Psychosocial stress based on public speech in humans: is there a real life/laboratory setting cross-adaptation?

In vitro modeling of the neurobiological effects of glucocorticoids: A review

Hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA)axis dysregulation has long been implicated in stress-related disorders such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are released from the adrenal glands as a result of HPA-axis activation. The release of GCs is implicated with several neurobiological changes that are associated with negative consequences of chronic stress and the onset and course of psychiatric disorders. Investigating the underlying neurobiological effects of GCs may help to better understand the pathophysiology of stress-related psychiatric disorders. GCs impact a plethora of neuronal processes at the genetic, epigenetic, cellular, and molecular levels. Given the scarcity and difficulty in accessing human brain samples, 2D and 3D in vitro neuronal cultures are becoming increasingly useful in studying GC effects. In this review, we provide an overview of in vitro studies investigating the effects of GCs on key neuronal processes such as proliferation and survival of progenitor cells, neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, neuronal activity, inflammation, genetic vulnerability, and epigenetic alterations. Finally, we discuss the challenges in the field and offer suggestions for improving the use of in vitro models to investigate GC effects.

Testosterone but not cortisol concentrations in hair correlate between mothers and their prepubertal children under real-life stress conditions

The aim of the present study is to test the hypothesis that there is an association between the neuroendocrine state, reflected by testosterone and cortisol concentrations in hair, of the mother and her child under difficult real-life stress conditions (COVID-19 pandemic). The research sample consisted of 45 healthy mothers and their prepubertal children (7 - 11 years) of both sexes. The hair samples of mother-child dyads were collected twice to obtain cumulative stress hormone concentrations from April till the end of June and July till the end of September 2020. Thus, 90 mother-child pairs were analyzed. The results showed that both cortisol and testosterone concentrations were significantly higher in the hair of mothers compared to those in their children. The results of cortisol concentrations in hair do not support the hypothesis stated above. In line with our hypothesis are the results of hair testosterone measurements showing a positive correlation between testosterone concentrations in mothers and their children. With respect to the known relationship of testosterone with aggressive behavior, an important finding is that above-mentioned correlation was particularly strong in women with intense subjective feelings of anger in the investigated three months period. Women with strongly prevalent subjective feelings of sadness failed to show a significant correlation between hair cortisol concentrations in mothers and their children, in spite of the known relationship of cortisol to depressive mood. It may be suggested that chronic testosterone secretion reflects the association between the neuroendocrine function of the mother and her child under real-life stress conditions.

Burnout in Obstetricians-Gynecologists: Its Prevalence, Identification, Prevention, and Reversal

Studies indicate that burnout rates among obstetricians-gynecologists range from 40% to more than 75%, which is in the middle to upper one-third of medical specialties. Symptoms range from feelings of underappreciation and unresolved fatigue, to cynicism, depression, physical symptoms, and illness. Burnout is associated with poor job satisfaction, questioning career choices, and dropping out of practice, impacting workforce concerns and patient access. Awareness of the symptoms and some simple stress and fatigue reduction techniques can decrease the risk of being trapped in the downward spiral of burnout. Successful interventions range from more sleep, to hobbies and vacations, to skilled counseling.

Neuroendocrine responses to a psychosocial stress test for larger groups of participants: comparison of two test exposures

Objective. Individual stress tests characterized by social evaluative threat and uncontrollability are known to elicit strong neuroendocrine responses. We tested whether a psychosocial stressor submitted to a larger group of participants (up to 60) may elicit comparable stress responses.Methods. A total of 59 adult subjects (33 women, 26 men) participated in the study, whereas 24 of them suffered from allergy and 35 were healthy. The stress test consisted of a distraction stress task followed by a speech task, in which the participants were randomly subjected to questions related to a topic that they had to prepare as well as arithmetic questions in front of their peers and a committee that responded in standardized and non-supporting manner. State and trait anxiety inventory (STAI) for anxiety state was administrated before and after the test and salivary samples taking. The test was repeated after five months.Results. The results showed that the shared psychosocial stress application in a larger group of subjects was prosperous. The larger group test (LGST) resulted in an enhanced subjectively experienced stress and an intensive sympathetic nervous system activation, reflected by elevated salivary alpha-amylase activity and the heart rate. The cortisol increment after exposure to the stress test was not significant. Repeated exposure to the test failed to reproduce the original stress responses with exception of the heart rate rise.Conclusions. In a larger group of subjects, the psychosocial stress test did elicit stress responses similar to the individual stress tests. Our data indicate that the above-mentioned stress test is apparently not an appropriate approach for the repeated use.

Salivary aldosterone and cortisone respond differently to high- and low-psychologically stressful soccer competitions

Aldosterone and cortisone are released in response to physical and psychological stress. However, aldosterone and cortisone responses in children engaged in physical competition have not been described. We examined salivary aldosterone and salivary cortisone responses among Hong Kongese boys, aged 8-11 years, during (1) a soccer match against unknown competitors (N = 84, high psychological stress condition) and (2) an intrasquad soccer scrimmage against teammates (N = 81, low psychological stress condition). Aldosterone levels increased during the soccer match and intrasquad soccer scrimmage conditions, consistent with the view that aldosterone responds to physical stress. During the soccer match, winning competitors experienced larger increases in aldosterone compared to losing competitors, indicating that the degree of aldosterone increase was attenuated by match outcome. Cortisone increased during the soccer match and decreased during the intrasquad soccer scrimmage. Competitors on teams that resulted in a tie had larger cortisone increases compared to winners or losers. These findings highlight that the degree of cortisone change is related to boy's cognitive appraisal of the competitor type (i.e., teammates vs. unknown competitors) and the competitive nature of the game (e.g., tie). These results shed new light on adrenal hormone mediators of stress and competition during middle childhood.

Focusing attention on biological markers of acute stressor intensity: Empirical evidence and limitations

ARMARIO, A, J. Labad and R. Nadal. Focusing attention on biological markers of acute stressor intensity: empirical evidence and limitations. NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS. The availability of biological markers that objectively quantify stress is a highly relevant issue. However, experimental evidence suggests that most physiological changes elicited by emotional stressors do not reflect their intensity and are not useful for this purpose. Thus, we review experimental evidence in animals and humans about the putative validity of neuroendocrine and sympathetic/parasympathetic variables to measure stress. Plasma levels of some hormones (e.g. ACTH, glucocorticoids, prolactin and catecholamines) have been found to reflect, at least under certain conditions, the intensity of emotional stressors in animals and probably in humans. However, the temporal resolution of hormone changes is insufficient to reflect the very dynamic psychological processes taking place while experiencing stressors. Cardiovascular parameters (e.g. heart rate and blood pressure) have much better temporal resolution but their validity as markers of stressor intensity either in animals or humans is problematic. Skin conductance and pupil dilation appear to be promising. Additional and more systematic studies are needed to demonstrate the actual validity of stress-induced physiological changes to quantify stress.

Prolonged performance-related neuroendocrine activation and perseverative cognition in low- and high-anxious university music students

Music performances are social-evaluative situations that can elicit marked short-term neuroendocrine activation and anxious thoughts especially in musicians suffering from music performance anxiety (MPA). The temporal patterns of neuroendocrine activity and concert-related worry and rumination (perseverative cognition, PC) days before and after a concert in low- and high-anxious musicians are unknown. The first goal of the present study was to investigate the prolonged effects of a solo music performance and the effects of trait MPA on salivary cortisol (sC), alpha-amylase (sAA), and concert-related PC. The second goal was to investigate whether concert-related PC is associated with neuroendocrine activity and mediates the effects of measurement day and trait MPA on neuroendocrine responses. Seventy-two university music students collected saliva samples and reported their PC for seven consecutive days. On the fifth day, they performed solo. Measurement day and trait MPA were tested as main predictors of the diurnal area under the curve with respect to ground (sC AUCg, sAA AUCg), awakening responses, and PC. SC AUCg, sAA AUCg, and concert-related PC were highest on concert day. SC AUCg decreased only partially on post-concert days. SAA AUCg remained elevated on the first post-concert day among students with moderate to very high trait MPA. Throughout the assessment period, trait MPA was associated with smaller sC AUCg and higher concert-related PC. Concert-related PC showed significant positive associations with sC AUCg and sAA AUCg but did not mediate the effects of measurement day and trait MPA on these measures. These findings suggest that solo music performances have prolonged neuroendocrine effects and that trait MPA is an important factor having specific effects on university music students' hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, autonomic nervous system, and cognitive activity.

Varying Social Experiences in Adulthood Do Not Differentially Affect Anxiety-Like Behavior But Stress Hormone Levels

Social experiences can have profound effects on an individual’s level of anxiety. While various studies have addressed consequences of experiences of a specific type, e.g., social defeat, a recent study in mice investigated the impact of combinations of adverse and beneficial social experiences. Quite surprisingly, mice exposed to benefits during early life phases followed by escapable adversity in adulthood displayed lowest levels of anxiety, even compared to individuals having experienced throughout beneficial conditions. The present study aimed to elucidate whether this phenomenon is restricted to these specific life phases or whether it also exists when all these experiences are made in full adulthood. For this purpose, we compared anxiety-like behavior and stress response of adult male mice exposed to escapable social defeat following beneficial social experiences to that of mice exposed to either throughout adverse or throughout beneficial conditions. More precisely, we performed three established behavioral paradigms measuring anxiety-like behavior and assessed corticosterone metabolites non-invasively via feces sampling. Interestingly, we found no effects of social experience on anxiety-like behavior. In contrast to that, the animals’ stress hormone levels were profoundly affected by current social conditions: escapable social defeat (adverse condition) led to an increase in corticosterone metabolite concentrations, whereas living with a female (beneficial condition) led to a decrease. Thus, on the one hand this study suggests the importance of the timing of social experience for affecting an individual’s level of anxiety. On the other hand, it demonstrates that anxiety and stress hormone levels can be affected separately by social experience during adulthood.

Burnout in Obstetricians and Gynecologists

It is estimated that 40% to 75% of obstetricians and gynecologists currently suffer from professional burnout, making the lifetime risk a virtual certainty. Although these statistics make for a dismal view of the profession, if the causes and symptoms can be identified simple steps can be implemented to reverse the threat. With a little care, the enjoyment of practice can be restored and the sense of reward and the value of service can be returned.

Neuroendocrine Response to School Load in Prepubertal Children: Focus on Trait Anxiety

At the time of school-age, the most frequent stress stimuli are related to school environment and educational process. Anxiety may play a big role in coping with stressful situations associated with school load. To approach this issue, we performed a real-life study at school during the classwork. The sample consisted of 36 healthy children aged 10 years, which were divided to low and high trait anxiety group based on the median value of the anxiety score. The investigations were carried out in the classroom during a stress condition (final exams) and non-stress condition (without any exam). In the whole sample, the condition with exam was associated with higher cortisol and lower testosterone concentrations in saliva compared to the condition without exam. The activity of salivary alpha-amylase increased at the end of the exam. Anxious children showed higher concentrations of aldosterone and lower activity of alpha-amylase compared to children with low trait anxiety. Cortisol levels were higher in anxious children in the first morning samples before starting the lessons. Children with high and low trait anxiety did not differ in extraversion, neuroticism, as well as non-verbal intelligence and school success. Thus, the anxious children at school showed a more rapid decrease of anticipatory stress-induced cortisol concentrations, higher aldosterone levels, and lower alpha-amylase activities compared to non-anxious children. These changes, particularly high concentrations of aldosterone in children with high trait anxiety, may have an impact on their psychophysiological development.

New Perspectives in the Model of Stress Response

The reactions of human organism to changes of internal or external environment termed as stress response have been at the center of interest during recent decades. Several theories were designed to describe the regulatory mechanisms which maintain the stability of vital physiological functions under conditions of threat or other environmental challenges. However, most of the models of stress reactivity were focused on specific aspects of the regulatory outcomes – physiological (e.g. neuroendocrine), psychological or behavioral regulation. Recently, a novel complex theory based on evolutionary and developmental biology has been introduced. The Adaptive Calibration Model of stress response employs a broad range of the findings from previous theories of stress and analyzes the responsivity to stress with respect to interindividual differences as a consequence of conditional adaptation – the ability to modify developmental trajectory to match the conditions of the social and physical environment. This review summarizes the contributions of the most important models in the field of stress response and emphasizes the importance of complex analysis of the psycho-physiological mechanisms. Moreover, it outlines the implications for nonpharmacological treatment of stress-related disorders with the application of biofeedback training as a promising tool based on voluntary modification of neurophysiological functions.

Aldosterone concentrations in saliva reflect the duration and severity of depressive episode in a sex dependent manner

Evidence is accumulating that aldosterone may exert central actions and influence mental functions. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that major depressive disorder affects the diurnal variation of salivary aldosterone and that aldosterone concentrations reflect the duration and severity of the depressive episode in a sex dependent manner. The sample consisted of 60 patients (37 postmenopausal women, 23 men) with major depressive disorder. Patients were examined two times, in acute depressive episode (admission to the hospital) and after reaching clinical remission (discharge). The samples of saliva were taken by the patients themselves twice a day (8.00-9.00 h in the morning and in the evening). Aldosterone concentrations were significantly higher in women compared to men and were significantly higher at the time of admission to the hospital compared to those at the discharge. Morning but not evening salivary aldosterone concentrations reflected the length of the depressive episode in women as well as the severity of the disorder in both sexes. Moreover, the patients with depression failed to exert known daily rhythmicity of aldosterone release. The present study brings several pieces of evidence suggesting the association of aldosterone with the pathophysiology of depression. Salivary aldosterone concentrations appear to reflect the outcome, the duration and the severity of the depressive episode in a sex dependent manner.