scholarly journals A sex difference in the cortisol response to tail docking and ACTH develops between 1 and 8 weeks of age in lambs

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
A I Turner ◽  
B J Hosking ◽  
R A Parr ◽  
A J Tilbrook
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Combined Treatment ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Tail Docking ◽  
Response To Stress ◽  
Cortisol Responses

It is important to understand factors that may influence responses to stress, as these factors may also influence vulnerability to pathologies that can develop when stress responses are excessive or prolonged. It is clear that, in adults, the sex of an individual can influence the cortisol response to stress in a stressor specific manner. Nevertheless, the stage of development at which these sex differences emerge is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that there are sex differences in the cortisol response to tail docking and ACTH in lambs of 1 and 8 weeks of age. We also established cortisol responses in males when tail docking was imposed alone and in combination with castration at these ages. In experiment 1, 1 and 8 week old male and female lambs were subjected to sham handling, tail docking or, in males, a combination of tail docking and castration. In experiment 2, we administered ACTH (1.0 IU/kg) to male and female lambs at 1 and 8 weeks of age. There were significant cortisol responses to all treatments at both ages. Sex differences in the cortisol responses to tail docking and ACTH developed between 1 and 8 weeks of age, with females having greater responses than males. The data suggest that the mechanism for the sex difference in response to tail docking may involve the adrenal glands. At both ages, in males, the cortisol response to the combined treatment of tail docking and castration was significantly greater than that for tail docking alone.

scholarly journals Influence of sex and gonadal status of sheep on cortisol secretion in response to ACTH and on cortisol and LH secretion in response to stress: importance of different stressors

2002 ◽  
Vol 173 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
AI Turner ◽  
BJ Canny ◽  
RJ Hobbs ◽  
JD Bond ◽  
IJ Clarke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Restraint Stress ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Response To Stress ◽  
Lh Secretion ◽  
Gonadal Status ◽  
Major Mediator

There are sex differences in the response to stress and in the influence of stress on reproduction which may be due to gonadal steroids but the nature of these differences and the role of the gonads are not understood. We tested the hypotheses that sex and the presence/absence of gonads (gonadal status) will influence the cortisol response to injection of ACTH, insulin-induced hypoglycaemia and isolation/restraint stress, and that sex and gonadal status will influence the secretion of LH in response to isolation/restraint stress. Four groups of sheep were used in each of three experiments: gonad-intact rams, gonadectomised rams, gonad-intact ewes in the mid-luteal phase of the oestrous cycle and gonadectomised ewes. In Experiment 1 (n=4/group), jugular blood samples were collected every 10 min for 6 h; after 3 h, two animals in each group were injected (i.v.) with ACTH and the remaining two animals were injected (i.v.) with saline. Treatments were reversed 5 days later so that every animal received both treatments. Experiment 2 (n=4/group) used a similar schedule except that insulin was injected (i.v.) instead of ACTH. In Experiment 3 (n=5/group), blood samples were collected every 10 min for 16 h on a control day and again 2 weeks later when, after 8 h of sampling, all sheep were isolated and restrained for 8 h. Plasma cortisol was significantly (P<0.05) elevated following injection of ACTH or insulin and during isolation/restraint stress. There were no significant differences between the sexes in the cortisol response to ACTH. Rams had a greater (P<0.05) cortisol response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia than ewes while ewes had a greater (P<0.05) cortisol response to isolation/restraint stress than rams. There was no effect of gonadal status on these parameters. Plasma LH was suppressed (P<0.05) in gonadectomised animals during isolation/restraint stress but was not affected in gonad-intact animals, and there were no differences between the sexes. Our results show that the sex that has the greater cortisol response to a stressor depends on the stressor imposed and that these sex differences are likely to be at the level of the hypothalamo-pituitary unit rather than at the adrenal gland. Since there was a sex difference in the cortisol response to isolation/restraint, the lack of a sex difference in the response of LH to this stress suggests that glucocorticoids are unlikely to be a major mediator of the stress-induced suppression of LH secretion.

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 Examining sex differences in the completeness of Peruvian CRVS data and adult mortality estimates

Genus ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Cruz Castanheira ◽  
José Henrique Costa Monteiro da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Health Surveys ◽  
Adult Mortality ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Death Registration ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Mortality Estimates

AbstractThe production, compilation, and publication of death registration records is complex and usually involves many institutions. Assessing available data and the evolution of the completeness of the data compiled based on demographic techniques and other available data sources is of great importance for countries and for having timely and disaggregated mortality estimates. In this paper, we assess whether it is reasonable, based on the available data, to assume that there is a sex difference in the completeness of male and female death records in Peru in the last 30 years. In addition, we assess how the gap may have evolved with time by applying two-census death distribution methods on health-related registries and analyzing the information from the Demographic and Health Surveys and civil registries. Our findings suggest that there is no significant sex difference in the completeness of male and female health-related registries and, consequently, the sex gap currently observed in adult mortality estimates might be overestimated.

scholarly journals Sex Differences in the Ovine Fetal Cortisol Response to Stress

2011 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dino A Giussani ◽  
Andrew J W Fletcher ◽  
David S Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Response To Stress ◽  
Ovine Fetal

Cortisol and β-endorphin responses to physical and psychological stressors in lambs

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Mears ◽  
F. A. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Plasma Cortisol ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Psychological Stressors ◽  
Tail Docking ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Ram Lambs ◽  
Potential Use

Plasma cortisol, β-endorphin, T3 and T4 were determined in lambs before, during and after exposure to stress in order to evaluate the potential use of these hormones to objectively measure stress responses. Lambs were exposed to tail-docking, castration, weaning, isolation, and restraint stress. Twelve ewe and 24 ram lambs were assigned to the experiment, with 12 of the ram lambs surgically castrated when 3-wk old. Tail docking within 24 h of birth did not (P > 0.05) elevate either plasma cortisol or β-endorphin. Castration markedly elevated (P < 0.001) plasma cortisol and β-endorphin within 15 min of surgery. Both hormones were highly elevated for the first 4 h. Plasma cortisol returned to control levels by 24 h whereas β-endorphin was still elevated (P < 0.05) 24 h after castration. Plasma cortisol levels were elevated for the first 60 min following weaning (P < 0.005) and again at 24 h after dam removal (P < 0.001). Plasma β-endorphin was not elevated (P > 0.05) any time during the 72 h following weaning. Plasma cortisol (P < 0.001) and β-endorphin (P < 0.05) were elevated during the first 60 min following the start of 1 h of isolation. Results were similar for partial and total isolation. No effects of isolation were found for the next 23 h. Plasma cortisol (P < 0.005) was elevated during the first 30 min following 4 min of shearing-like restraint, whereas plasma β-endorphin was elevated only at 7 min (P < 0.05) after restraint began. No further effects of restraint were found prior to termination of sample collection at 24 h. None of the stressors employed affected plasma concentrations of T3 and T4. This study has shown that measurements of plasma cortisol and β-endorphin in blood samples obtained before, during and after stress are useful in assessing stress in lambs. The painful stressor, castration, induced marked and prolonged elevations of both hormones, whereas psychological stressors elicited graded, short-term cortisol responses and limited β-endorphin responses. Key words: Cortisol, β-endorphin, physical stress, psychological stress, lambs

scholarly journals Freestyle versus butterfly swimming performance – effects of age and sex

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Alexander Zingg ◽  
Mathias Wolfrum ◽  
Christoph Alexander Rüst ◽  
Thomas Rosemann ◽  
Romuald Lepers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Analysis Of Variance ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
National Level ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Performance Effects ◽  
Age And Sex

AbstractPurpose. Recent studies have suggested that the age of peak freestyle swimming speed is reached earlier in life in women than in men. However, no study has investigated the age of peak swimming speed in other swimming styles such as butterfly. The aims of the present study were to investigate the age of peak swimming speed in elite male and female butterfly and freestyle swimmers at the national level (Switzerland) and the sex differences in both the age of peak swimming speed and swimming speed for both swimming styles. Methods. Results of the elite Swiss swimmers between 2006 and 2010 were analysed using one-way analysis of variance. Results. In butterfly, women achieved peak swimming speed at 20-21 years in the 50 m, 100 m and 200 m, whereas men reached their fastest swimming speed in the 50 m at 20-21 years and in both the 100 m and 200 m at 18-19 years. In freestyle, women achieved peak swimming speed at 20-21 years for all distances. Men were the fastest at 22-23 years for both the 100 m and 200 m and at 26-27 years for the 50 m. In the butterfly, the sex difference in swimming speed was highest in the 50 m and lowest in the 200 m (14.1% ± 0.2 in the 50 m, 12.6% ± 1.0 in the 100 m and 8.7% ± 1.8 in the 200 m). Additionally, the sex difference in freestyle swimming speed was highest in the 50 m and lowest in the 200 m (16.2% ± 0.5 in the 50 m, 15.9% ± 0.4 in 100 m and 14.9% ± 1.0 in 200 m). Conclusions. These findings suggest that peak swimming speed was achieved earlier in life in men compared with women for the 100 m and 200 m butterfly distances but not in the 50 m butterfly. In freestyle, peak swimming speed was achieved at younger ages in women compared with men. The sex difference in peak swimming speed was lower in the butterfly than in freestyle.

Are preschoolers’ neurobiological stress systems responsive to culturally-relevant contexts?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ka I Ip ◽  
Barbara Felt ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Mayumi Karasawa ◽  
Hidemi Hirabayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychosocial Stressors ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Situational Contexts ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
China And Japan

Adults are biologically responsive to context, and their responses to particular situations may differ across cultures. However, are preschoolers’ biological systems also responsive to situational contexts and cultures? Here we show that children’s neurobiological stress responses, as indexed by salivary cortisol, are activated and responsive to psychosocial stressors relevant to their socio-cultural emphases. By examining cortisol changes across different contexts among 138 preschoolers living in the United States, China and Japan, we found that an achievement-related stressor elicited an increased cortisol response among Chinese preschoolers, whereas interpersonal-related stressors elicited an increased cortisol response among Japanese preschoolers. Contrastingly, US preschoolers showed decreased cortisol responses after these stressors, but consistently showed higher levels of anticipatory responses to separation at the beginning of each session. Our findings suggest that children’s neurobiological stress systems may be a critical biological mechanism allowing societal-level cultural phenomena to be embodied in individual-level responses, even amongst preschoolers.

scholarly journals Repeated stressors do not provoke habituation or accumulation of the stress response in the catfish Rhamdia quelen

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gessi Koakoski ◽  
Luiz Carlos Kreutz ◽  
Michele Fagundes ◽  
Thiago Acosta Oliveira ◽  
Daiane Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Response ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Short Intervals ◽  
Cumulative Stress ◽  
Cumulative Response ◽  
Rhamdia Quelen ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Response Profiles

Fish repeatedly experience stressful situations under experimental and aquaculture conditions, even in their natural habitat. Fish submitted to sequential stressors can exhibit accumulation or habituation on its cortisol response. We posed a central question about the cortisol response profiles after exposure to successive acute stressors of a similar and different nature in Rhamdia quelen. We have shown that successive acute stressors delivered with 12-h, 48-h, and 1-week intervals provoked similar cortisol responses in juvenile R. quelen, without any habituation or accumulation. The cumulative stress response is more associated to short acute stressors with very short intervals of minutes to hours. In our work, we used an interval as short as 12h, and no cumulative response was found. However, if the length of time between stressors is of a day or week as used in our work the most common and an expected phenomenon is the attenuation of the response. Thus, also, the absence of both accumulation of the stress response and the expected habituation is an intriguing result. Our results show that R. quelen does not show habituation or accumulation in its stress responses to repeated stressors, as reported for other fish species

Effects of tail docking and castration on stress responses in lambs and the influence of prenatal glucocorticoid treatment

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaofu Li ◽  
Ilias Nitsos ◽  
Graeme R. Polglase ◽  
John P. Newnham ◽  
John R. G. Challis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prenatal Exposure ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Plasma Cortisol ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Glucocorticoid Treatment ◽  
Tail Docking ◽  
In Pregnancy

It is common practice in Australian agriculture to remove the tails of lambs to prevent infection and to castrate males to prevent behavioural problems and unwanted reproduction. We have studied the pain and stress responses to these interventions by measuring changes in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and β-endorphin levels. Further, we have evaluated the effects of prenatal exposure to dexamethasone, which is known to affect the developing HPA axis. In control animals that had received prenatal saline treatment, plasma cortisol and adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) levels increased after the interventions in both females and males. Plasma β-endorphin levels also increased after the interventions, but the responses were less consistent. Prenatal dexamethasone exposure early in pregnancy (dexamethasone 0.14 mg kg–1 ewe weight injection commenced on day 40 of pregnancy for four consecutive intramuscular injections at 12-hourly intervals) blunted the cortisol response to tail docking in female offspring, but not to combined tail docking and castration in males. It had no effect on ACTH or β-endorphin responses in either sex. These findings describe the stress responses to these common agricultural interventions and suggest that long-term development of the HPA axis in females is altered by prenatal exposure to dexamethasone.

scholarly journals Impact of Mineralocorticoid Receptor And Angiotensin Ii Type 1 Receptor Antagonism on Blood Pressure Regulation in Obese Zucker Rats: Role of Sex Differences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jussara M do Carmo ◽  
Alexandre A da Silva ◽  
John E Hall
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Mineralocorticoid Receptor ◽  
Combined Treatment ◽  
Zucker Rats ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Obese Zucker Rats ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract Background Previous studies suggest that obesity-induced hypertension in females, but not males, is due to leptin-mediated stimulation of aldosterone secretion and subsequent activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR). Although angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) antagonism lowers blood pressure (BP) in male obese Zucker rats (OZR), which have defective leptin signaling, the potential role of sex differences in BP responses to RAAS blockade, including MR antagonism, in obesity is still unclear. We tested the cardiovascular effects of MR antagonism, alone or in combination with AT1R blockade in male and female OZR (n=5/sex) and lean Zucker rats (LZR, n=7/sex). Methods BP and heart rate (HR) were measured by telemetry 24-hrs/day. After a 6-day control period, spironolactone (40 mg/kg/day) was given for 10 days followed by a 7-day combined treatment with losartan (20 mg/kg/day), and followed by 6-day post-treatment recovery period. Results Compared to lean rats, OZR were hypertensive (Mean arterial pressure: 115±4 vs. 104±2 and 111±s vs. 100±3 mmHg for males and females) and had lower HR (355±9 vs. 393±7 and 367±10 vs. 412±13 bpm). MR blockade alone did not alter BP or HR in lean or obese male and female Zucker rats, whereas combined treatment reduced BP in obese and lean rats by 31±3 vs. 21±1 and 8±1 vs. 5±1 mmHg in males and females, respectively. No changes were observed in HR. Conclusions These results suggest that there are important sex differences in BP responses to chronic AT1R blockade but no major involvement of MR activation in BP regulation in OZR.

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