HPA axis and cortisol

HPA axis and aging in depression: systematic review and meta-analysis.: One of the most consistent findings in the biology of depression is an altered activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. However, data concerning this issue have never been examined with a focus on the older population. Here we present a systematic review and meta-analysis, based on studies investigating levels of cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in depressed participants older than 60 and compared with healthy controls. We f

The HPA axis in bipolar disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis.: Objectives: To provide a quantitative and qualitative synthesis of the available evidence on the role of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis in the pathophysiology of Bipolar Disorder (BD). Methods: Meta-analysis and meta-regression of case-control studies examining the levels of cortisol, ACTH, CRH levels. Systematic review of stress reactivity, genetic, molecular and neuroimaging studies related to HPA axis activity in BD. Results: Forty-one studies were included in the meta-analyses. BD

Depression and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activation: a quantitative summary of four decades of research.: Objectives: To summarize quantitatively the literature comparing hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function between depressed and nondepressed individuals and to describe the important sources of variability in this literature. These sources include methodological differences between studies, as well as demographic or clinical differences between depressed samples. Methods: The current study used meta-analytic techniques to compare 671 effect sizes (cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone,

The stress-buffering effect of acute exercise: Evidence for HPA axis negative feedback.: According to the cross-stressor adaptation hypothesis, physically trained individuals show lower physiological and psychological responses to stressors other than exercise, e.g. psychosocial stress. Reduced stress reactivity may constitute a mechanism of action for the beneficial effects of exercise in maintaining mental health. With regard to neural and psychoneuroendocrine stress responses, the acute stress-buffering effects of exercise have not been investigated yet. A sample of highly traine

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation and cortisol activity in obesity: A systematic review.: Background: Although there is substantial evidence of differential hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in both generalized and abdominal obesity, consistent trends in obesity-related HPA axis perturbations have yet to be identified. Objectives: To systematically review the existing literature on HPA activity in obesity, identify possible explanations for inconsistencies in the literature, and suggest methodological improvements for future study. Data sources: Included papers used

Cortisol stress reactivity across psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.: The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its end product cortisol are essential for an adequate response to stress. Considering the role of stress as a risk factor for psychiatric disorders, it is not surprising that cortisol stress reactivity has frequently been investigated in patients versus healthy individuals. However, the large heterogeneity in measures of the cortisol stress response has hampered a systematic evaluation of the evidence. We here report of a systematic literature r

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Cortisol Responses to Mental Stress and Leukocyte Telomere Attrition.

Context: Chronic psychological stress has been associated with shorter telomeres, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. One possibility is that the neuroendocrine responses to stress exposure are involved. Objective: To test the hypothesis that greater cortisol responsivity to acute stressors predicts more rapid telomere attrition. Design: We measured salivary cortisol responses to 2 challenging behavioral tasks. Leukocyte telomere length was measured at the time of mental stress testing and 3 years later. Participants: We studied 411 initially healthy men and women aged 54 to 76 years. Main outcome measure: Leukocyte telomere length. Results: Cortisol responses to this protocol were small; we divided participants into cortisol responders (n = 156) and nonresponders (n = 255) using a criterion (≥20% increase in cortisol concentration) previously shown to predict increases …

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Infant hair cortisol: associations with salivary cortisol and environmental context.

Early chronic stress has enduring implications for physical and mental health outcomes. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) has emerged as a marker of cumulative cortisol exposure, yet HCC in infants is not well understood. We examined how infant HCC relates to widely used basal salivary cortisol measures, maternal HCC, and environmental context in 111 infants assessed at 6 and 12 months of age. Maternal HCC at 6 and 12 months was correlated with infant HCC at 12 months. At 12 months, infant HCC was positively associated with waking salivary cortisol concentration (SCC), evening SCC, and area under the curve (AUC), but was independent of diurnal slope. Breastfeeding was associated with lower HCC, whereas increased sleep disruption was related to flatter slope. Reduced nighttime sleep duration was related both to higher HCC and to flatter slope. A person-focused analysis indicated that the …

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Prenatal Major Depressive Disorder, Placenta Glucocorticoid and Serotonergic Signaling, and Infant Cortisol Response.

Objectives: Extending prior studies of prenatal adversity and depressive symptoms, we tested associations between maternal prenatal major depressive disorder (MDD) and infant cortisol regulation. Based on prior findings by our group, we also tested placenta glucocorticoid (HSD11B2 methylation) and serotonin (SLC6A4 gene expression) signaling as moderators of links between prenatal MDD and infant cortisol. Methods: Participants were 153 mother-infant pairs from a low-income, diverse sample (M [SD] age = 26 [6] years). Repeated structured diagnostic interviews were used to identify mothers with (a) prenatal MDD, (b) preconception-only MDD, and (c) controls. Placenta samples were assayed for HSD11B2 methylation and SLC6A4 gene expression. Infant salivary cortisol response to a neurobehavioral examination was assessed at 1 month. Results: Daughters of prenatal MDD mothers had 51% higher base…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Oxytocin receptor gene methylation: converging multilevel evidence for a role in social anxiety.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a commonly occurring and highly disabling disorder. The neuropeptide oxytocin and its receptor (OXTR) have been implicated in social cognition and behavior. This study-for the first time applying a multilevel epigenetic approach-investigates the role of OXTR gene methylation in categorical, dimensional, and intermediate neuroendocrinological/neural network phenotypes of social anxiety. A total of 110 unmedicated patients with SAD and matched 110 controls were analyzed for OXTR methylation by direct sequencing of sodium bisulfite-converted DNA extracted from whole blood. Furthermore, OXTR methylation was investigated regarding SAD-related traits (Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS)), salivary cortisol response during the Trier social stress test (TSST), and amygdala responsiveness to social phobia related verbal stimuli us…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms predict infant NR3C1 1F and BDNF IV DNA methylation.

Prenatal maternal psychological distress increases risk for adverse infant outcomes. However, the biological mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Prenatal stress can impact fetal epigenetic regulation that could underlie changes in infant stress responses. It has been suggested that maternal glucocorticoids may mediate this epigenetic effect. We examined this hypothesis by determining the impact of maternal cortisol and depressive symptoms during pregnancy on infant NR3C1 and BDNF DNA methylation. Fifty-seven pregnant women were recruited during the second or third trimester. Participants self-reported depressive symptoms and salivary cortisol samples were collected diurnally and in response to a stressor. Buccal swabs for DNA extraction and DNA methylation analysis were collected from each infant at 2 months of age, and mothers were assessed for postnatal depressive sy…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Receptors, Glucocorticoid (mesh)

Salivary oxytocin increases concurrently with testosterone and time away from home among returning Tsimane' hunters.

Oxytocin, testosterone and cortisol can have opposing effects on social behaviour, yet few studies have examined their interactions. We measured changes in salivary oxytocin, testosterone and cortisol among Tsimane' men returning home after hunting, an ancient context of male status competition, parental investment and cooperation. Contra normal diurnal rhythm, oxytocin increased relative to baseline and this increase was positively associated with duration of the hunt and change in testosterone, but not cortisol, social context, hunting outcome or physical activity. The concurrent increase in endogenous peripheral oxytocin and testosterone is unexpected given their opposing independent effects on social cognition and behaviour, and has not been observed before. We discuss the potential significance of these effects for the biology of pair-bonding, parenting and social foraging in humans…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Maternal PTSD associates with greater glucocorticoid sensitivity in offspring of Holocaust survivors.

Intergenerational effects of trauma have been observed clinically in a wide range of populations, and parental PTSD has been associated with an increased risk for psychopathology in offspring. In studies of Holocaust survivor offspring, parental PTSD, and particularly maternal PTSD, has been associated with increased risk for PTSD, low basal urinary cortisol excretion and enhanced cortisol suppression in response to dexamethasone. Such findings implicate maternally derived glucocorticoid programming in the intergenerational transmission of trauma-related consequences, potentially resulting from in utero influences or early life experiences. This study investigated the relative influence of Holocaust exposure and PTSD in mothers and fathers on glucocorticoid sensitivity in offspring. Eighty Holocaust offspring and 15 offspring of non-exposed Jewish parents completed evaluations and provid…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Glucocorticoids (mesh)

Diurnal cortisol pattern, eating behaviors and overweight in low-income preschool-aged children.

This study examined, among children, the associations among chaos in the home, diurnal cortisol patterns, eating behaviors and being overweight. Participants included 331 low-income children aged 3-4years. Mean salivary cortisol-intercept (representing morning peak, 60min since waking) and cortisol-slope (representing diurnal decline after peak) were calculated using mixed models from samples obtained across 3days. Parents reported chaos in the home by questionnaire and responded to the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire, generating subscales Food Responsiveness (FR), Emotional Overeating (EO), Enjoyment of Food (EF), and Satiety Responsiveness (SR). Body mass index was categorized as overweight vs. not. Path analysis evaluated associations among chaos, cortisol patterns, eating behaviors, and weight status. Children living in more chaotic homes had lower morning cortisol levels, c…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Neuroimaging evidence for a role of neural social stress processing in ethnic minority-associated environmental risk.

Importance: Relative risk for the brain disorder schizophrenia is more than doubled in ethnic minorities, an effect that is evident across countries and linked to socially relevant cues such as skin color, making ethnic minority status a well-established social environmental risk factor. Pathoepidemiological models propose a role for chronic social stress and perceived discrimination for mental health risk in ethnic minorities, but the neurobiology is unexplored. Objective: To study neural social stress processing, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and associations with perceived discrimination in ethnic minority individuals. Design, setting, and participants: Cross-sectional design in a university setting using 3 validated paradigms to challenge neural social stress processing and, to probe for specificity, emotional and cognitive brain functions. Healthy participants include…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Childhood poverty and stress reactivity are associated with aberrant functional connectivity in default mode network.

Convergent research suggests that childhood poverty is associated with perturbation in the stress response system. This might extend to aberrations in the connectivity of large-scale brain networks, which subserve key cognitive and emotional functions. Resting-state brain activity was measured in adults with a documented history of childhood poverty (n=26) and matched controls from middle-income families (n=26). Participants also underwent a standard laboratory social stress test and provided saliva samples for cortisol assay. Childhood poverty was associated with reduced default mode network (DMN) connectivity. This, in turn, was associated with higher cortisol levels in anticipation of social stress. These results suggest a possible brain basis for exaggerated stress sensitivity in low-income individuals. Alterations in DMN may be associated with less efficient cognitive processing or …

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Relationship between vagal tone, cortisol, TNF-alpha, epinephrine and negative affects in Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Crohn's disease (CD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) involve brain-gut dysfunctions where vagus nerve is an important component. The aim of this work was to study the association between vagal tone and markers of stress and inflammation in patients with CD or IBS compared to healthy subjects (controls). The study was performed in 73 subjects (26 controls, 21 CD in remission and 26 IBS patients). The day prior to the experiment, salivary cortisol was measured at 8:00 AM and 10:00 PM. The day of the experiment, subjects completed questionnaires for anxiety (STAI) and depressive symptoms (CES-D). After 30 min of rest, ECG was recorded for heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. Plasma cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, TNF-alpha and IL-6 were measured in blood samples taken at the end of ECG recording. Compared with controls, CD and IBS patients had higher scores of state-anxiety and …

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

A longitudinal study of cortisol responses, sleep problems, and psychological well-being as the predictors of changes in depressive symptoms among breast cancer survivors.

Objective: This study examined whether the changes in sleep problems, attachment styles, meaning in life, and salivary cortisol over the course of 14 months were the predictors of changes in depressive symptoms in women with breast cancer at post-treatment stage. Methods: The study included 76 participants who completed active breast cancer treatment with longitudinal data collected at five points, including baseline assessment (T0) and the four follow-ups after baseline: T1 (in the 2nd month), T2 (in the 5th month), T3 (in the 8th month), and T4 (in the 14th month). The self-reported questionnaires included the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep (MOS-Sleep) scale; the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II); the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) scale for measuring anxiety and avoidance dimensions of attachment style; and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), consisting of t…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Effects of prenatal and postnatal parent depressive symptoms on adopted child HPA regulation: independent and moderated influences.

This study used a prospective adoption design to investigate effects of prenatal and postnatal parent depressive symptom exposure on child hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity and associated internalizing symptoms. Birth mother prenatal symptoms and adoptive mother/father postnatal (9-month, 27-month) symptoms were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory in a sample of 192 families as part of the Early Growth and Development adoption Study. Child morning/evening cortisol levels and child symptoms of internalizing disorders (according to mother/father report on the Child Behavior Checklist) were assessed at 54 months, and birth mother diurnal cortisol was measured at 48 months postnatal. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to test main effects and interactions of parents' symptoms predicting child cortisol, controlling for birth mother cortisol. Prenatal exposure to birth m…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Chronic stress exposure may affect the brain's response to high calorie food cues and predispose to obesogenic eating habits.

Exaggerated reactivity to food cues involving calorically-dense foods may significantly contribute to food consumption beyond caloric need. Chronic stress, which can induce palatable "comfort" food consumption, may trigger or reinforce neural pathways leading to stronger reactions to highly rewarding foods. We implemented functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess whether chronic stress influences activation in reward, motivation and executive brain regions in response to pictures of high calorie and low calorie foods in thirty women. On separate lab visits, we also assessed food intake from a snack food buffet and circulating cortisol. In women reporting higher chronic stress (HCS), pictures of high calorie foods elicited exaggerated activity in regions of the brain involving reward, motivation, and habitual decision-making. In response to pictures of high calorie food, high…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Gender differences in reward-related decision processing under stress.

Recent research indicates gender differences in the impact of stress on decision behavior, but little is known about the brain mechanisms involved in these gender-specific stress effects. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine whether induced stress resulted in gender-specific patterns of brain activation during a decision task involving monetary reward. Specifically, we manipulated physiological stress levels using a cold pressor task, prior to a risky decision making task. Healthy men (n = 24, 12 stressed) and women (n = 23, 11 stressed) completed the decision task after either cold pressor stress or a control task during the period of cortisol response to the cold pressor. Gender differences in behavior were present in stressed participants but not controls, such that stress led to greater reward collection and faster decision speed in males b…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

DHEA and DHEA-S response to acute psychosocial stress in healthy men and women.

This study investigates the effect of acute psychosocial stress on serum concentrations of DHEA and DHEA-S in healthy men and women. Twenty men and 19 women (age 30-50 years) underwent Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Physiological measurements were performed before, directly after the stress test and after 30 mins of recovery. In both men and women, significantly elevated DHEA and DHEA-S levels were observed in response to the stressor. There was a large inter-individual variation in the magnitude of the response, especially for DHEA but no statistical difference between men and women. Magnitude of the change in the levels of DHEA was found to be positively associated with the magnitude of the changes in ACTH, cortisol and heart rate. Furthermore, the results of this study suggest that the capacity to secrete DHEA and DHEA-S during acute psychosocial stress declines with age.

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (mesh)

Trait mindfulness modulates neuroendocrine and affective responses to social evaluative threat.

Background: Individual differences in mindfulness have been associated with numerous self-report indicators of stress, but research has not examined how mindfulness may buffer neuroendocrine and psychological stress responses under controlled laboratory conditions. The present study investigated the role of trait mindfulness in buffering cortisol and affective responses to a social evaluative stress challenge versus a control task. Methods: Participants completed measures of trait mindfulness, perceived stress, anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation before being randomized to complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) or a control task. At points throughout the session, participants provided five saliva samples to assess cortisol response patterns, and completed four self-report measures of anxiety and negative affect to assess psychological responses. Result…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Interactive effects of corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1, serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region, and child maltreatment on diurnal cortisol regulation and internalizing symptomatology.

Within an allostatic load framework, the effect of Gene × Environment (G × E) interactions on diurnal cortisol regulation and internalizing symptomatology were investigated. Variation in the corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) TAT haplotype and serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) was determined in a sample of maltreated (n = 238, 21.4% with early physical and sexual abuse) and nonmaltreated (n = 255) children (M age = 10.08) participating in a summer research camp. Internalizing and depressive symptoms were assessed by other and self-report. G × E effects for CRHR1 and maltreatment and early abuse on diurnal cortisol regulation were observed; CRHR1 variation was related to cortisol dysregulation only among maltreated children. Early abuse and high internalizing symptoms also interacted to predict atypical diurnal cortisol regulation. The interaction …

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Child maltreatment and allostatic load: consequences for physical and mental health in children from low-income families.

Child maltreatment and biomarkers of allostatic load were investigated in relation to child health problems and psychological symptomatology. Participants attended a summer research day camp and included 137 maltreated and 110 nonmaltreated low-income children, who were aged 8 to 10 years (M = 9.42) and racially and ethnically diverse; 52% were male. Measurements obtained included salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandosterone, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, and blood pressure; these indicators provided a composite index of allostatic load. Child self-report and camp adult-rater reports of child symptomatology were obtained; mothers provided information on health problems. The results indicated that higher allostatic load and child maltreatment status independently predicted poorer health outcomes and greater behavior problems. Moderation effects indicated that allostatic load was relate…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Inflexibly focused under stress: acute psychosocial stress increases shielding of action goals at the expense of reduced cognitive flexibility with increasing time lag to the stressor.

Dynamically adjusting the right amount of goal shielding to varying situational demands is associated with the flexibility of cognitive control, typically linked with pFC functioning. Although stress hormones are found to also bind to prefrontal receptors, the link between stress and cognitive control remains elusive. Based on that, we aimed at investigating effects of acute psychosocial stress on dynamic control adjustments. Forty-eight healthy volunteers were exposed to either a well-established stress induction protocol (the Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) or a standardized control situation before a selective attention (Simon) task involving response conflicts. The individual physiological stress response was monitored by analyzing levels of free cortisol and α-amylase activity in saliva samples showing that the TSST reliably induced an increase of endogenous stress hormone levels. A…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Stress-related noradrenergic activity prompts large-scale neural network reconfiguration.

Acute stress shifts the brain into a state that fosters rapid defense mechanisms. Stress-related neuromodulators are thought to trigger this change by altering properties of large-scale neural populations throughout the brain. We investigated this brain-state shift in humans. During exposure to a fear-related acute stressor, responsiveness and interconnectivity within a network including cortical (frontoinsular, dorsal anterior cingulate, inferotemporal, and temporoparietal) and subcortical (amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, and midbrain) regions increased as a function of stress response magnitudes. β-adrenergic receptor blockade, but not cortisol synthesis inhibition, diminished this increase. Thus, our findings reveal that noradrenergic activation during acute stress results in prolonged coupling within a distributed network that integrates information exchange between regions involve…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Craving in response to stress induction in a human laboratory paradigm predicts treatment outcome in alcohol-dependent individuals.

Rationale: Alcohol dependence is associated with high rates of recidivism. Stress has been shown to increase alcohol craving in alcohol-dependent individuals, but the association between stress-induced craving and alcoholism treatment outcome is not well understood. Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between strength of stress-induced alcohol craving in the human laboratory and subsequent drinking in a cohort of treatment-seeking, alcohol-dependent adults. Materials and methods: This is a prospective study assessing stress-induced craving in the lab and subsequent treatment outcomes in alcohol-dependent subjects enrolled in a 12-week outpatient study. Stress was induced using a previously developed, individualized, audio recorded stress script and validated with objective (salivary cortisol) and subjective measures of distress. In vivo craving for alc…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Allostasis and allostatic load in the context of poverty in early childhood.

This paper examined the relation of early environmental adversity associated with poverty to child resting or basal level of cortisol in a prospective longitudinal sample of 1135 children seen at 7, 15, 24, 35, and 48 months of age. We found main effects for poor housing quality, African American ethnicity, and low positive caregiving behavior in which each was uniquely associated with an overall higher level of cortisol from age 7 to 48 months. We also found that two aspects of the early environment in the context of poverty, adult exits from the home and perceived economic insufficiency, were related to salivary cortisol in a time-dependent manner. The effect for the first of these, exits from the home, was consistent with the principle of allostatic load in which the effects of adversity on stress physiology accumulate over time. The effect for perceived economic insufficiency was one…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Social vocalizations can release oxytocin in humans.

Vocalizations are important components of social behaviour in many vertebrate species, including our own. Less well-understood are the hormonal mechanisms involved in response to vocal cues, and how these systems may influence the course of behavioural evolution. The neurohormone oxytocin (OT) partly governs a number of biological and social processes critical to fitness, such as attachment between mothers and their young, and suppression of the stress response after contact with trusted conspecfics. Rodent studies suggest that OT's release is contingent upon direct tactile contact with such individuals, but we hypothesized that vocalizations might be capable of producing the same effect. To test our hypothesis, we chose human mother-daughter dyads and applied a social stressor to the children, following which we randomly assigned participants into complete contact, speech-only or no-con…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)

Touch attenuates infants' physiological reactivity to stress.

Animal studies demonstrate that maternal touch and contact regulate infant stress, and handling during periods of maternal deprivation attenuates the stress response. To measure the effects of touch on infant stress reactivity during simulated maternal deprivation, 53 dyads were tested in two paradigms: still-face (SF) and still-face with maternal touch (SF+T). Maternal and infant cortisol levels were sampled at baseline, reactivity, and recovery and mother's and infant's cardiac vagal tone were measured during the free play, still-face, and reunion episodes of the procedure. Cortisol reactivity was higher among infants in the SF condition and while cortisol decreased at recovery for infants in the SF+T, it further increased for those in the SF. Vagal tone showed a greater suppression when SF was not accompanied by maternal touch. Touch synchrony during free play was associated with high…

matched on Hydrocortisone (mesh), cortisol (text), Saliva (mesh)