The hormonal stress response and its measurement.
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576 to 600 of 897Glucocorticoids, cytokines and brain abnormalities in depression.
Major depression (MD) is a common psychiatric disorder with a complex and multifactor aetiology. Potential mechanisms associated with the pathogenesis of this disorder include monoamine deficits, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunctions, inflammatory and/or neurodegenerative alterations. An increased secretion and reactivity of cortisol together with an altered feedback inhibition are the most widely observed HPA abnormalities in MD patients. Glucocorticoids, such as cortisol, are vital hormones that are released in response to stress, and regulate metabolism and immunity but also neuronal survival and neurogenesis. Interestingly depression is highly prevalent in infectious, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases and at the same time, depressed patients show higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Since communication occurs between the endocrine, immune and central …
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Seckl JR, Holmes MC (2007)reviewMEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usNature clinical practice. Endocrinology & metabolism496 citations Mechanisms of disease: glucocorticoids, their placental metabolism and fetal 'programming' of adult pathophysiology.
Epidemiological evidence suggests that an adverse prenatal environment permanently 'programs' physiology and increases the risk of cardiovascular, metabolic, neuroendocrine and psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Prenatal stress or exposure to excess glucocorticoids might provide the link between fetal maturation and adult pathophysiology. In a variety of animal models, prenatal stress, glucocorticoid exposure and inhibition (or knockout of) 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11beta-HSD2)--the fetoplacental barrier to maternal glucocorticoids--reduce birth weight and cause increases in adult blood pressure, glucose levels, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and anxiety-related behaviors. In humans, mutations in the gene that encodes 11beta- hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 are associated with low birth weight. Babies with low birth weight have higher plasma co…
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Stress and glucocorticoid receptor-dependent mechanisms in long-term memory: from adaptive responses to psychopathologies.
A proper response against stressors is critical for survival. In mammals, the stress response is primarily mediated by secretion of glucocorticoids via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and release of catecholamines through adrenergic neurotransmission. Activation of these pathways results in a quick physical response to the stress and, in adaptive conditions, mediates long-term changes in the brain that lead to the formation of long-term memories of the experience. These long-term memories are an essential adaptive mechanism that allows an animal to effectively face similar demands again. Indeed, a moderate stress level has a strong positive effect on memory and cognition, as a single arousing or moderately stressful event can be remembered for up to a lifetime. Conversely, exposure to extreme, traumatic, or chronic stress can have the opposite effect and cause memory…
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Miller GE, Murphy ML, Cashman R, Ma R, Ma J, Arevalo JM, Kobor MS, Cole SW (2014)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usBrain, behavior, and immunity138 citations Greater inflammatory activity and blunted glucocorticoid signaling in monocytes of chronically stressed caregivers.
Chronic stress is associated with morbidity and mortality from numerous conditions, many of whose pathogenesis involves persistent inflammation. Here, we examine how chronic stress influences signaling pathways that regulate inflammation in monocytes. The sample consisted of 33 adults caring for a family member with glioblastoma and 47 controls whose lives were free of major stressors. The subjects were assessed four times over eight months. Relative to controls, caregivers' monocytes showed increased expression of genes bearing response elements for nuclear-factor kappa B, a key pro-inflammatory transcription factor. Simultaneously, caregivers showed reduced expression of genes with response elements for the glucocorticoid receptor, a transcription factor that conveys cortisol's anti-inflammatory signals to monocytes. Transcript origin analyses revealed that CD14+/CD16- cells, a populat…
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Influences of maternal and paternal PTSD on epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene in Holocaust survivor offspring.
Objective: Differential effects of maternal and paternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been observed in adult offspring of Holocaust survivors in both glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity and vulnerability to psychiatric disorder. The authors examined the relative influences of maternal and paternal PTSD on DNA methylation of the exon 1F promoter of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR-1F) gene (NR3C1) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and its relationship to glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity in Holocaust offspring.
Method: Adult offspring with at least one Holocaust survivor parent (N=80) and demographically similar participants without parental Holocaust exposure or parental PTSD (N=15) completed clinical interviews, self-report measures, and biological procedures. Blood samples were collected for analysis of GR-1F promoter methylation and of cortisol levels in response to …
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Cortisol and testosterone jointly affect adolescent fairness.
Fairness is crucial in social interactions, shaping relationships and fostering cooperation, especially during adolescence. The developmental period, characterized by significant hormonal changes such as fluctuations in cortisol and testosterone levels, is pivotal for physiological and behavioral maturation. Despite the importance of the hormones, studies investigating their interaction effects on fairness within adolescent populations remain limited. The current study explored adolescent fairness development and how cortisol (bedtime basal cortisol and cortisol awakening response, CAR) and testosterone interacted in strategic and pure fairness towards friends and strangers, using adapted versions of the Ultimatum Game (UG) and Dictator Game (DG), separately, in 381 typically developing adolescents (37 % female, Mage = 14.6 years, SDage = 1.95). As adolescents matured, they increasingly …
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The Cortisol Awakening Response Mediates the Relationship Between Acculturative Stress and Self-Reported Health in Mexican Americans.
Background: The assessment of acculturative stress as synonymous with acculturation level overlooks the dynamic, interactive, and developmental nature of the acculturation process. An individual's unique perception and response to a range of stressors at each stage of the dynamic process of acculturation may be associated with stress-induced alterations in important biological response systems that mediate health outcomes. Evidence suggests the cortisol awakening response (CAR) is a promising pre-clinical biomarker of stress exposure that may link acculturative stress to self-reported health in Mexican Americans.
Purpose: The aim of the current study was to examine whether alterations in the CAR mediate the relationship between acculturative stress and self-reported health in Mexican Americans.
Methods: Salivary cortisol samples were collected at awakening, 30, 45, and 60 min thereafter,…
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Prebiotic intake reduces the waking cortisol response and alters emotional bias in healthy volunteers.
Rationale: There is now compelling evidence for a link between enteric microbiota and brain function. The ingestion of probiotics modulates the processing of information that is strongly linked to anxiety and depression, and influences the neuroendocrine stress response. We have recently demonstrated that prebiotics (soluble fibres that augment the growth of indigenous microbiota) have significant neurobiological effects in rats, but their action in humans has not been reported.
Objectives: The present study explored the effects of two prebiotics on the secretion of the stress hormone, cortisol and emotional processing in healthy volunteers.
Methods: Forty-five healthy volunteers received one of two prebiotics (fructooligosaccharides, FOS, or Bimuno®-galactooligosaccharides, B-GOS) or a placebo (maltodextrin) daily for 3 weeks. The salivary cortisol awakening response was sampled before …
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Telomere length and cortisol reactivity in children of depressed mothers.
A growing body of research demonstrates that individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) are characterized by shortened telomere length, which has been posited to underlie the association between depression and increased instances of medical illness. The temporal nature of the relation between MDD and shortened telomere length, however, is not clear. Importantly, both MDD and telomere length have been associated independently with high levels of stress, implicating dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and anomalous levels of cortisol secretion in this relation. Despite these associations, no study has assessed telomere length or its relation with HPA-axis activity in individuals at risk for depression, before the onset of disorder. In the present study, we assessed cortisol levels in response to a laboratory stressor and telomere length in 97 heal…
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Parent support is less effective in buffering cortisol stress reactivity for adolescents compared to children.
The goal of the present study was to investigate developmental differences in the effectiveness of parent support to alleviate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress responses of children (ages 9-10, N = 40) and adolescents (ages 15-16, N = 41). We experimentally manipulated the provision of parent support during the speech preparation period before a modified Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and examined its effect on levels of salivary cortisol secreted in response to this laboratory stressor. Analyses revealed a significant interaction of condition and age group such that social support from the parent (versus a stranger) significantly eliminated the cortisol stress response in children, but had no effect on the response among adolescents.
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Social isolation and diurnal cortisol patterns in an ageing cohort.
Background: Social isolation may operate as a psychosocial stressor which disrupts functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis.
Methods: Using data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, we tested whether living alone, not being married and social network size were associated with diurnal cortisol patterns at 60-64 years. We hypothesised that recent onset compared with long-term isolation would be more strongly associated with cortisol awakening response, cortisol decline over the day and evening cortisol. Models were adjusted for sex, smoking, body mass index, alcohol intake, psychological distress and financial difficulties.
Results: Those widowed within the last three years had a 36% (95%CI 6%, 73%) higher night time cortisol than those who were currently married. Those newly living alone also had a higher night time cortisol and flatter diurnal slop…
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Working-memory capacity protects model-based learning from stress.
Accounts of decision-making have long posited the operation of separate, competing valuation systems in the control of choice behavior. Recent theoretical and experimental advances suggest that this classic distinction between habitual and goal-directed (or more generally, automatic and controlled) choice may arise from two computational strategies for reinforcement learning, called model-free and model-based learning. Popular neurocomputational accounts of reward processing emphasize the involvement of the dopaminergic system in model-free learning and prefrontal, central executive-dependent control systems in model-based choice. Here we hypothesized that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress response--believed to have detrimental effects on prefrontal cortex function--should selectively attenuate model-based contributions to behavior. To test this, we paired an acute str…
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The cortisol awakening response predicts major depression: predictive stability over a 4-year follow-up and effect of depression history.
Background: The cortisol awakening response (CAR) has been shown to predict major depressive episodes (MDEs) over a 1-year period. It is unknown whether this effect: (a) is stable over longer periods of time; (b) is independent of prospective stressful life events; and (c) differentially predicts first onsets or recurrences of MDEs.
Method: A total of 270 older adolescents (mean age 17.06 years at cortisol measurement) from the larger prospective Northwestern-UCLA Youth Emotion Project completed baseline diagnostic and life stress interviews, questionnaires, and a 3-day cortisol sampling protocol measuring the CAR and diurnal rhythm, as well as up to four annual follow-up interviews of diagnoses and life stress.
Results: Non-proportional person-month survival analyses revealed that higher levels of the baseline CAR significantly predict MDEs for 2.5 years following cortisol measurement. …
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Neuroticism, acculturation and the cortisol awakening response in Mexican American adults.
Neuroticism is associated with greater susceptibility to the adverse effects of stress and greater exposure to the stressors associated with acculturation in U.S. born Mexican Americans. Neuroticism and acculturation have been associated with injury to crucial stress response systems and are known risk factors for certain mood and anxiety disorders. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of neuroticism, and acculturation on the cortisol awakening response (CAR) in healthy Mexican-American adults. Salivary cortisol samples were collected at awakening and 30, 45, and 60 min thereafter, on two consecutive weekdays from 59 healthy Mexican American adult males (26) and females (33), ages 18 to 38 years. Participants were assessed for level of neuroticism and acculturation. Data were analyzed using a mixed effects regression model with repeated measures at four time points…
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The salivary alpha amylase over cortisol ratio as a marker to assess dysregulations of the stress systems.
Different factors have been associated with changes in the regulation of the two major stress response systems of the human body, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Changes in these systems have been associated with various (psycho)pathologies across adulthood, and are thus frequently assessed within the context of allostatic load. Early Life Adversity (ELA) has been identified as one such factor. Individuals with histories of ELA show evidence of elevated basal and reactive salivary alpha amylase (sAA) levels (a marker of SNS activity), blunted cortisol levels (a marker of HPA axis activity), and an asymmetrical relationship between the two variables. However, variable methods used in the past to measure each variable, and the relationship between the two systems, prevent us from drawing firm conclusions. This preliminary study invest…
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Effect of childhood physical abuse on cortisol stress response.
Rationale: Abuse and neglect are highly prevalent in children and have enduring neurobiological effects. Stressful early life environments perturb the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which in turn may predispose to psychiatric disorders in adulthood. However, studies of childhood maltreatment and adult HPA function have not yet rigorously investigated the differential effects of maltreatment subtypes, including physical abuse.
Objective: In this study, we sought to replicate our previous finding that childhood maltreatment was associated with attenuated cortisol responses to stress and determine whether the type of maltreatment was a determinant of the stress response.
Methods: Salivary cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was examined in a non-clinical sample of women (n = 110). Subjects had no acute medical problems and were not seeking psychiatric treatm…
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Anxious attachment style and salivary cortisol dysregulation in healthy female children and adolescents.
Background: Attachment style has been linked with basal cortisol secretion in healthy adult women. We investigated whether dysregulation in basal cortisol secretion may be evident in younger healthy females.
Methods: Sixty healthy females aged 9-18 years (mean 14.16, SD ± 2.63 years) participated in the Attachment Style Interview (ASI). Eight saliva samples, synchronised to awakening, were collected per day on two consecutive weekdays to examine the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and the subsequent diurnal decline.
Results: Participants exhibiting an anxious attachment style had higher cortisol levels on awakening, in contrast to those who were securely attached. The anxious insecure group also showed an attenuated CAR compared to all other participants. Attachment style groups did not differ in cortisol secretion over the remainder of the day.
Conclusions: These findings indicate tha…
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Relation of intimate partner violence to salivary cortisol among couples expecting a first child.
Despite advances in understanding the role that several physiological systems play in the occurrence of general violence, little progress has been made toward understanding biological correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV). We explored involvement of one physiological system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Among 137 heterosexual couples expecting a first child, baseline level of HPA activity-assessed via salivary cortisol collected before a couple conflict discussion-was linked to both men's and women's violence perpetration. HPA reactivity to the conflict bout did not show an independent association with IPV. However, persisting elevation in men's, and down-regulation in women's, HPA activity during a further recovery period was linked to men's violence perpetration.
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Acculturation, childhood trauma and the cortisol awakening response in Mexican-American adults.
Exposure to chronic and traumatic stress has been associated with the dysregulation of crucial stress response systems. Acculturation has been associated with unique forms of chronic psychosocial stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of exposure to early traumatic stress and acculturation on dysregulation of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) in Mexican-American adults. Salivary cortisol samples were collected at awakening and 30, 45, and 60 min thereafter, on two consecutive weekdays from 59 healthy Mexican-American adult males (26) and females (33), ages 18-38 years. Participants were assessed for level of acculturation and exposure to early trauma. Data were analyzed using a mixed effects regression model with repeated measures at four time points. Mixed effects regression results indicated a significant Early Trauma x Time interaction (p=.0029) and a signifi…
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Prospective prediction of major depressive disorder from cortisol awakening responses in adolescence.
Levels of the stress-sensitive hormone cortisol increase dramatically in the first 30-40min after waking, an effect known as the cortisol awakening response (CAR). There is considerable cross-sectional evidence that psychosocial stress is associated with an increased CAR, and the CAR has been found to be altered in the presence of stress-related diseases, including major depressive disorder (MDD). To date, no prospective longitudinal studies have examined whether individual differences in the CAR serve as a premorbid risk factor for MDD. In a sample of 230 late adolescents, clinical diagnoses of MDD were predicted from the CAR as well as other indicators of basal cortisol functioning gathered 1 year earlier, including: waking cortisol levels, bedtime cortisol levels, the size of the CAR, average cortisol, and the slope of the diurnal cortisol rhythm across the waking day. Age and gender,…
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Attenuation of maternal psychophysiological stress responses and the maternal cortisol awakening response over the course of human pregnancy.
The effects of maternal stress during pregnancy may depend, in part, on the timing in gestation of the occurrence of stress. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of stage of gestation on maternal psychophysiological responses to stress using a standardized laboratory paradigm and on the cortisol response to awakening (CAR). A longitudinal design was employed to quantify maternal psychophysiological stress reactivity [changes in heart rate (HR), blood pressure, salivary cortisol, and psychological distress in response to the trier social stress test (TSST)] and the CAR at approximately 17 and 31 weeks gestation in a sample of 148 women. To account for the possible effects of habituation when being exposed to the same stress protocol twice, a non-pregnant comparison group (CG, N = 36) also underwent these assessments at two time points, with a comparable time interval bet…
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Grant N, Hamer M, Steptoe A (2009)MEDLINE-indexed journal, not yet read by usAnnals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine152 citations Social isolation and stress-related cardiovascular, lipid, and cortisol responses.
Background: Social support is a strong and consistent predictor of health outcomes, and social isolation predicts increased morbidity and mortality. The mediating processes are not completely understood.
Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between social isolation and cardiovascular and lipid responses to acute stress in the laboratory, and cortisol profiles over the day.
Methods: Cardiovascular and lipid responses to acute stress tasks, and salivary cortisol monitoring, were carried out in 238 healthy middle-aged men and women from the Whitehall II cohort. Social isolation was measured using an adapted version of the Close Persons Questionnaire.
Results: Social isolation was associated with slower post-task recovery of systolic blood pressure in men and women, a higher cholesterol response to stress in men only, and also with larger cortisol awakening respon…
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Self-reported sleep duration and sleep disturbance are independently associated with cortisol secretion in the Whitehall II study.
Context: The association of short sleep duration with cortisol secretion has not been thoroughly examined in large community dwelling populations and the relative importance of short sleep duration and sleep disturbance is unclear.
Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the relationships between self-reported sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and salivary cortisol secretion.
Design: This was a cross-sectional analysis using data from phase 7 (2002-2004) of the Whitehall II study. Sleep disturbances were assessed using a modified version of the Jenkins Scale.
Setting: The occupational cohort was originally recruited in 1985-1989.
Participants: Analyses included 2751 participants with complete cortisol measures and who collected their first sample within 15 min of waking, were not on medication affecting cortisol secretion, and had complete information for all covariates.
Out…
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Salivary cortisol is associated with diagnosis and severity of late-life generalized anxiety disorder.
Age-associated alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning may make individuals more susceptible to HPA dysregulation in the context of mood and anxiety disorders. Little to no research has been done to examine HPA axis function in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), particularly in late-life GAD, the most prevalent anxiety disorder in the elderly. The study sample consisted of 71 GAD subjects and 40 nonanxious comparison subjects over 60 years of age. We examined the hypotheses that elderly individuals with GAD will have elevated salivary cortisol levels compared to nonanxious subjects, and that elevated cortisol levels in GAD will be associated with measures of symptom severity. We report that late-life GAD is characterized by elevated basal salivary cortisol levels, with higher peak cortisol levels and larger areas under the curve, compared to nonanxious subje…
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Low cortisol, high DHEA, and high levels of stimulated TNF-alpha, and IL-6 in women with PTSD.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and immune function alterations; however, few studies have simultaneously investigated these systems in participants with PTSD. In this study, HPA axis and immune function in 26 women with PTSD with and without major depressive disorder was compared to 24 traumatized controls and to 21 nontraumatized controls. Posttraumatic stress disorder was associated with low cortisol and higher levels of DHEA and greater production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) compared to traumatized and healthy controls. Women with PTSD and depression exhibited greater production of IL-6 and higher levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) than those with PTSD, but without depression. These findings suggest dysregulated HPA axis and immune function in women with PTSD, and that…
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