Endocrinological and subjective stress responses in children with depressive, anxiety, or externalizing disorders

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 605-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Stadelmann ◽  
Sonia Jaeger ◽  
Tina Matuschek ◽  
Yoon Ju Bae ◽  
Kai von Klitzing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Externalizing Disorders ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stressful Event ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Subjective Stress ◽  
Negative Thoughts ◽  
Before And After

AbstractIn this study, we used a stress test to investigate endocrinological and subjective stress responses of 8- to 14-year-old children with internalizing or externalizing disorders and healthy controls. The sample (N = 170) consisted of clinical and community children. Parents were given a diagnostic interview to diagnose their children's psychiatric condition. We measured saliva cortisol and subjectively experienced arousal in children before and after the Trier Social Stress Test for Children. Children also rated their performance immediately after the stress test, and 1 hr later they rated their positive and negative thoughts about this stressful event. Children with internalizing or externalizing disorders exhibited a blunted cortisol response compared to healthy controls. Depressed children rated their test performance lower and reported more negative thoughts after the test in comparison to healthy controls, anxious children reported more arousal before and after the task, and children with externalizing disorders reported more positive thoughts. In regression analyses, cortisol and subjective stress responses were both predictive of psychiatric disorders. The study extends previous work on the relation between psychiatric disorders and children's stress responses to an experimentally induced stress task by including a broad range of psychiatric disorders and by integrating endocrinological and subjective stress responses.

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.

Abstract 12683: Genome-wide Mrna Expression Analysis of Acute Psychological Stress Responses

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeongok G Logan ◽  
Mihyun Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Acute Psychological Stress ◽  
Distress Scale ◽  
Experimental Group

Introduction: Previous studies have examined effects of acute psychological stress in humans on selected panels of genes. This exploratory study aimed to investigate genome-wide transcriptional activity changes in responses to acute psychological stress. Methods: The sample included 40 healthy women who participated in a previous study (22 who had a stress induced experience (experimental group) and 18 who did not (control group)). The psychological stress was induced by the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Psychological stress levels (measured by the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS) and the state anxiety subscale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and hemodynamic changes (measured by blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR)) were assessed before and after the TSST. The peripheral blood samples obtained before and after the TSST were processed for mRNA-sequencing. Results: The mean age of the participants was 31 years (SD 11.6). The psychological and hemodynamic stress parameters indicated that the TSST successfully induced moderate but statistically significant levels of acute psychological stress in the participants of the experimental group. Compared with the participants in the control group, six genes ( BCL2L14, FAM3B, HCG26, HLA-F-AS1, LOC101928710 , and SLC22A16 ) were up-regulated and 9 genes ( ATP2C2, CA1, CRYBG3, FBXO9, HBD, SLC39A9, SNCA, STRADB , and TRMT12 ) were down-regulated among those who experienced stress induction. The IPA analysis identified one network of cell-to-cell signaling and interaction, cellular function and maintenance, and hematological system development and function. Thirteen genes out of 15 were found in this network. Conclusions: The identified genes including FAM3B, BCL2L14, SLC22A16 , and SNCA , have been proposed as the therapeutic targets of diabetes-related CVDs, certain cancers, and Parkinson’s disease, but have not previously been reported to be associated with psychological stress. Future studies are suggested to examine the pathological mechanisms by which the identified genes may mediate the association between psychological stress and adverse health outcome.

Immunoassay or LC-MS/MS for the measurement of salivary cortisol in children?

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoon Ju Bae ◽  
Alexander Gaudl ◽  
Sonia Jaeger ◽  
Stephanie Stadelmann ◽  
Andreas Hiemisch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Externalizing Disorders ◽  
Cross Reactivity ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Kinetic Assay ◽  
The Difference

AbstractBackground:Dysregulation of the adrenal cortex has been assessed with measurement of salivary cortisol. So far salivary cortisol is routinely measured with immunoassay (IA). However, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS) is known to offer better specificity. We compared the concentrations of salivary cortisol measured by MS and IA at basal and stress induced conditions and evaluated reasons for the difference in method-dependent cortisol results.Methods:Saliva samples (n=2703) were collected from 169 children (age range: 8–14 years; 81 healthy children; 55 with internalizing and 33 with externalizing disorders) under circadian conditions and during the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C). Biochemical analyses were performed with MS for cortisol and cortisone, IA (IBL, RE62011) for cortisol, and enzyme kinetic assay for α-amylase.Results:MS and IA showed mostly comparable results for circadian activity and TSST-C response with similar statistical power. However, IA measured cortisol concentrations about 2.39-fold higher than MS. We found that this difference in measured values between MS and IA was mainly due to different standardization of IA compared to MS. In addition, at cortisol IA concentration below 5 nmol/L, cross-reactivity with cortisone was found to contribute to the lower concordance between MS and IA.Conclusions:Immunoassay and LC-MS/MS were largely comparable in the interpretation of salivary cortisol dynamics in stress research. But the IA method revealed a restricted accuracy in the measuring range below 5 nmol/L.

scholarly journals Effects of Open-Label Placebos on State Anxiety and Glucocorticoid Stress Responses

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 508
Author(s):  
Michael Schaefer ◽  
Julian Hellmann-Regen ◽  
Sören Enge
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Relaxation Techniques ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Negative Feelings

Stress belongs to the most frequent negative feelings people are confronted with in daily life. Strategies against acute stress include, e.g., relaxation techniques or medications, but it is also known that placebos can successfully reduce negative emotional stress. While it is widely held that placebos require deception to provoke a response, recent studies demonstrate intriguing evidence that placebos may work even without concealment (e.g., against anxiety or pain). Most of these studies are based on self-report questionnaires and do not include physiological measures. Here we report results of a study examining whether placebos without deception reduce acute stress. A total of 53 healthy individuals received either placebos without deception or no pills before participating in a laboratory stress test (Maastricht Acute Stress Test, MAST). We recorded self-report stress measures and cortisol responses before and after the MAST. Results showed no significant differences between the placebo and the control group, but when comparing participants with high relative to low beliefs in the power of placebos we found significant lower anxiety and cortisol responses for the placebo believers. These results show that non-deceptive placebos may successfully reduce acute anxiety and stress, but only in participants who had a strong belief in placebos. We discuss the results by suggesting that open-label placebos might be a possible treatment to reduce stress at least for some individuals.

Meta-analysis of the effectiveness of the Trier Social Stress Test in eliciting physiological stress responses in children and adolescents

2020 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 104582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica A. Seddon ◽  
Violeta J. Rodriguez ◽  
Yannick Provencher ◽  
Jacquelyn Raftery-Helmer ◽  
Jacqueline Hersh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test

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 < .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 Sex Differences in Endocrine and Psychological Responses to Psychosocial Stress in Healthy Elderly Subjects and the Impact of a 2-Week Dehydroepiandrosterone Treatment1

1998 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 1756-1761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte M. Kudielka ◽  
Juliane Hellhammer ◽  
Dirk H. Hellhammer ◽  
Oliver T. Wolf ◽  
Karl-Martin Pirke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Free Cortisol ◽  
The Impact

Evidence from animal as well as human studies has suggested that significant sex differences exist in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) activity. As gonadal steroids could be important modulators of HPA sex differences, stress responses were investigated in subjects of advanced age after dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or placebo treatment. After a 2-week treatment with 50 mg DHEA daily or placebo, 75 men and women (mean age, 67.6 yr) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). The TSST is a brief psychosocial stress that consists of a free speech and mental arithmetic task in front of an audience. The results show that the TSST induced significant increases in ACTH, salivary free cortisol, total plasma cortisol, norepinephrine, and heart rates (all P < 0.0001) as well as decreased positive affect in the elderly (P = 0.0009). Men showed larger stress responses in ACTH (P = 0.004), salivary free cortisol (P = 0.044), and plasma total cortisol (P = 0.076) compared to women. No sex differences were observed in norepinephrine, epinephrine, or heart rate responses. In contrast to ACTH and cortisol response differences, women reported that they were significantly more stressed by the TSST than men (P = 0.0051). Women treated with DHEA showed ACTH stress responses similar to those of men, but significantly enhanced compared to those of women taking placebos (P < 0.009). No other stress response differences emerged between DHEA and placebo groups. Finally, DHEA treatment did not result in an improvement of subjective well-being. We conclude that elderly men show larger HPA responses than women to psychosocial stress, as studied in the TSST. Estrogen effects on hypothalamic CRF-producing neurons might be responsible for these sex differences.

Effects of d-amphetamine upon psychosocial stress responses

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 608-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Childs ◽  
Anya K Bershad ◽  
Harriet de Wit
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Cognitive Appraisals ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Double Blind

Psychostimulant drugs alter the salience of stimuli in both laboratory animals and humans. In animals, stimulants increase rates of responding to conditioned incentive stimuli, and in humans, amphetamine increases positive ratings of emotional images. However, the effects of stimulants on real-life emotional events have not been studied in humans. In this study, we examined the effect of d-amphetamine on responses to acute psychosocial stress using a public speaking task. Healthy volunteers ( N=56) participated in two experimental sessions, one with a psychosocial stressor (the Trier Social Stress Test) and one with a non-stressful control task. They were randomly assigned to receive d-amphetamine (5 mg n=18, 10 mg n=20) or placebo ( n=18) on both sessions under double blind conditions. Salivary cortisol, subjective mood, and vital signs were measured at regular intervals during the session. Subjects also provided cognitive appraisals of the tasks before and after their performances. Amphetamine produced its expected mood and physiological effects, and the Trier Social Stress Test produced its expected effects on cortisol and mood. Although neither dose of amphetamine altered cardiovascular or hormonal responses to stress, amphetamine (10 mg) increased participants’ pre-task appraisals of how challenging the task would be, and it increased post-task ratings of self-efficacy. Paradoxically, it also increased ratings of how stressful the task was, and prolonged aversive emotional responses. These findings suggest that amphetamine differentially affects stress response components: it may increase participants’ appraisals of self-efficacy without dampening the direct emotional or physiological responses to the stress.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document