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

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.2196/preprints.11647 ◽

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

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

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1017/s0029665120004413 ◽

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.

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Does Psychosocial Stress Impact Cognitive Reappraisal? Behavioral and Neural Evidence

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01157 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (11) ◽

pp. 1803-1816 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

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.

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Stress as a risk factor in the development of brain stroke

Medicinski pregled ◽

10.2298/mpns1104161a ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 64 (3-4) ◽

pp. 161-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ivan Antic ◽

Branislav Petrovic ◽

Natasa Rancic

Keyword(s):

Cerebrovascular Disease ◽

Chronic Stress ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Control Group ◽

Acute And Chronic Stress ◽

Chronic Stressors ◽

Brain Stroke ◽

Countries In Transition ◽

The One

Introduction. In many developing countries and in countries in transition, an increased incidence of cerebrovascular disease has been observed. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of acute and chronic stress on the development of acute brain stroke and its relapse. Material and methods. The study included all recorded cases of cerebrovascular disease in the municipality of Doljevac in the period 2005-2007 (the stroke victims), and 230 healthy controls. By using the method of interview, the frequency of chronic stress situations was examined, as well as the occurrence of acute stress situations 24 hours prior to the acute brain stroke and its relapse. Results. In the group which consisted of stroke victims, a large number of subjects was found to have had an acute stress 24 hours prior to the onset of the disease, and the type of stress which proved to be statistically significant was the one which had been provoked by problems between family members (?2=4,03; p=0,04). All of the chronic stressors were more frequent in the group consisting of stroke victims than in the control group and among the statistically significant stressors were stressful situations in the family and at work. In recidivists, a greater presence of acute and chronic stressors was observed, but the statistical significance was not proved when this disease occurred again. Conclusion. The presence of acute stressors was found to have been more frequent in the group of stroke victims 24 hours prior to the on?set of the disease. The effect of acute and chronic stressors upon the brain stroke recidivism has not been statistically proved yet.

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Acute Psychological Stress Disrupts Attentional Bias to Threat-Related Stimuli

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-017-14138-w ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

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.

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Physiological Stress in Rescued Wild Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) Being Held in a Rehabilitation Sanctuary: A Pilot Study

10.20944/preprints202108.0407.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Renae Charalambous ◽

Troy Simonato ◽

Matthew Peel ◽

Edward Narayan

Keyword(s):

Stress Response ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Chronic Stress ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Clinical Care ◽

Stress System ◽

Phascolarctos Cinereus ◽

Acute And Chronic Stress

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are one of Australia's most charismatic native small marsupial species. Unfortunately, populations of koalas are rapidly declining throughout Australia and they continue to face increasing pressure from a changing ecosystem. Negative stimulants in the environment can elicit stress responses through activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Depending on the duration of the negative stimulant, the stress response can lead to either acute or chronic side effects, and is shown through the activation of the neuroendocrine stress system and the release of glucocorticoids (e.g., cortisol). Wild koalas entering clinical care face novel stressors that can be out of a wildlife carer's control. In this pilot study, we monitored physiological stress in three wild koalas at a wildlife rehabilitation centre in New South Wales, Australia. Acute and chronic stress was indexed non-invasively, with faecal samples taken to evaluate acute stress, and fur samples taken to evaluate chronic stress. Sampling occurred sporadically over four months, from the start of September 2018 to the end of December 2018. Results attempt to understand the stress response of koalas to negative stimulants in the environment by comparing faecal glucocorticoids on days where a known stressor was recorded with days where no known stressor was recorded. Furthermore, variations in faecal and fur glucocorticoids were compared between the three koalas in this study. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of stress tracking of wild rescued koalas in a sanctuary. We suggest that further monitoring of baseline, acute and chronic stress will be needed to better understand how koalas respond to negative stimulants associated with clinical care.

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Cue-induced cocaine craving enhances psychosocial stress and vice versa in chronic cocaine users

10.1101/2022.01.13.22268894 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Ann-Kathrin Kexel ◽

Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon ◽

Markus R. Baumgartner ◽

Etna J. E. Engeli ◽

Monika Visentini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stress Response ◽

Psychosocial Stress ◽

Social Stress ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Growth Models ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Chronic Cocaine ◽

Cocaine Users

There is evidence that stress and craving contribute to the development, maintenance, and relapse in cocaine use disorder. Previous research has shown altered physiological responses to psychosocial stress as well as increased vegetative responding to substance-related cues in chronic cocaine users (CU). However, how psychosocial stress and cue-induced craving interact in relation to the physiological response of CU is largely unknown. Therefore, we investigated the interaction between acute psychosocial stress and cocaine-cue-related reactivity in 47 CU and 38 controls. Participants were randomly exposed first to a video-based cocaine-cue paradigm and second to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or vice versa in a crossed and balanced design to investigate possible mutually augmenting effects of both stressors on the physiological stress response. Plasma cortisol, ACTH, and noradrenaline as well as subjective stress and craving were assessed repeatedly over the course of the experimental procedure. Growth models and discontinuous growth models were used to estimate the responses during the cocaine-cue paradigm and TSST. Overall, both groups did not differ in their endocrinological responses to the TSST but CU displayed lower ACTH levels at baseline. The TSST did not elevate craving in CU. However, if the cocaine-cue video was shown first, CU displayed an enhanced cortisol response to the subsequent TSST. Cocaine-cues robustly evoked craving in CU but no stress response, while cue-induced craving was intensified after the TSST. Taken together, CU did not show an altered acute stress response during the TSST but stress and craving together seem to have mutually augmenting effects on their stress response.

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Glutamine synthetase expression in muscle is regulated by transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms

AJP Endocrinology and Metabolism ◽

10.1152/ajpendo.1999.276.6.e1136 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 276 (6) ◽

pp. E1136-E1145 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Brian I. Labow ◽

Wiley W. Souba ◽

Steve F. Abcouwer

Keyword(s):

Glutamine Synthetase ◽

Chronic Stress ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Male Rats ◽

Methionine Sulfoximine ◽

Mrna Levels ◽

Protein Levels ◽

Acute And Chronic Stress ◽

Gs Protein

Skeletal muscle exports glutamine (Gln) and increases the expression of the enzyme glutamine synthetase (GS) in response to physiological stress. Acute stress or direct glucocorticoid administration raises muscle GS mRNA levels dramatically without a parallel increase in GS protein levels. In the lung, this discrepancy is caused by feedback destabilization of the GS protein by its product Gln. It was hypothesized that muscle GS protein levels increase during stress only when the intracellular Gln pool has been depleted. Adult male rats were injected with the glucocorticoid hormone dexamethasone (DEX) to mimic the acute stress response and with the GS inhibitor methionine sulfoximine (MSO) to deplete muscle Gln stores. DEX increased GS mRNA levels by 2.8-fold but increased GS protein levels by an average of only 40%. MSO diminished muscle GLN levels by 68% and caused GS protein levels to rise in accordance with GS mRNA. Chronic stress was mimicked using 6 days of MSO treatment, which produced anorexia, 23% loss of body weight, and 64% decrease in muscle Gln levels, as well as pronounced increases in both muscle GS mRNA (26-fold) and protein levels (35-fold) without elevation of plasma glucocorticoid levels. Calorie-restricted pair-fed animals exhibited lesser increases in muscle GS mRNA (8-fold) and protein levels (5-fold) without a decline in muscle Gln content. Thus regulation of GS expression in both acute and chronic stress involved both transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms, perhaps affected by muscle Gln content.

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Induction of acute stress through an internet-delivered Trier Social Stress Test as assessed by photoplethysmography on a smartphone

10.31234/osf.io/rjkmv ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Helen Harvie ◽

Barbie Jain ◽

Benjamin W Nelson ◽

Erik L Knight ◽

Leslie E Roos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Reactivity ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Research Participation ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Heart Rate Reactivity ◽

Sampling Procedures

Recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of administering the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) through the internet, with major implications for promoting international inclusivity in research participation through extending typical sampling procedures beyond traditional geographical boundaries. However, online TSST studies to date are limited by the lack of a control group, which may be particularly problematic for studies administered through video mediated platforms, given evidence these interactions may be inherently stressful due to a minimization of nonverbal cues and overemphasis on facial expression. Furthermore, there is a need for biological measures of stress reactivity that can be fully implemented online, as extant research has relied upon laboratory measures that must be shipped back and forth between laboratory and participant. Here, we test smartphone-based photoplethysmography as a measure of heart rate reactivity to an online variant of the TSST. Results demonstrate significant acceleration in heart rate and self-reported stress and anxiety in the TSST condition relative to a placebo version of the TSST. The placebo procedures lead to a significant increase in self-reported stress and anxiety relative to baseline levels, but this increase was smaller in magnitude than that observed in the TSST condition. These findings highlight the potential for smartphone-based photoplethysmography in internet-delivered studies of cardiac reactivity and demonstrate that it is critical to utilize random assignment to a control or stressor condition when administering acute stress online.

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

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11040508 ◽

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.

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