scholarly journals Mediterranean Diet, Stress Resilience, and Aging in Nonhuman Primates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol A. Shively ◽  
Susan E. Appt ◽  
Haiying Chen ◽  
Stephen M. Day ◽  
Brett M. Frye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Diet ◽  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Stress Resilience ◽  
Acth Challenge ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cortisol Responses

AbstractPersistent psychological stress increases the risk of many chronic diseases of aging. Little progress has been made to effectively reduce stress responses or mitigate stress effects suggesting a need for better understanding of factors that influence stress responses. Limited evidence suggests that diet may be a factor in modifying the effects of stress. However, long-term studies of diet effects on stress reactive systems are not available, and controlled randomized clinical trials are difficult and costly. Here we report the outcomes of a controlled, randomized preclinical trial of the effects of long-term consumption (31 months, ∼ equivalent to 9 human years) of Western versus Mediterranean - like diets on behavioral and physiological responses to acute (brief social separation) and chronic (social subordination) psychosocial stress in 38 adult, socially-housed, female cynomolgus macaques. Compared to animals fed a Western diet, those fed the Mediterranean diet exhibited enhanced stress resilience as indicated by lower sympathetic activity, brisker and more overt heart rate responses to acute stress, more rapid recovery, and lower cortisol responses to acute psychological stress and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) challenge. Furthermore, age-related increases in sympathetic activity and cortisol responses to stress were delayed by the Mediterranean diet. Population level diet modification in humans has been shown to be feasible. Our findings suggest that population-wide adoption of a Mediterranean-like diet pattern may provide a cost-effective intervention on psychological stress and promote healthy aging with the potential for widespread efficacy.HighlightsThere is no population level treatment to reduce stress and associated disease.Mediterranean diet reduced sympathetic activity.Mediterranean diet reduced cortisol response to acute stress and to ACTH challenge.Mediterranean diet delayed age-related increases in sympathetic activity and cortisol responses to stress.These results suggest a dietary strategy to increase stress resilience.

scholarly journals White matter in prolonged glucocorticoid response to psychological stress in schizophrenia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric L. Goldwaser ◽  
Joshua Chiappelli ◽  
Mark D. Kvarta ◽  
Xiaoming Du ◽  
Zachary B. Millman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
White Matter Tracts ◽  
Cortisol Reactivity ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Psychological Stressor ◽  
Post Stress

AbstractStress is implicated in psychosis etiology and exacerbation, but pathogenesis toward brain network alterations in schizophrenia remain unclear. White matter connects limbic and prefrontal regions responsible for stress response regulation, and white matter tissues are also vulnerable to glucocorticoid aberrancies. Using a novel psychological stressor task, we studied cortisol stress responses over time and white matter microstructural deficits in schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). Cortisol was measured at baseline, 0-, 20-, and 40-min after distress induction by a psychological stressor task in 121 SSD patients and 117 healthy controls (HC). White matter microstructural integrity was measured by 64-direction diffusion tensor imaging. Fractional anisotropy (FA) in white matter tracts were related to cortisol responses and then compared to general patterns of white matter tract deficits in SSD identified by mega-analysis. Differences between 40-min post-stress and baseline, but not acute reactivity post-stress, was significantly elevated in SSD vs HC, time × diagnosis interaction F2.3,499.9 = 4.1, p = 0.013. All SSD white matter tracts were negatively associated with prolonged cortisol reactivity but all tracts were positively associated with prolonged cortisol reactivity in HC. Individual tracts most strongly associated with prolonged cortisol reactivity were also most impacted in schizophrenia in general as established by the largest schizophrenia white matter study (r = −0.56, p = 0.006). Challenged with psychological stress, SSD and HC mount similar cortisol responses, and impairments arise in the resolution timeframe. Prolonged cortisol elevations are associated with the white matter deficits in SSD, in a pattern previously associated with schizophrenia in general.

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.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) in the general population

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Becker ◽  
Ursula Schade ◽  
Nicolas Rohleder
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Group Test ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Measurement Time Point ◽  
Cortisol Increase ◽  
Ice Water

Background In stress research, economic instruments for introducing acute stress responses are needed. In this study, we investigated whether the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) induces salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and/or cortisol responses in the general population and whether this is associated with anthropometric, experimental, and lifestyle factors. Methods A sample of 91 participants from the general population was recruited. Salivary cortisol and sAA levels were assessed prior to (t0), immediately after (t1), and 10 min after the SECPT-G (t2). Results A robust cortisol increase was found immediately after the SECPT-G, which further increased between t1 and t2. This was independent of most of the control variables. However, men showed a trend toward higher cortisol increases than women (p = 0.005). No sAA responses were found at all. However, sAA levels were dependent on measurement time point with highest levels between 9 pm and 9:30 pm. Participants who immersed their hands into the ice water for the maximally allowed time of 3 min showed higher sAA levels at all time points than participants who removed their hands from the water earlier. Conclusions We conclude that the SECPT-G is a good means of an acute stress test when cortisol—but not necessarily sAA—responses are intended.

scholarly journals The effects of acute psychosocial stress on executive functioning in young and older adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leen Nasser
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Effects Of Stress

It has been evidenced that, with aging, older adults exhibit increased behavioral and physiological responses to stress. Older adults also often experience declines in executive functioning performance. The acute psychological stress induced through the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) has been evidenced to negatively impact executive functioning in young adults. This relationship, however, has yet to be examined in older adults. In the current thesis, two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of stress on executive functioning (Experiment 1), as well as age related differences in stress responsivity and in the effect of stress on executive functioning (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, acute stress exhibited a negative effect on executive functioning. In Experiment 2, there were no age differences in stress responses, and a positive effect of acute stress on executive functioning in young adults only. The contradictory findings encourage further research on the effects of stress on executive functioning, and how they may differ between young and older adults.

scholarly journals Worldview Under Stress: Preliminary Findings on Cardiovascular and Cortisol Stress Responses Predicted by Secularity, Religiosity, Spirituality, and Existential Search

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 2969-2989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatjana Schnell ◽  
Dietmar Fuchs ◽  
René Hefti
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress Resilience ◽  
Cardiovascular Stress ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Positive Correlations

AbstractThis study reports preliminary findings on the hypothesis that worldview can predict cardiovascular and cortisol responses to social stress. Based on theory and previous findings, we assumed that worldview security would provide a basis for stress resilience. Accordingly, religious and atheist individuals were expected to show higher stress resilience than spiritual and agnostic participants. Likewise, dimensional measures of religiosity and atheism were hypothesized to predict decreased, and existential search—indicating worldview insecurity—was hypothesized to predict increased physiological stress responses. Subjects included 50 university students who completed online questionnaires and took part in a standardized social stress test (Trier Social Stress Test). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), heart rate (HR), and salivary cortisol (SC) were assessed at baseline, immediately after stress testing, and during a forty-minute recovery period. Worldview comparisons revealed lower cardiovascular stress responses among religious than among atheist and spiritual participants and particularly high baseline SC among spiritual participants. Across the entire sample, existential search showed substantial positive correlations with SBP, HR, and SC stress parameters. The findings suggest that worldview security might partly explain the health benefits often associated with religion.

scholarly journals Detection of six novel de novo mutations in individuals with low resilience to psychological stress

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0256285
Author(s):  
Esfandiar Azadmarzabadi ◽  
Arvin Haghighatfard
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Reaction ◽  
Major Life Events ◽  
Major Life ◽  
Stress Resilience ◽  
Acute Stress Reaction

Genetic bases of psychological stress resilience have been studied previously, but mechanisms and genetic variants which are involved in stress resilience are still unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the associations between variants in dopaminergic pathway genes with stress resilience. Subjects of the present study were divided into four groups. Group A included persons with normal reactions to major life events stressors; group B included persons with an acute stress reaction to major life events stressor; group C included persons with normal reactions to Crises/catastrophes stressors, and group D included persons with an acute stress reaction to Crises/catastrophes stressors. DNA was extracted from the subject’s blood, and the entire length of 14 genes DRD1, DRD2, DRD3, DRD4, DRD5, COMT, DBH, TH, MAOA, DDC, DAT, 5-HTT, BDNF, and GDNF were sequenced by automated sequencers ABI 3700. Results showed 24 point mutations in 12 genes, including 16 SNPs and six novel mutations, which were significantly correlated to low-stress resilience. Most of the SNPs were known as risk alleles in psychiatric disorders. Several associations were found between genetic variants and psychological characteristics. Findings suggest dopaminergic as an important pathway in stress and stress resilience also indicated shared genetic bases between low-stress resilience and several psychiatric disorders.

Oxytocin and prolactin suppress cortisol responses to acute stress in both lactating and non-lactating sheep

1997 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTIAN J. COOK
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Paraventricular Nucleus ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Posterior Pituitary ◽  
Stress Indicator ◽  
Response To Stress ◽  
Cortisol Responses

Cortisol response to stress appears to differ between lactating and non- lactating animals. Lactating (14 d post partum) and non-lactating sheep were fitted with probes so that drugs and hormones could be infused directly into the posterior pituitary and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. The animals were also fitted with instruments to allow monitoring of heart rate, body temperature and blood cortisol levels. Their reactions to a source of acute stress (a barking dog) were then followed, with or without drug and hormone manipulation. Results in both lactating and non-lactating animals indicated shortcomings in the use of cortisol as a stress indicator. Infusing prolactin and oxytocin into either the posterior pituitary or the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus suppressed cortisol responsiveness to stress in both lactating and non-lactating animals (the latter to a greater extent). In the absence of drugs, lactating animals had a slightly higher basal level of cortisol and a lower cortisol response to stress than their non-lactating counterparts. Despite suppression of cortisol responses, with or without drugs, other indicators of stress still changed with the presence of a barking dog, suggesting the complexity of control involved in stress responses.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) in the general population

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Becker ◽  
Ursula Schade ◽  
Nicolas Rohleder
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Alpha Amylase ◽  
Salivary Alpha Amylase ◽  
Group Test ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Cortisol Increase

Background. In stress research, economic instruments for introducing acute stress responses are needed. In this study, we investigated whether the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) induces salivary alpha-amylase and/or cortisol responses in the general population and whether it is associated with anthropometric, experimental, and lifestyle factors. Methods. A total of 91 participants was recruited. Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels were assessed prior (t0), immediately after (t1), and ten minutes after the SECPT-G (t2). Results. A strong cortisol increase was found immediately after the SECPT-G, which further increased between t1 and t2. This was independent of most of the control variables. However, men showed stronger cortisol increases than women. No sAA responses were found at all. Conclusions. We conclude that the SECPT-G is a good means of an acute stress test when cortisol – but not necessarily sAA – responses are intended.

scholarly journals The effects of acute psychosocial stress on executive functioning in young and older adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leen Nasser
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Effects Of Stress

It has been evidenced that, with aging, older adults exhibit increased behavioral and physiological responses to stress. Older adults also often experience declines in executive functioning performance. The acute psychological stress induced through the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) has been evidenced to negatively impact executive functioning in young adults. This relationship, however, has yet to be examined in older adults. In the current thesis, two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of stress on executive functioning (Experiment 1), as well as age related differences in stress responsivity and in the effect of stress on executive functioning (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, acute stress exhibited a negative effect on executive functioning. In Experiment 2, there were no age differences in stress responses, and a positive effect of acute stress on executive functioning in young adults only. The contradictory findings encourage further research on the effects of stress on executive functioning, and how they may differ between young and older adults.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) in the general population

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Becker ◽  
Ursula Schade ◽  
Nicolas Rohleder
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Cold Pressor ◽  
Alpha Amylase ◽  
Group Test ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Measurement Time Point ◽  
Ice Water

Background. In stress research, economic instruments for introducing acute stress responses are needed. In this study, we investigated whether the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) induces salivary alpha-amylase and/or cortisol responses in the general population and whether this is associated with anthropometric, experimental, and lifestyle factors. Methods. A sample of 91 participants from the general population was recruited. Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA) levels were assessed prior to (t0), immediately after (t1), and ten minutes after the SECPT-G (t2). Results. A robust cortisol increase was found immediately after the SECPT-G, which further increased between t1 and t2. This was independent of most of the control variables. However, men showed a trend towards higher cortisol increases than women (p = .005). No sAA responses were found at all. However, sAA levels were dependent on measurement time point with highest levels between 9 pm and 9:30 pm. Participants who immersed their hands into the ice water for the maximally allowed time of three minutes showed higher sAA levels at all time points than participants who removed their hands from the water earlier. Conclusions. We conclude that the SECPT-G is a good means of an acute stress test when cortisol – but not necessarily sAA – responses are intended.

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