The Effect of Extensive Human Presence at an Early Age on Stress Responses and Reactivity of Juvenile Ostriches towards Humans

The effect of extensive human presence and regular gentle handling performed at an early age (0–3 months old) on stress responses and reactivity of juvenile ostriches towards humans was investigated. A total of 416 ostrich chicks over two years were exposed to one of three treatments for three months after hatching; namely, Human Presence 1 (HP1, N = 144): extensive/prolonged human presence with physical contact (touch, stroking), gentle human voice, and visual stimuli; Human Presence 2 (HP2, N = 136): extensive/prolonged human presence without physical contact, but with gentle human voice and visual stimuli; and the Standard treatment (S, N = 136): human presence limited to routine feed and water supply as a control. At 7.5 months of age, the plasma heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio was measured before and 72 h after feather harvesting and feather clipping to determine acute stress responses, while chronic stress was measured by quantification of corticosterone (CORT) concentrations in the floss feathers of the birds. Birds’ behavioural response towards a familiar or an unfamiliar handler was evaluated at 12 months using docility and fear tests, and through behavioural observations conducted on random days between the ages of 8–13 months. Willingness to approach, and to allow touch interactions, aggressiveness, and exhibition of sexual display towards the handler, was recorded. No difference in the H/L ratios before and after feather harvesting and clipping was observed in HP1 birds, whereas H/L ratios showed a significant increase 72 h post feather harvesting and clipping in HP2 and S birds (p < 0.05). Birds from the S treatment exhibited a significantly (p < 0.05) higher feather CORT concentration compared with HP1 birds, while HP2 birds had intermediate responses. Birds’ reactivity towards humans and temperament as evaluated using behavioural observations, docility, and fear tests was not affected by treatment (p > 0.05). However, HP1 and HP2 birds were more inclined (p < 0.05) to approach a familiar rather than an unfamiliar handler during the behavioural observations, indicating an ability to distinguish between a familiar and an unfamiliar handler. Overall, the results indicate that early gentle human interactions with ostrich chicks can be beneficial in reducing physiological stress sensitivity later in life and facilitate the ability of ostriches to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar handlers.

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Stress and Substance Misuse

Substance Use Disorders ◽

10.1093/med/9780190920197.003.0006 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 101-118

Author(s):

James M. Bjork ◽

Nicholas D. Thomson

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Stress Response ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Solution Space ◽

Chronic Administration ◽

Behavioral Repertoire ◽

Physiological Stress Response ◽

Response Systems

Stress is both a critical contributor and consequence of substance use disorder (SUD). First, exaggerated subjective stress responses are characteristic of affective symptomatology such as depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (sometimes stemming from histories of abuse) that have been prognostic of development of addiction in longitudinal studies. Substance use is negatively reinforced in many at-risk and addicted individuals because it may acutely alleviate stress. Second, chronic administration of commonly abused substances alters physiological stress response systems, especially during acute withdrawal. Third, acute stress responses blunt the addicted individual’s frontocortically mediated behavioral repertoire (solution space) in favor of reflexive behavioral biases toward relief-based substance use. Therefore, acute stress responses are a strong trigger for relapse to substance use during extended recovery. These findings have collectively led to approaches to SUD relapse prevention that pharmacologically blunt components of the stress response, but these agents have not reliably shown success in human clinical trials. This chapter reviews these different relationships between stress and addiction and offers future avenues for additional research.

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Protocol of the STRess at Work (STRAW) Project: How to Disentangle Day-to-Day Occupational Stress among Academics Based on EMA, Physiological Data, and Smartphone Sensor and Usage Data

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17238835 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (23) ◽

pp. 8835

Author(s):

Larissa Bolliger ◽

Junoš Lukan ◽

Mitja Luštrek ◽

Dirk De Bacquer ◽

Els Clays

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Work Environment ◽

Occupational Stress ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Prediction Models ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Physiological Data ◽

Smartphone Sensor ◽

Usage Data

Several studies have reported on increasing psychosocial stress in academia due to work environment risk factors like job insecurity, work-family conflict, research grant applications, and high workload. The STRAW project adds novel aspects to occupational stress research among academic staff by measuring day-to-day stress in their real-world work environments over 15 working days. Work environment risk factors, stress outcomes, health-related behaviors, and work activities were measured repeatedly via an ecological momentary assessment (EMA), specially developed for this project. These results were combined with continuously tracked physiological stress responses using wearable devices and smartphone sensor and usage data. These data provide information on workplace context using our self-developed Android smartphone app. The data were analyzed using two approaches: 1) multilevel statistical modelling for repeated data to analyze relations between work environment risk factors and stress outcomes on a within- and between-person level, based on EMA results and a baseline screening, and 2) machine-learning focusing on building prediction models to develop and evaluate acute stress detection models, based on physiological data and smartphone sensor and usage data. Linking these data collection and analysis approaches enabled us to disentangle and model sources, outcomes, and contexts of occupational stress in academia.

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Stream habitat and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) physiological stress responses to streamside clear-cut logging in British Columbia

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x04-202 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 541-556 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Eric Mellina ◽

Scott G Hinch ◽

Edward M Donaldson ◽

Greg Pearson

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Rainbow Trout ◽

Chronic Stress ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Plasma Cortisol ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Stream Habitat ◽

Clear Cut ◽

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss

The impacts associated with streamside clear-cut logging (e.g., increased temperatures and sedimentation, loss of habitat complexity) are potentially stressful to stream-dwelling fish. We examined stream habitat and rainbow trout physiological stress responses to clear-cut logging in north-central British Columbia using 15 streams divided into three categories: old growth (reference), recently logged (clear-cut to both banks 19 years prior to the study), and second growth (clear-cut 2528 years prior to the study). We used plasma cortisol and chloride concentrations as indicators of acute stress, and interrenal nuclear diameters, impairment of the plasma cortisol response, and trout condition and length-at-age estimates as indicators of chronic stress. No statistically significant acute or chronic stress responses to streamside logging were found, despite increases in summertime stream temperatures (daily maxima and diurnal fluctuations) and a reduction in the average overall availability of pool habitat. Our observed stress responses were approximately an order of magnitude lower than what has previously been reported in the literature for a variety of different stressors, and trout interrenal nuclear diameters responses to the onset of winter were approximately five times greater than those to logging. The overall consistency of our results suggests that the impacts of streamside clear-cut logging are not acutely or chronically stressful to rainbow trout in our study area.

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Non-invasive cortisol measurements as indicators of physiological stress responses in guinea pigs

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.1590 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. e1590 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Matthias Nemeth ◽

Elisabeth Pschernig ◽

Bernard Wallner ◽

Eva Millesi

Keyword(s):

Stress Responses ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Guinea Pigs ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Biological Relevance ◽

Saliva Cortisol ◽

Cortisol Levels

Non-invasive measurements of glucocorticoid (GC) concentrations, including cortisol and corticosterone, serve as reliable indicators of adrenocortical activities and physiological stress loads in a variety of species. As an alternative to invasive analyses based on plasma, GC concentrations in saliva still represent single-point-of-time measurements, suitable for studying short-term or acute stress responses, whereas fecal GC metabolites (FGMs) reflect overall stress loads and stress responses after a species-specific time frame in the long-term. In our study species, the domestic guinea pig, GC measurements are commonly used to indicate stress responses to different environmental conditions, but the biological relevance of non-invasive measurements is widely unknown. We therefore established an experimental protocol based on the animals’ natural stress responses to different environmental conditions and compared GC levels in plasma, saliva, and fecal samples during non-stressful social isolations and stressful two-hour social confrontations with unfamiliar individuals. Plasma and saliva cortisol concentrations were significantly increased directly after the social confrontations, and plasma and saliva cortisol levels were strongly correlated. This demonstrates a high biological relevance of GC measurements in saliva. FGM levels measured 20 h afterwards, representing the reported mean gut passage time based on physiological validations, revealed that the overall stress load was not affected by the confrontations, but also no relations to plasma cortisol levels were detected. We therefore measured FGMs in two-hour intervals for 24 h after another social confrontation and detected significantly increased levels after four to twelve hours, reaching peak concentrations already after six hours. Our findings confirm that non-invasive GC measurements in guinea pigs are highly biologically relevant in indicating physiological stress responses compared to circulating levels in plasma in the short- and long-term. Our approach also underlines the importance of detailed investigations on how to use and interpret non-invasive measurements, including the determination of appropriate time points for sample collections.

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Psychophysiological Stress Reactivity Relationships across the Menstrual Cycle

Journal of Hormones ◽

10.1155/2015/631250 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Karen C. Olson ◽

Haley A. Carroll ◽

M. Kathleen B. Lustyk

Keyword(s):

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Trait Anxiety ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Luteal Phase ◽

Protective Factor ◽

Stress Reactivity ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Psychophysiological Stress ◽

Autonomic Perception

While evidence suggests that women exhibit psychophysiological differences in stress reactivity across the menstrual cycle, the relationships among psychological and physiological stress reactivity states are not well understood. Healthy, normally cycling women (N=44) participated in two counterbalanced laboratory sessions during the follicular and luteal phases where heart rate and subjective stress were assessed in response to stressors. There were no differences in the magnitudes of psychophysiological stress responses across the cycle. Psychological and physiological states were largely unrelated in the follicular phase but interrelationships were found in the luteal phase and these relationships were influenced by autonomic perception and trait anxiety. For women with high trait anxiety, autonomic perception appeared to buffer psychological and physiological stress reactivity during the luteal phase, suggesting that autonomic perception may be a protective factor for more anxious women during times of acute stress.

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He who dares only wins sometimes: physiological stress and contest behaviour in Xiphophorus helleri

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-00003021 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 149 (9) ◽

pp. 977-1002 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

K. Boulton ◽

B. Sinderman ◽

M.R. Pearce ◽

R.L. Earley ◽

A.J. Wilson

Keyword(s):

Stress Responses ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Coping Styles ◽

Physiological State ◽

Stress Coping ◽

Contest Outcome ◽

Cortisol Levels ◽

The Difference ◽

Contest Behaviour

While many factors influence contest outcome and social dominance in animals, there is increasing interest in behavioural-physiological stress-coping styles. Causality, however, is often ambiguous; is physiological state determined by contest outcome or vice versa? Furthermore, experimental protocols may themselves induce stress responses that impact individual behaviour and, thus, potentially contest outcome. Here we test whether latency to recover from acute stress, measured both physiologically and behaviourally, predicts who initiates and who wins dyadic contests between pairs of male green swordtails (Xiphophorous helleri). In line with our predictions, animals that recovered faster (behaviourally) from disturbance created by the experimental protocol prior to meeting an opponent were more likely to initiate contests; however, they were not more likely to win and, contrary to expectations, had higher pre-contest cortisol levels than their opponents. They also showed greater physiological stress responses to the experiment as determined from the difference between pre- and post-contest cortisol levels. Moreover, stress response was independent of whether a contest escalated. In contradiction to evidence found in other taxa and fish systems, the suite of traits that we measured were not correlated in a manner that allowed classification of the animals into the usual reactive and proactive stress-coping styles. Our results suggest that coping style may play a key role in determining which individual initiates a contest, but that other factors govern contest outcome.

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Interoception, Stress, and Physical Symptoms in Stress-Associated Diseases

European Journal of Health Psychology ◽

10.1027/2512-8442/a000063 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 132-153 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

André Schulz ◽

Dana Schultchen ◽

Claus Vögele

Keyword(s):

Stress Responses ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Physical Symptoms ◽

The Body ◽

Body Axis ◽

Main Hypothesis ◽

Stress Effects ◽

The Brain

Abstract. The brain and peripheral bodily organs continuously exchange information. Exemplary, interoception refers to the processing and perception of ascending information from the body to the brain. Stress responses involve a neurobehavioral cascade, which includes the activation of peripheral organs via neural and endocrine pathways and can thus be seen as an example for descending information on the brain-body axis. Hence, the interaction of interoception and stress represents bi-directional communication on the brain-body axis. The main hypothesis underlying this review is that the dysregulation of brain-body communication represents an important mechanism for the generation of physical symptoms in stress-related disorders. The aims of this review are, therefore, (1) to summarize current knowledge on acute stress effects on different stages of interoceptive signal processing, (2) to discuss possible patterns of abnormal brain-body communication (i.e., alterations in interoception and physiological stress axes activation) in mental disorders and chronic physical conditions, and (3) to consider possible approaches to modify interoception. Due to the regulatory feedback loops underlying brain-body communication, the modification of interoceptive processes (ascending signals) may, in turn, affect physiological stress axes activity (descending signals), and, ultimately, also physical symptoms.

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Physiological responses of pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) to acute handling stress

Acta Amazonica ◽

10.1590/s0044-59672007000400019 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 629-633 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Levy de Carvalho Gomes

Keyword(s):

Stress Responses ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Latency Period ◽

Liver Glycogen ◽

Air Exposure ◽

Handling Stress ◽

Arapaima Gigas ◽

Acute Stressor

Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) is an obligatory air-breathing fish from the Amazon basin. Previous study showed that pirarucu juveniles present a latency period in their response to moderate stress (transportation). Therefore the objective of this study was to verify the effects of a prolonged air exposure stress in lactate, glucose, cortisol, haematocrit, haemoglobin, and liver glycogen in pirarucu. Thirty-six fish were handled by netting and subjected to air exposure for 75-min. Six fish were sampled before handling and at 0, 6, 24, 48, and 96h after handling. Fish cortisol, lactate and haematocrit rose after handling, returning to previous unstressed values on the following sampling (6h after handling). Glucose increased significantly after handling and that was maintained for 24 h. There were no changes in haemoglobin and liver glycogen as a consequence of handling. The results demonstrate a quick response when exposed to an acute stressor and a fast recovery, suggesting that pirarucu does not use their glycogen reserves during an acute stress. The results suggest that pirarucu exhibit physiological stress responses to handling similar in magnitude to those previously documented for many teleostean fishes, including salmonids.

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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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Metabolome and microbiome profiling of a stress-sensitive rat model of gut-brain axis dysfunction

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-50593-3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Shalome A. Bassett ◽

Wayne Young ◽

Karl Fraser ◽

Julie E. Dalziel ◽

Jim Webster ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Relative Abundance ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Plasma Lipids ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Sprague Dawley ◽

Brain Lipids ◽

Wky Rats ◽

Response To Stress ◽

Wistar Kyoto

Abstract Stress negatively impacts gut and brain health. Individual differences in response to stress have been linked to genetic and environmental factors and more recently, a role for the gut microbiota in the regulation of stress-related changes has been demonstrated. However, the mechanisms by which these factors influence each other are poorly understood, and there are currently no established robust biomarkers of stress susceptibility. To determine the metabolic and microbial signatures underpinning physiological stress responses, we compared stress-sensitive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats to the normo-anxious Sprague Dawley (SD) strain. Here we report that acute stress-induced strain-specific changes in brain lipid metabolites were a prominent feature in WKY rats. The relative abundance of Lactococcus correlated with the relative proportions of many brain lipids. In contrast, plasma lipids were significantly elevated in response to stress in SD rats, but not in WKY rats. Supporting these findings, we found that the greatest difference between the SD and WKY microbiomes were the predicted relative abundance of microbial genes involved in lipid and energy metabolism. Our results provide potential insights for developing novel biomarkers of stress vulnerability, some of which appear genotype specific.

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