal, Canada
- Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Canada
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Thayer JF, Mather M, Koenig J. Stress and aging: A neurovisceral integration perspective. Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13804. [PMID: 33723899 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Darwin emphasized the intimate relationship between the brain and the heart over 150 years ago. Healthy aging is associated with significant changes in both the brain and the heart. The changes between these, the two most important organs of the body, are linked via the vagus nerve. In this review, we examine the normative changes with aging and the effect that stress may have on how the brain-heart connection changes with age. We provide a framework based on the concept of neurovisceral integration and propose that stress regulation is emotion regulation. As such, studies that have investigated emotion regulation may yield insights into successful stress regulation that helps protect people from age-related decline. In addition, interventions that improve brain health also improve heart health and vice versa. We conclude by noting that significant sex and ethnic differences exist but that future studies are needed to more fully explicate how they may moderate the associations between stress and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian F Thayer
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Mara Mather
- Department of Psychology, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Julian Koenig
- Section for Experimental Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Abstract
The cumulative science linking stress to negative health outcomes is vast. Stress can affect health directly, through autonomic and neuroendocrine responses, but also indirectly, through changes in health behaviors. In this review, we present a brief overview of (a) why we should be interested in stress in the context of health; (b) the stress response and allostatic load; (c) some of the key biological mechanisms through which stress impacts health, such as by influencing hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation and cortisol dynamics, the autonomic nervous system, and gene expression; and (d) evidence of the clinical relevance of stress, exemplified through the risk of infectious diseases. The studies reviewed in this article confirm that stress has an impact on multiple biological systems. Future work ought to consider further the importance of early-life adversity and continue to explore how different biological systems interact in the context of stress and health processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daryl B O'Connor
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom;
| | - Julian F Thayer
- Department of Psychological Science, School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA;
| | - Kavita Vedhara
- Division of Primary Care, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom;
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Izen SC, Lapp HE, Harris DA, Hunter RG, Ciaramitaro VM. Seeing a Face in a Crowd of Emotional Voices: Changes in Perception and Cortisol in Response to Emotional Information across the Senses. Brain Sci 2019; 9:brainsci9080176. [PMID: 31349644 PMCID: PMC6721384 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci9080176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
One source of information we glean from everyday experience, which guides social interaction, is assessing the emotional state of others. Emotional state can be expressed through several modalities: body posture or movements, body odor, touch, facial expression, or the intonation in a voice. Much research has examined emotional processing within one sensory modality or the transfer of emotional processing from one modality to another. Yet, less is known regarding interactions across different modalities when perceiving emotions, despite our common experience of seeing emotion in a face while hearing the corresponding emotion in a voice. Our study examined if visual and auditory emotions of matched valence (congruent) conferred stronger perceptual and physiological effects compared to visual and auditory emotions of unmatched valence (incongruent). We quantified how exposure to emotional faces and/or voices altered perception using psychophysics and how it altered a physiological proxy for stress or arousal using salivary cortisol. While we found no significant advantage of congruent over incongruent emotions, we found that changes in cortisol were associated with perceptual changes. Following exposure to negative emotional content, larger decreases in cortisol, indicative of less stress, correlated with more positive perceptual after-effects, indicative of stronger biases to see neutral faces as happier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Izen
- Department of Psychology, Developmental and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Hannah E Lapp
- Department of Psychology, Developmental and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Daniel A Harris
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
| | - Richard G Hunter
- Department of Psychology, Developmental and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Vivian M Ciaramitaro
- Department of Psychology, Developmental and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA.
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Ersig AL, Schutte DL, Standley J, Leslie EJ, Zimmerman B, Hanrahan K, Murray JC, McCarthy AM. Genetic Variants and the Cortisol Response in Children: An Exploratory Study. Biol Res Nurs 2019; 21:157-165. [PMID: 30700110 PMCID: PMC6700893 DOI: 10.1177/1099800419826315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We examined genomic variation potentially associated with the cortisol stress response in children having a painful medical procedure. DESIGN Children 4-10 years old having a peripheral intravenous line inserted provided saliva samples for evaluation of the cortisol response as a biological measure of distress: two on the day of the procedure and two at home on a nonstressful day for comparison values. Children and biological parents also provided samples for genotyping of variants with known or suspected association with the cortisol stress response. Analysis included child-only association and family-based transmission disequilibrium tests (TDTs). RESULTS Genotype and phenotype data on the cortisol stress response were available from 326 children for child-only association analyses and 376 complete family trios for TDTs. Children were 50% female, an average of 7.5 years old, and mostly (83%) White/non-Hispanic. We identified four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) potentially associated with the cortisol stress response: rs1176744 ( HTR3B), rs10062367 ( CRHBP), rs634479 ( OPRM1), and rs8030107 ( NTRK3). Family-based analysis identified a two-SNP haplotype in HTR1B suggestive for association with the cortisol response (rs6296, rs11568817). Allelic TDTs identified rs7897947 ( NFKB2) as potentially related to cortisol response. CONCLUSIONS Findings provide preliminary evidence for genes potentially important in cortisol response to an acute stressor in children in the serotonin, dopamine, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor pathways, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and the inflammatory response. Combined with analyses of related phenotypes and clinical data, these results could help identify patients at increased risk of adverse responses to painful medical procedures who might benefit from tailored interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne L. Ersig
- School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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Do adding attachment, oppression, cumulative and proliferation trauma dynamics to PTSD Criterion “a” improve its predictive validity: Toward a paradigm shift? CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-019-00206-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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DeWilde C, Carrington J, Abbate A, Burton CW, Bearman G, Salyer J. Structural Stress and Otherness: How Do They Influence Psychological Stress? J Transcult Nurs 2019; 30:478-491. [PMID: 30646827 DOI: 10.1177/1043659618823915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: This study represents the initial steps in researching the cultural distress model and explores the cumulative layering of stressors that place the patient at risk for cultural distress, including structural stress and otherness. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational analysis of intersecting identities (Structural Stressors), ethnicity-related stressors (Otherness) and ethnic-identity (Otherness) on psychological stress. Participants were also asked to define the word culture. Results: Results indicated that structural stressors did not significantly influence on psychological stress but were associated with perception of discrimination. The experience of otherness significantly influenced psychological stress. Discussion: Given the association between structural stress and perceived discrimination, additional research and tool development is needed to better understand how structural stressors influence psychological stress. Participant definitions of culture fell into two primary themes: Collectiveness and Individualness, indicating that the way we live is influenced by shared experiences, yet also a product of individual choices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Jeanne Salyer
- 1 Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
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Beutel TF, Zwerenz R, Michal M. Psychosocial stress impairs health behavior in patients with mental disorders. BMC Psychiatry 2018; 18:375. [PMID: 30509234 PMCID: PMC6278074 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-018-1956-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND It has been shown, that in the general population psychosocial stress affects health behaviors. However similar studies of high risk populations are sparse. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study is to analyze the association between common psychosocial stressors and health behavior in a sample of patients with mental disorders. METHODS We analyzed data of n = 2326 outpatients from a mental health care department. Severity of psychosocial stress was assessed by the PHQ-stress module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Health behaviors included obesity, uncontrolled eating, smoking and physical inactivity. Multiple binary regression models were conducted for the PHQ-stress score and for each of the ten PHQ-stress items as independent variables. RESULTS 'Financial stress' and 'having no one to turn to with problems' were mainly associated with adverse health behaviors after adjustment for multivariate effects. The most affected health behaviors were uncontrolled eating in both sexes and obesity in women. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate specific influences of psychosocial stressors on unhealthy behaviors in a clinical sample. Patients with financial strain and lack of social support might need specific support for improving their health behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Till Fabian Beutel
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany. .,Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Rüdiger Zwerenz
- grid.410607.4Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Matthias Michal
- grid.410607.4Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131 Mainz, Germany
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McEwen BS. Redefining neuroendocrinology: Epigenetics of brain-body communication over the life course. Front Neuroendocrinol 2018; 49:8-30. [PMID: 29132949 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2017.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2017] [Revised: 11/01/2017] [Accepted: 11/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The brain is the central organ of stress and adaptation to stress that perceives and determines what is threatening, as well as the behavioral and physiological responses to the stressor, and it does so somewhat differently in males and females. The expression of steroid hormone receptors throughout the brain has broadened the definition of 'neuroendocrinology' to include the reciprocal communication between the entire brain and body via hormonal and neural pathways. Mediated in part via systemic hormonal influences, the adult and developing brain possess remarkable structural and functional plasticity in response to stress, including neuronal replacement, dendritic remodeling, and synapse turnover. This article is both an account of an emerging field elucidating brain-body interactions at multiple levels, from molecules to social organization, as well as a personal account of my laboratory's role and, most importantly, the roles of trainees and colleagues, along with my involvement in interdisciplinary groups working on this topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce S McEwen
- Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave, New York, NY 10065, USA. http://www.rockefeller.edu/labheads/mcewen/mcewen-lab.php
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Bath KG, Russo SJ, Pleil KE, Wohleb ES, Duman RS, Radley JJ. Circuit and synaptic mechanisms of repeated stress: Perspectives from differing contexts, duration, and development. Neurobiol Stress 2017; 7:137-151. [PMID: 29276735 PMCID: PMC5736942 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2017.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2016] [Revised: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The current review is meant to synthesize research presented as part of a symposium at the 2016 Neurobiology of Stress workshop in Irvine California. The focus of the symposium was "Stress and the Synapse: New Concepts and Methods" and featured the work of several junior investigators. The presentations focused on the impact of various forms of stress (altered maternal care, binge alcohol drinking, chronic social defeat, and chronic unpredictable stress) on synaptic function, neurodevelopment, and behavioral outcomes. One of the goals of the symposium was to highlight the mechanisms accounting for how the nervous system responds to stress and their impact on outcome measures with converging effects on the development of pathological behavior. Dr. Kevin Bath's presentation focused on the impact of disruptions in early maternal care and its impact on the timing of hippocampus maturation in mice, finding that this form of stress drove accelerated synaptic and behavioral maturation, and contributed to the later emergence of risk for cognitive and emotional disturbance. Dr. Scott Russo highlighted the impact of chronic social defeat stress in adolescent mice on the development and plasticity of reward circuity, with a focus on glutamatergic development in the nucleus accumbens and mesolimbic dopamine system, and the implications of these changes for disruptions in social and hedonic response, key processes disturbed in depressive pathology. Dr. Kristen Pleil described synaptic changes in the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis that underlie the behavioral consequences of allostatic load produced by repeated cycles of alcohol binge drinking and withdrawal. Dr. Eric Wohleb and Dr. Ron Duman provided new data associating decreased mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling and neurobiological changes in the synapses in response to chronic unpredictable stress, and highlighted the potential for the novel antidepressant ketamine to rescue synaptic and behavioral effects. In aggregate, these presentations showcased how divergent perspectives provide new insights into the ways in which stress impacts circuit development and function, with implications for understanding emergence of affective pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G. Bath
- Department of Cognitive Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, United States
| | - Scott J. Russo
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Kristen E. Pleil
- Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Eric S. Wohleb
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45237, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06508, United States
| | - Ronald S. Duman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06508, United States
| | - Jason J. Radley
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
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Kagan J. Why Stress Remains an Ambiguous Concept: Reply to McEwen & McEwen (2016) and Cohen et al. (2016). PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2017; 11:464-5. [PMID: 27474135 DOI: 10.1177/1745691616649952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This reply to the commentaries by Cohen, Giannaros, and Manuck (2016, this issue) and McEwen and McEwen (2016, this issue) acknowledges investigators' reluctance to relinquish the term stress, despite the lack of agreement on its meaning and the evidence that is a sign of its presence. This brief reply urges scientists studying the exemplars of this ambiguous concept to search for robust relations that specify the type of event, the properties of the agent, the agent's circumstances, and the behavioral or biological consequences. The accumulation of these relations will reveal that the word stress adds little to our understanding.
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