scholarly journals The impact of chronic stress and eating types on active ghrelin levels in response to acute stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Fahrngruber ◽  
Kalina Duszka ◽  
Jürgen König
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Eating Behavior ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Relaxation Techniques ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
The Impact

AbstractChronic stress is associated with impacting eating behavior, namely food choice and energy intake, with a shift towards more palatable and energy dense foods. Additionally, eating behavior is influenced by other psychological factors like mood and emotions. The categorization of people into eating types such as restrained, emotional, and external eaters has gained attraction. Reported changes in eating behavior due to psychological stress are only occasionally accompanied by measures of physiological hunger through ghrelin. The primary objective of this study was to investigate how chronic stress and acute cortisol reactivity affect active ghrelin secretion and how these outcomes account for different eating types. 16 healthy, young males (age: 23 ± 3 years, BMI: 22.5 ± 1.3kg/m2) with low (n = 8) and average-to-high (n = 8) chronic stress level were subjected to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and a control version on two separate days. Active ghrelin, cortisol, glucose, and heart rate were measured throughout the test. Subjects rated their hunger by means of visual analog scale and current mood was assessed with the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). In addition, participants filled out the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) to account for their subjective eating behavior. Overall ghrelin values where higher on the test day compared to the control day. Ghrelin values were also higher during the time leading up to the stress or control test (TSST) than during the conclusion of said tests. On both days, mean values for active ghrelin where higher in individuals with low chronic stress exposure compare to those with average-to-high chronic stress exposure. While values from test to control day decreased for lower stressed participants, they slightly increased for higher stressed participants. Cortisol responders displayed higher ghrelin values on test day than cortisol non-responders, but this association inverted for the control day. Results indicate that chronic stress influences acute stress response and further alters active ghrelin production, which in turn can influence eating behavior. Replication in a greater group of participants of differing weight and sex could yield a greater understanding of stress induced eating. Factors such as relaxation techniques and coping mechanisms could further improve our knowledge and evaluate treatment possibilities.

scholarly journals Acute Psychological Stress Disrupts Attentional Bias to Threat-Related Stimuli

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caihong Jiang ◽  
Tony W. Buchanan ◽  
Zhuxi Yao ◽  
Kan Zhang ◽  
Jianhui Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
P300 Amplitude ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Stress Group ◽  
Acute Psychological Stress ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The present study investigated the effect of acute stress on attentional bias to threat using behavioral and ERP methods. Sixty-two male participants were randomly assigned to a stress condition (Trier Social Stress Test) or a control condition. To examine the impact of stress-induced cortisol on attentional bias to threat, participants in the stress group were split into Low- and High cortisol responders. All participants were then administered a modified dot probe task in which the cues were neutral and angry faces. Behavioral results showed a pattern of attentional bias toward threat in the Control group but not in the stress group. For the ERPs, the P100 peaked earlier for the angry-cued targets than the neutral-cued targets in the Control group, which suggests a rapid, adaptive response toward threat. However, this effect was not observed in the stress group, suggesting a suppressed attentional bias under stress. In addition, the stress group (including both Low and High cortisol responders) showed reduced P300 amplitude to target onset than the Control group. These results suggest that acute stress disrupts attentional bias to threat including a reduction in early bias to threat in addition to a subsequent change of attention allocation.

scholarly journals Life stress and cortisol reactivity: An exploratory analysis of the effects of stress exposure across life on HPA-axis functioning

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan S. Young ◽  
Jenalee R. Doom ◽  
Allison K. Farrell ◽  
Elizabeth A. Carlson ◽  
Michelle M. Englund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
Cortisol Reactivity ◽  
Biological Stress

Abstract Stressful experiences affect biological stress systems, such as the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. Life stress can potentially alter regulation of the HPA axis and has been associated with poorer physical and mental health. Little, however, is known about the relative influence of stressors that are encountered at different developmental periods on acute stress reactions in adulthood. In this study, we explored three models of the influence of stress exposure on cortisol reactivity to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) by leveraging 37 years of longitudinal data in a high-risk birth cohort (N = 112). The cumulative stress model suggests that accumulated stress across the lifespan leads to dysregulated reactivity, whereas the biological embedding model implicates early childhood as a critical period. The sensitization model assumes that dysregulation should only occur when stress is high in both early childhood and concurrently. All of the models predicted altered reactivity, but do not anticipate its exact form. We found support for both cumulative and biological embedding effects. However, when pitted against each other, early life stress predicted more blunted cortisol responses at age 37 over and above cumulative life stress. Additional analyses revealed that stress exposure in middle childhood also predicted more blunted cortisol reactivity.

scholarly journals The impact of maternal care and blood glucose availability on the cortisol stress response in fasted women

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike U. Bentele ◽  
Maria Meier ◽  
Annika B. E. Benz ◽  
Bernadette F. Denk ◽  
Stephanie J. Dimitroff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Glucose ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Maternal Care ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Blood Glucose Concentration ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Glucose Availability

AbstractIndividuals with a history of low maternal care (MC) frequently present a blunted, yet sometimes also show an increased cortisol stress response. Fasted individuals with low blood glucose levels who are exposed to acute stress typically show an attenuated response pattern in this endocrine marker. Despite well-documented metabolic dysregulations after low MC, a possible interaction of both factors has not been investigated yet. Here, we examined the effects of MC and blood glucose concentration on various aspects of the stress response. Fasted women (N = 122, meanage = 22.12, sdage = 2.56) who experienced either very high, high, or low MC (based on the Parental Bonding Instrument) were randomly assigned to consume grape juice (condition sugar), or water (condition water) prior to being exposed to the Trier-Social-Stress-Test for groups. Salivary cortisol and alpha amylase, blood glucose, and mood ratings were assessed repeatedly. Using multilevel mixed models, we replicated the boosting effect of glucose on the cortisol stress response. While we found neither an effect of MC, nor an interaction between MC and blood glucose availability on the cortisol stress response, we observed an effect of MC on the amylase stress response. We discuss the results in the light of links between various stress/energy systems that possibly mediate health-related MC effects.

scholarly journals The Impact of Chronic Stress and Eating Concern on Acylated Ghrelin Following Acute Psychological Stress in Healthy Men

Stresses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29
Author(s):  
Christine Fahrngruber-Velasquez ◽  
Kalina Duszka ◽  
Jürgen König
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Eating Behavior ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Acylated Ghrelin ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
Control Situation ◽  
The Impact

Stress, mood, and eating behavior play an important role in appetite and weight regulation. In particular, ghrelin, as the only known orexigenic hormone, has been suggested to be an influential mediator in food intake responses to stress. The exact role of ghrelin in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis is still unknown and further challenged by the psychological aspects of stress and eating behavior. This study aimed to assess the effect of chronic stress and subjective concern about eating on acute stress-induced changes in acylated ghrelin. In a 2-day study, sixteen healthy male participants were confronted with a stressful situation as well as a control situation. Additional measurements of heart rate, subjective hunger ratings, and subjective mood ratings were made to assess successful acute stress induction. The linear mixed model approach revealed a significant effect of acute stress on acylated ghrelin for a study-day*chronic-stress interaction (p < 0.001). Concern about eating did not affect acylated ghrelin levels after acute stress exposure. The significant interaction showed that lower chronic stress exposure was associated with a stronger acylated ghrelin response after acute stress exposure versus control condition. At the same time, participants with higher chronic stress exposure showed a blunted acylated ghrelin response after acute stress exposure compared to the control situation. Our findings indicate that chronic stress exposure can influence acylated ghrelin response after acute stress encounters, possibly affecting subsequent food intake and explaining the often diverse outcome in measurements of acute stress responses.

An intervention study on the effectiveness of an anti-stress-app on psychophysiological acute and chronic stress (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Lautenbach
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Subjective Perception ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Acute And Chronic Stress

BACKGROUND Dealing with stress is of central importance. Lately, smartphone applications (apps) are deployed in stress interventions as they offer maximal flexibility for users. First results of experimental studies show that anti-stress apps effect subjective perception of stress positively (Ly et al., 2014). However, current literature lacks studies on physiological stress reactions (e.g., cortisol), although they are of special interest to health issues. OBJECTIVE Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an anti-stress app in chronic and acute stress reduction on a physiological (cortisol) and psychological level (subjective perception of stress) in comparison to a face-to-face and a control group in a pre-post design, for the first time. METHODS Sixty-two participants took part in the pretesting procedure (drop-out of 53 %). Based on age, gender, physical activity and subjectively perceived acute stress due to the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G; von Dawans et al., 2011) as well as based on subjectively chronic stress assessed during the pretest, participants were parallelized in three groups (anti-stress-app: n = 10, face-to-face: n = 11, control group: n = 9). RESULTS After six weeks of the cognitive-based resource-oriented intervention, participants were exposed to the TSST-G for post testing. Results did not show a change of cortisol secretion or cognitive appraisal of the acute stressor. Further, no changes were detected in the chronic physiological stress reaction. CONCLUSIONS Possible causes are discussed extensively. CLINICALTRIAL no

scholarly journals A Combination of Magnesium, B Vitamins, Green Tea and Rhodiola Attenuates the Negative Effects of Acute Psychosocial Stress on Subjective State in Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1796-1796
Author(s):  
Louise Dye ◽  
Jac Billington ◽  
Clare Lawton ◽  
Neil Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Green Tea ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Combined Treatment ◽  
B Vitamins ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
Subjective Stress

Abstract Objectives Magnesium (Mg), and green tea and rhodiola extract supplementation have, in isolation, been shown to improve subjective stress perception and mood responses to acute stress. The combined capacity of these ingredients to confer protective effects during exposure to stress has yet to be evaluated. We tested the hypothesis that a combination of Mg (with B vitamins) + green tea + rhodiola would improve physiological and subjective responses to stress exposure in adults compared to placebo and Mg + B vitamins + green tea or rhodiola in isolation. Methods A double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, parallel group design was employed. 100 moderately stressed (DASS 13–25) adults (mean age = 25.07, SD = 0.65) received oral supplementation of either (i) Mg + B vitamins + green tea + rhodiola; (ii) Mg + B vitamins + rhodiola; (iii) Mg + B vitamins + green tea; or (iv) placebo. After supplementation participants were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test. Subjective stress (Stress and Arousal Checklist; SACL), mood (Profile of Mood States; POMS) and salivary cortisol responses were collected over 8 hours to ascertain the effects of supplementation on stress responsivity and recovery. Results Analyses demonstrated the superiority of the combined treatment vs the ingredients in isolation and placebo. The combined treatment significantly attenuated subjective stress (SACL), and tension and total mood disturbance (POMS) ratings after acute stress exposure (all P &lt; .05). Effects were found both during the peak stress response and recovery. The salivary cortisol response was unaffected by treatment. Conclusions A combination of Mg + B vitamins + green tea + rhodiola significantly alleviated subjective stress and mood responses to acute stress provocation. This preliminary evidence suggests the capacity of these ingredients in combination to confer protective effects under conditions of stress in adults. Funding Sources Sanofi Aventis.

scholarly journals Does Psychosocial Stress Impact Cognitive Reappraisal? Behavioral and Neural Evidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1803-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maheen Shermohammed ◽  
Pranjal H. Mehta ◽  
Joan Zhang ◽  
Cassandra M. Brandes ◽  
Luke J. Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Stress Group

Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is regarded as an effective emotion regulation strategy. Acute stress, however, is believed to impair the functioning of prefrontal-based neural systems, which could result in lessened effectiveness of CR under stress. This study tested the behavioral and neurobiological impact of acute stress on CR. While undergoing fMRI, adult participants ( n = 54) passively viewed or used CR to regulate their response to negative and neutral pictures and provided ratings of their negative affect in response to each picture. Half of the participants experienced an fMRI-adapted acute psychosocial stress manipulation similar to the Trier Social Stress Test, and a control group received parallel manipulations without the stressful components. Relative to the control group, the stress group exhibited heightened stress as indexed by self-report, heart rate, and salivary cortisol throughout the scan. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that reappraisal success was equivalent in the control and stress groups, as was electrodermal response to the pictures. Heart rate deceleration, a physiological response typically evoked by aversive pictures, was blunted in response to negative pictures and heightened in response to neutral pictures in the stress group. In the brain, we found weak evidence of stress-induced increases of reappraisal-related activity in parts of the PFC and left amygdala, but these relationships were statistically fragile. Together, these findings suggest that both the self-reported and neural effects of CR may be robust to at least moderate levels of stress, informing theoretical models of stress effects on cognition and emotion.

scholarly journals Working Memory Performance Under Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-139
Author(s):  
Petra Luers ◽  
Malgorzata Schloeffel ◽  
Jens C. Prüssner
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Function

Abstract. Acute stress and chronic stress change the physiology and function of the individual. As one facet, stress and its neuroendocrine correlates – with glucocorticoids in particular – modulate memory in a concerted action. With respect to working memory, impairing effects of acute stress and increased levels of glucocorticoids could be expected, but empirical evidence on moderating effects of cortisol on working memory is ambiguous in human studies. In the current study, we thus aimed to investigate cortisol stress responses and memory performance. Older men and women (32 men, 43 women, aged 61–67 years) underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and performed the 2-back task before and after exposure to acute stress. In line with theoretical assumptions, we found that higher cortisol stress responses led to a decline of working memory performance in men. However, the opposite was evident for women, who appeared to benefit from higher stress responses. This effect was evident for accuracy, but not for reaction time. In conclusion, cortisol might mediate working memory alterations with stress in a sex-specific manner in older people. Possible mechanisms and causes for these sex differences put a focus on endocrine changes in the aging population that might lead to differential effects across the lifespan.

scholarly journals Dichotic listening performance and interhemispheric integration after stress exposure

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gesa Berretz ◽  
Julian Packheiser ◽  
Oliver T. Wolf ◽  
Sebastian Ocklenburg
Keyword(s):  
Social Stress ◽  
Dichotic Listening ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Control Procedure ◽  
Hemispheric Asymmetries

AbstractFunctional hemispheric asymmetries (FHAs) have been thought to be relatively stable over time. However, past research has shown that FHAs are more plastic than initially thought. Endocrinological processes have been demonstrated to alter FHAs. As the product of the stress-activated hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis, cortisol influences information processing at every level from stimulus perception to decision making and action. To investigate the influence of acute stress on FHAs, 60 participants performed a Banich–Belger task, as well as a verbal and an emotional dichotic listening task in two sessions. One session included a stress induction via the Trier Social Stress Test, the other session included a control procedure. We calculated across-field advantages (AFAs) in the Banich–Belger task and lateralization quotients for reaction times and responses per side in both dichotic listening tasks. There were no significant differences between the stress and control session in the dichotic listening tasks. In contrast, there was evidence for an influence of cortisol and sympathetic activation indicated by salivary alpha amylase changes on AFAs in the Banich–Belger task. This indicates that acute stress and the related increase in cortisol do not influence dichotic listening performance. However, stress does seem to affect interhemispheric integration of information. Future research using EEG, fMRI and pharmacological interventions is needed to further characterize the relation of hemispheric asymmetries and acute stress.

scholarly journals Acute Response of Stress System in Multiple Sclerosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmadreza Askari Ashtiani ◽  
Vahid Shaygannejad ◽  
Foad Ghobadi ◽  
Roozbeh Bathaie ◽  
Shima Shahyad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress System ◽  
Rate Variation ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Related Disorder

Background: It has long been suspected that exposure to stress is a major factor that can increase the risk of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and exacerbate it, as a stress-related disorder. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate the response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic-adrenal-medullar (SAM) system to acute social stress. Methods: A total of 46 MS patients and 23 age-sex-matched healthy controls were recruited in the study. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was used to induce acute psychosocial stress. We measured salivary cortisol (SC) to evaluate the HPA axis. In addition, electrocardiography (ECG) was recorded to evaluate the SAM system based on the linear and non-linear features of Heart Rate Variation (HRV). Then, SC and HRV were measured before and after the stress exposure. We also used the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and Emotional Visual Analog Scale (EVAS) to conduct the psychometric assessment and evaluate the perceived stress level, respectively. Results: The mean age of the MS group was 35.38 ± 15 years, with a mean disease duration of 7.4 ± 60. Besides, the HC group's mean age was 35.8 ± 9 years. There were no significant differences in demographic features and DASS scores between the two groups. In response to TSST, both MS and healthy individuals showed a significant increase in the SC levels and EVAS scores, as well as changes in the HRV indices. Notably, significant differences were also found between the two groups regarding the basic and post-stress SC levels, EVAS score, and HRV indices. Unlike the HC group, the SC level returned to its baseline after recovery in the MS group, and the sympathetic tone was more sensitive. Conclusions: Our results indicated that both MS and healthy individuals respond to acute stress regarding neuroendocrine assessment; however, patients with multiple sclerosis show some impairments in this response.

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