Psychosocial stress and cortisol stress reactivity predict breast milk composition.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ziomkiewicz A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8172899 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:IntroductionNarcissistic personality manifests itself in at least two different forms: grandiose and vulnerable. In the present study, we compared cortisol and emotional responses to psychosocial stress between subjects high in vulnerable and grandiose narcissism scores, and examined possible associations between narcissism, other personality traits, and stress responses. We hypothesized that subjects with higher scores of vulnerable narcissism would show stronger emotional and physiological reactivity than those with high scores of grandiose narcissism.MethodsA final sample of forty-seven participants underwent a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), provided saliva samples to assess cortisol levels, and completed several personality questionnaires.ResultsConsistent with our hypothesis, subjects with higher scores of vulnerable narcissism had a stronger cortisol and emotional response than those with high scores of grandiose narcissism. Vulnerable narcissism was positively correlated with schizotypal traits, while grandiose narcissism was positively correlated with psychopathic traits. Participants with a mixed-type of narcissism were also discussed.DiscussionThis study provides the first evidence of differential physiological and emotional reactivity to social evaluation threat according to scores of vulnerable and grandiose narcissism. Since this is an exploratory study, the results must be interpreted with caution. However, the results will be informative for future confirmatory research with larger and more heterogeneous samples.
| S-EPMC9852882 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Threat-related amygdala reactivity and the activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis have been linked to negative psychiatric outcomes. The amygdala and HPA axis have bidirectional connections, suggesting that functional variation in one system may influence the other. However, research on the functional associations between these systems has demonstrated mixed findings, potentially due to small sample sizes and cortisol sampling and data analytic procedures that investigate only pre-post differences in cortisol rather than the specific phases of the cortisol stress response. Further, previous research has primarily utilized samples of adults of mostly European descent, limiting generalizability to those of other ethnoracial identities and ages. Therefore, studies addressing these limitations are needed in order to investigate the functional relations between amygdala reactivity to threat and HPA axis stress responsivity. Using a sample of 159 adolescents from a diverse cohort (75% African American, ages 15-17 years), the present study evaluated associations between amygdala reactivity during socioemotional processing using fMRI and HPA axis reactivity to a socially-evaluative cold pressor task. Greater amygdala activation to fearful and neutral faces was associated with greater cortisol peak values and steeper activation slope. As cortisol peak values and cortisol activation slope capture the intensity of the cortisol stress response, these data suggest that greater activation of the amygdala in response to social distress and ambiguity among adolescents may be related to hyper-reactivity of the HPA axis.
| S-EPMC10485794 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study examined the contributions of a polymorphism of the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor type I (CRHR1) gene (rs110402) and a history of child maltreatment--alone and in interaction--to patterns of cortisol reactivity in adolescents. Adolescents between the age of 13 and 17 years with (n=61) and without (n=97) a history of child maltreatment were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Salivary cortisol was assessed at baseline, and 15 and 30 min after the start of the speech portion of the TSST. Saliva samples for genotyping rs110402 also were collected. Adolescents with one or more G alleles of rs110402, relative to A allele homozygotes, and those exposed to maltreatment, relative to non-exposed adolescents, exhibited blunted cortisol reactivity to the TSST (although these associations approached, but did not reach, the level of statistical significance when accounting for underlying population structure in our racially and ethnically diverse sample). There was also a trend for a stronger child maltreatment association with cortisol hypo-reactivity among G allele carriers, but this association was not statistically significant. Findings suggest that CRHR1 variation may moderate the downstream effects of child maltreatment on HPA axis function, and implications for understanding mechanisms of risk associated with early adversity are discussed.
| S-EPMC3986273 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Acute and chronic stress are important factors in the development of mental disorders. Reliable measurement of stress reactivity is therefore pivotal. Critically, experimental induction of stress often involves multiple "hits" and it is an open question whether individual differences in responses to an earlier stressor lead to habituation, sensitization, or simple additive effects on following events. Here, we investigated the effect of the individual cortisol response to intravenous catheter placement (IVP) on subsequent neural, psychological, endocrine, and autonomous stress reactivity. We used an established psychosocial stress paradigm to measure the acute stress response (Stress) and recovery (PostStress) in 65 participants. Higher IVP-induced cortisol responses were associated with lower pulse rate increases during stress recovery (b = -4.8 bpm, p = .0008) and lower increases in negative affect after the task (b = -4.2, p = .040). While the cortisol response to IVP was not associated with subsequent specific stress-induced neural activation patterns, the similarity of brain responses Pre- and PostStress was higher IVP-cortisol responders (t[64] = 2.35, p = .022) indicating faster recovery. In conclusion, preparatory stress induced by IVP reduced reactivity in a subsequent stress task by modulating the latency of stress recovery. Thus, an individually stronger preceding release of cortisol may attenuate a second physiological response and perceived stress suggesting that relative changes, not absolute levels are crucial for stress attribution. Our study highlights that considering the entire trajectory of stress induction during an experiment is important to develop reliable individual biomarkers.
| S-EPMC7469805 | biostudies-literature
Project description: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.
| S-EPMC9937905 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Stress stimuli are ubiquitous and women do not enjoy any exemptions. The physiologic "fight-or-flight" response may be deleterious to the female lower genital tract microbiome if the stress stimuli persist for longer than necessary. Persistent exposure to psychosocial stress and stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) axes, and associated hormones are risk factors for several infections including genitourinary tract infections. Though this could be due to a dysregulated immune response, a cortisol-induced inhibition of vaginal glycogen deposition may be involved especially in the instance of vaginal infection. The estrogen-related increased vaginal glycogen and epithelial maturation are required for the maintenance of a healthy vaginal ecosystem (eubiosis). The ability of cortisol to disrupt this process as indicated in animal models is important in the pathogenesis of vaginal dysbiosis and the subsequent development of infection and inflammation. This phenomenon may be more crucial in pregnancy where a healthy Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiota is sacrosanct, and there is local production of more corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) from the decidua, fetal membranes and placenta. To highlight the relationship between the stress hormone cortisol and the vaginal microbiomial architecture and function, the potential role of cortisol in the maintenance of vaginal health is examined.
| S-EPMC6165882 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundMost depressed adults exhibit dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, including cortisol hyperreactivity to psychosocial challenge. In contrast, remarkably little is known about hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in response to psychosocial challenge among at-risk children and adolescents. This study examined cortisol response to psychosocial challenge in nondepressed, at-risk, dysphoric and nondysphoric control youth across different developmentally salient age groups (preschool, third-, sixth-, and ninth-graders).MethodsTwo samples of youth (Study 1-preschoolers; Study 2-third-, sixth-, and ninth-graders) without a history of clinical depression were administered developmentally appropriate psychosocial challenges. Of these nondepressed children, we examined youth at high-risk (n = 60) and low-risk (n = 223) status, as defined by elevated but subthreshold dysphoric symptoms according to multiple informants. Cortisol levels were assessed before and after a psychosocial stressor.ResultsNondysphoric control youth at all ages displayed the expected cortisol rise to challenge followed by return to baseline. However, prepubertal, at-risk, dysphoric children--specifically preschoolers and third-graders--exhibited cortisol hyporeactivity to challenge, whereas postpubertal dysphoric adolescents (ninth-graders) displayed hyperreactivity to the stressor. Additional analyses revealed that this switch from cortisol hyporeactivity to hyperreactivity among at-risk, dysphoric youth occurred as a function of pubertal development.ConclusionsFindings suggest a developmental switch in cortisol response for at-risk, dysphoric youth from preschool through adolescence and have implications for a developmental pathophysiological understanding of how at-risk youth across the lifespan might develop depressive disorder.
| S-EPMC2921478 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of the current study was to examine whether stigma consciousness shapes cortisol responses to social stress among women in the lab. Undergraduate women (N = 45) completed background measures and then participated in a public speaking task, with assessments of cortisol prior to the stressor as well as 20- and 40-minutes post stressor onset. Results from multilevel models revealed that women higher in stigma consciousness evidenced blunted cortisol reactivity following social stress across the study session compared to women lower in stigma consciousness. This interaction was robust to adjustment for a number of covariates, including demographic (e.g., age), physiological (e.g., menstrual cycle) and psychological (e.g., depressive symptomatology) factors. Potential explanations for observed cortisol patterns are discussed, including hypo-reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and elevated anticipatory stress. To conclude, implications for health disparities research are considered.
| S-EPMC5945208 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Although women and men differ in psychological and endocrine stress responses as well as in the prevalence rates of stress-related disorders, knowledge on sex differences regarding stress regulation in the brain is scarce. Therefore, we performed an in-depth analysis of data from 67 healthy participants (31 women, taking oral contraceptives), who were exposed to the ScanSTRESS paradigm in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Changes in cortisol, affect, heart rate and neural activation in response to psychosocial stress were examined in women and men as well as potential sex-specific interactions between stress response domains. Stress exposure led to significant cortisol increases, with men exhibiting higher levels than women. Depending on sex, cortisol elevations were differently associated with stress-related responses in striato-limbic structures: higher increases were associated with activations in men but with deactivations in women. Regarding affect or heart rate responses, no sex differences emerged. Although women and men differ in their overall stress reactivity, our findings do not support the idea of distinct neural networks as the base of this difference. Instead, we found differential stress reactions for women and men in identical structures. We propose considering quantitative predictors such as sex-specific cortisol increases when exploring neural response differences of women and men.
| S-EPMC8421693 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The effect of breast milk fatty acid (FA) composition, particularly levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), on infant health outcomes is unclear. Part of the reason for this is difficulties in collecting, storing and shipping milk samples to the laboratory. Here we report the validation of a dried milk spot (DMS) system to measure FA composition to help overcome these obstacles. Milk FA were measured by gas chromatography and reported as percent of total FA; the FA of primary interest in this study were DHA and industrially produced trans FA (iTFA). Experiments were carried out using pooled milk samples from US (n?=?5) and Malawian women (n?=?50). Experiments compared liquid vs. DMS samples (n?=?55), assessed stability of FA composition under different storage conditions (n?=?5), and compared the results from two different labs using the same methods (n?=?5).Both % DHA and % iTFA levels in liquid and DMS samples were strongly correlated (R(2)?=?0.99 and 0.99, respectively, P?<?0.0001). The % DHA in DMS samples was stable for up to four weeks at room temperature and up to three years at -80 °C; only slight deviations from the acceptable range of variability (±15 %) occurred in the 4 °C and -20 °C conditions for % DHA. The % iTFA was stable under all conditions. All % DHA and % iTFA were within 15 % of the referent when analyzed in two laboratories.Valid FA composition values can be obtained from DMS samples using this robust collection and transport system which should facilitate studies of the role of milk FA composition in infant development.
| S-EPMC4727292 | biostudies-literature