Neuroimmune mechanisms of stress: sex differences, developmental plasticity, and implications for pharmacotherapy of stress-related disease.

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Deak, Terrence; Quinn, Matt; Cidlowski, John A; Victoria, Nicole C; Murphy, Anne Z; Sheridan, John F

2015-01-01

The last decade has witnessed profound growth in studies examining the role of fundamental neuroimmune processes as key mechanisms that might form a natural bridge between normal physiology and pathological outcomes. Rooted in core concepts from psychoneuroimmunology, this review utilizes a succinct, exemplar-driven approach of several model systems that contribute significantly to our knowledge of the mechanisms by which neuroimmune processes interact with stress physiology. Specifically, we review recent evidence showing that (i) stress challenges produce time-dependent and stressor-specific patterns of cytokine/chemokine expression in the CNS; (ii) inflammation-related genes exhibit unique expression profiles in males and females depending upon individual, cooperative or antagonistic interactions between steroid hormone receptors (estrogen and glucocorticoid receptors); (iii) adverse social experiences incurred through repeated social defeat engage a dynamic process of immune cell migration from the bone marrow to brain and prime neuroimmune function and (iv) early developmental exposure to an inflammatory stimulus (carageenin injection into the hindpaw) has a lasting influence on stress reactivity across the lifespan. As such, the present review provides a theoretical framework for understanding the role that neuroimmune mechanisms might play in stress plasticity and pathological outcomes, while at the same time pointing toward features of the individual (sex, developmental experience, stress history) that might ultimately be used for the development of personalized strategies for therapeutic intervention in stress-related pathologies.

Interpersonal stress regulation and the development of anxiety disorders: an attachment-based developmental framework

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Tobias eNolte

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Anxiety disorders represent a common but often debilitating form of psychopathology in both children and adults. While there is a growing understanding of the aetiology and maintainance of these disorders across various research domains, only recently have integrative accounts been proposed. While classical attachment history has been a traditional core construct in psychological models of anxiety, contemporary attachment theory has the potential to integrate neurobiological and behavioral findings within a multidisciplinary developmental framework.The current paper proposes a modern attachment theory-based developmental model grounded in relevant literature from multiple disciplines including social neuroscience, genetics, neuroendocrinology, and the study of family factors involved in the development of anxiety disorders. Recent accounts of stress regulation have highlighted the interplay between stress, anxiety and activation of the attachment system. This interplay directly affects the development of social cognitive and mentalizing capacities that are acquired in the interpersonal context of early attachment relationships. Early attachment experiences are conceptualised as the key organiser of a complex interplay between genetic, environmental and epigentic contributions to the development of anxiety disorders – a multifactorial aetiology resulting from dysfunctional co-regulation of fear and stress states. These risk-conferring processes are characterised by hyperactivation strategies in the face of anxiety.In the model, the cumulative allostatic load and subsequent wear and tear effects associated with hyperactivation strategies converge on the neural pathways of anxiety and stress. Attachment experiences further influence the development of anxiety as potential moderators of risk factors, differentially impacting on genetic vulnerability and relevant neurobiological pathways. Implications for further research and potential treatments

Exposure to mercuric chloride induces developmental damage, oxidative stress and immunotoxicity in zebrafish embryos-larvae.

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Zhang, Qun-Fang; Li, Ying-Wen; Liu, Zhi-Hao; Chen, Qi-Liang

2016-12-01

Mercury (Hg) is a widespread environmental pollutant that can produce severe negative effects on fish even at very low concentrations. However, the mechanisms underlying inorganic Hg-induced oxidative stress and immunotoxicity in the early development stage of fish still need to be clarified. In the present study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were exposed to different concentrations of Hg 2+ (0, 1, 4 and 16μg/L; added as mercuric chloride, HgCl 2 ) from 2h post-fertilization (hpf) to 168hpf. Developmental parameters and total Hg accumulation were monitored during the exposure period, and antioxidant status and the mRNA expression of genes related to the innate immune system were examined at 168hpf. The results showed that increasing Hg 2+ concentration and time significantly increased total Hg accumulation in zebrafish embryos-larvae. Exposure to 16μg/L Hg 2+ caused developmental damage, including increased mortality and malformation, decreased body length, and delayed hatching period. Meanwhile, HgCl 2 exposure (especially in the 16μg/L Hg 2+ group) induced oxidative stress affecting antioxidant enzyme (CAT, GST and GPX) activities, endogenous GSH and MDA contents, as well as the mRNA levels of genes (cat1, sod1, gstr, gpx1a, nrf2, keap1, hsp70 and mt) encoding antioxidant proteins. Moreover, the transcription levels of several representative genes (il-1β, il-8, il-10, tnfα2, lyz and c3) involved in innate immunity were up-regulated by HgCl 2 exposure, suggesting that inorganic Hg had the potential to induce immunotoxicity. Taken together, the present study provides evidence that waterborne HgCl 2 exposure can induce developmental impairment, oxidative stress and immunotoxicity in the early development stage of fish, which brings insights into the toxicity mechanisms of inorganic Hg in fish. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chronic unpredictable stress decreases expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in mouse ovaries: relationship to oocytes developmental potential.

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Wu, Li-Min; Hu, Mei-Hong; Tong, Xian-Hong; Han, Hui; Shen, Ni; Jin, Ren-Tao; Wang, Wei; Zhou, Gui-Xiang; He, Guo-Ping; Liu, Yu-Sheng

2012-01-01

Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) was originally described in the nervous system but has been shown to be expressed in ovary tissues recently, acting as a paracrine/autocrine regulator required for developments of follicles and oocytes. Although it is generally accepted that chronic stress impairs female reproduction and decreases the expression of BDNF in limbic structures of central nervous system, which contributes to mood disorder. However, it is not known whether chronic stress affects oocytes developments, nor whether it affects expression of BDNF in ovary. Mice were randomly assigned into control group, stressed group, BDNF-treated group and BDNF-treated stressed group. The chronic unpredictable mild stress model was used to produce psychosocial stress in mice, and the model was verified by open field test and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. The methods of immunohistochemistry and western blotting were used to detect BDNF protein level and distribution. The number of retrieved oocytes, oocyte maturation, embryo cleavage and the rates of blastocyst formation after parthenogenetic activation were evaluated. Chronic unpredictable stress decreased the BDNF expression in antral follicles, but didn't affect the BDNF expression in primordial, primary and secondary follicles. Chronic unpredictable stress also decreased the number of retrieved oocytes and the rate of blastocyst formation, which was rescued by exogenous BDNF treatment. BDNF in mouse ovaries may be related to the decreased number of retrieved oocytes and impaired oocytes developmental potential induced by chronic unpredictable stress.

Chronic unpredictable stress decreases expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF in mouse ovaries: relationship to oocytes developmental potential.

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Li-Min Wu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF was originally described in the nervous system but has been shown to be expressed in ovary tissues recently, acting as a paracrine/autocrine regulator required for developments of follicles and oocytes. Although it is generally accepted that chronic stress impairs female reproduction and decreases the expression of BDNF in limbic structures of central nervous system, which contributes to mood disorder. However, it is not known whether chronic stress affects oocytes developments, nor whether it affects expression of BDNF in ovary. METHODS: Mice were randomly assigned into control group, stressed group, BDNF-treated group and BDNF-treated stressed group. The chronic unpredictable mild stress model was used to produce psychosocial stress in mice, and the model was verified by open field test and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis activity. The methods of immunohistochemistry and western blotting were used to detect BDNF protein level and distribution. The number of retrieved oocytes, oocyte maturation, embryo cleavage and the rates of blastocyst formation after parthenogenetic activation were evaluated. RESULTS: Chronic unpredictable stress decreased the BDNF expression in antral follicles, but didn't affect the BDNF expression in primordial, primary and secondary follicles. Chronic unpredictable stress also decreased the number of retrieved oocytes and the rate of blastocyst formation, which was rescued by exogenous BDNF treatment. CONCLUSION: BDNF in mouse ovaries may be related to the decreased number of retrieved oocytes and impaired oocytes developmental potential induced by chronic unpredictable stress.

Developmental and Neurological Implications for Relating Cognition and Affect.

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Bart, William M.

Elements of a theory relating cognition and affect are outlined. The theory is heavily based upon neuroscience research regarding the hemispheric lateralization of various cognitive processes and emotions; specific examples are provided. Developmental research on intelligence as well as theories of intrinsic motivation, are also discussed.…

Research Paper: Relationship of Parent-Child Stress with Cochlear Implanted Children’s Developmental Skills

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Salar Faramarzi

2016-07-01

Conclusion The results of this study showed that parent-child stress had a significant effect on developmental skills of children with cochlear implants. Due to the importance of developmental skills in children with cochlear implants, the results of this study warned the need to provide counseling and psychological support for this group of parents. Accordingly, the programs should be offered in the form of workshops for mothers of these children. Also, psychologists and family counselors and experts in family therapy are recommended to have special attention to the role of stress in parent-child relationships in treatment programs and training.

Developmental stress elicits preference for methamphetamine in the spontaneously hypertensive rat model of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

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Womersley, Jacqueline S; Mpeta, Bafokeng; Dimatelis, Jacqueline J; Kellaway, Lauriston A; Stein, Dan J; Russell, Vivienne A

2016-06-17

Developmental stress has been hypothesised to interact with genetic predisposition to increase the risk of developing substance use disorders. Here we have investigated the effects of maternal separation-induced developmental stress using a behavioural proxy of methamphetamine preference in an animal model of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, the spontaneously hypertensive rat, versus Wistar Kyoto and Sprague-Dawley comparator strains. Analysis of results obtained using a conditioned place preference paradigm revealed a significant strain × stress interaction with maternal separation inducing preference for the methamphetamine-associated compartment in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Maternal separation increased behavioural sensitization to the locomotor-stimulatory effects of methamphetamine in both spontaneously hypertensive and Sprague-Dawley strains but not in Wistar Kyoto rats. Our findings indicate that developmental stress in a genetic rat model of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder may foster a vulnerability to the development of substance use disorders.

Stress generation in a developmental context: the role of youth depressive symptoms, maternal depression, the parent-child relationship, and family stress.

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Chan, Priscilla T; Doan, Stacey N; Tompson, Martha C

2014-02-01

The present study examined stress generation in a developmental and family context among 171 mothers and their preadolescent children, ages 8-12 years, at baseline (Time 1) and 1-year follow-up (Time 2). In the current study, we examined the bidirectional relationship between children's depressive symptoms and dependent family stress. Results suggest that children's baseline level of depressive symptoms predicted the generation of dependent family stress 1 year later. However, baseline dependent family stress did not predict an increase in children's depressive symptoms 1 year later. In addition, we examined whether a larger context of both child chronic strain (indicated by academic, behavioral, and peer stress) and family factors, including socioeconomic status and parent-child relationship quality, would influence the stress generation process. Although both chronic strain and socioeconomic status were not associated with dependent family stress at Time 2, poorer parent-child relationship quality significantly predicted greater dependent family stress at Time 2. Child chronic strain, but neither socioeconomic status nor parent-child relationship quality, predicted children's depression symptoms at Time 2. Finally, gender, maternal depression history, and current maternal depressive symptoms did not moderate the relationship between level of dependent family stress and depressive symptoms. Overall, findings provide partial support for a developmental stress generation model operating in the preadolescent period.

Authoritative parenting and parental stress in parents of pre-school and older children with developmental disabilities.

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Woolfson, L; Grant, E

2006-03-01

Rearing a child with a developmental disability is associated with increased parental stress. Theories of stress and adjustment and bi-directional theories of child development suggest that parenting could influence these negative outcomes. Relationships between parenting approaches and stress in parents of children with developmental disabilities (DD) (N = 53) were examined across two age groups, 3-5 years and 9-11 years and compared with a contrast group of typically developing children (TD) (N = 60). Measures used were the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form and Rickel and Biasatti's modification of Block's Child Rearing Practices Report, classified into Baumrind's parenting styles using Reitman and Gross's method. Parents in the older DD group used Authoritative parenting less than parents in the younger DD group, while the opposite developmental pattern was seen in the TD group. Multivariate analysis of variance showed a significant group x parenting style interaction for Parental Distress, Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction and Difficult Child. Stress measures were higher for the DD group and seemed to be associated with Authoritative parenting approaches, an effect that was not observed in the TD group. Findings suggest that the well-established effect of group on stress may be moderated by parenting style. Authoritative parenting may be highly stressful for parents of children with DD to implement, resulting in a decrease in its use across the two age groups.

Developmental stage of strongyle eggs affects the outcome variations of real-time PCR analysis

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Andersen, Ulla Vestergaard; Haakansson, I. T.; Roust, Tina

2013-01-01

extent developmental stages can affect the variation of diagnostic test results. This study investigated the influence of developmental stages of strongyle eggs on the variation real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results. Mixed species strongyle eggs were obtained from the faeces of a naturally...

No Inbreeding depression for low temperature developmental acclimation across multiple drosophila species

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Kristensen, Torsten Nygård; Loeschcke, Volker; Bilde, Trine

2011-01-01

stressful temperatures, but whether adaptation to thermal stress through plastic responses also is affected by inbreeding is so far not clear. In this study, we test inherent cold resistance and the ability to respond plastically to temperature changes through developmental cold acclimation in inbred...... the ability to respond adaptively to temperature acclimation, and (3) tropical species with low basal resistance show stronger adaptive plastic responses to developmental acclimation compared to widespread species...

How Psychological Stress Affects Emotional Prosody

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Paulmann, Silke; Furnes, Desire; Bøkenes, Anne Ming; Cozzolino, Philip J.

2016-01-01

We explored how experimentally induced psychological stress affects the production and recognition of vocal emotions. In Study 1a, we demonstrate that sentences spoken by stressed speakers are judged by naïve listeners as sounding more stressed than sentences uttered by non-stressed speakers. In Study 1b, negative emotions produced by stressed speakers are generally less well recognized than the same emotions produced by non-stressed speakers. Multiple mediation analyses suggest this poorer recognition of negative stimuli was due to a mismatch between the variation of volume voiced by speakers and the range of volume expected by listeners. Together, this suggests that the stress level of the speaker affects judgments made by the receiver. In Study 2, we demonstrate that participants who were induced with a feeling of stress before carrying out an emotional prosody recognition task performed worse than non-stressed participants. Overall, findings suggest detrimental effects of induced stress on interpersonal sensitivity. PMID:27802287

How Psychological Stress Affects Emotional Prosody.

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Paulmann, Silke; Furnes, Desire; Bøkenes, Anne Ming; Cozzolino, Philip J

2016-01-01

We explored how experimentally induced psychological stress affects the production and recognition of vocal emotions. In Study 1a, we demonstrate that sentences spoken by stressed speakers are judged by naïve listeners as sounding more stressed than sentences uttered by non-stressed speakers. In Study 1b, negative emotions produced by stressed speakers are generally less well recognized than the same emotions produced by non-stressed speakers. Multiple mediation analyses suggest this poorer recognition of negative stimuli was due to a mismatch between the variation of volume voiced by speakers and the range of volume expected by listeners. Together, this suggests that the stress level of the speaker affects judgments made by the receiver. In Study 2, we demonstrate that participants who were induced with a feeling of stress before carrying out an emotional prosody recognition task performed worse than non-stressed participants. Overall, findings suggest detrimental effects of induced stress on interpersonal sensitivity.

Enhancement of developmental toxicity effects of chemicals by gestational stress. A review

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Hougaard, Karin S; Hansen, Åse Marie

2007-01-01

Risk assessment of developmental toxicants is almost exclusively based on single chemicals studied in animals under controlled experimental conditions, as to reduce stress. Although humans may be exposed simultaneously to numerous hazards, little is known about the interaction of prenatal chemica...

Maternal Prenatal Stress and Other Developmental Risk Factors for Adolescent Depression: Spotlight on Sex Differences.

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Maxwell, Seth D; Fineberg, Anna M; Drabick, Deborah A; Murphy, Shannon K; Ellman, Lauren M

2018-02-01

Maternal stress during pregnancy has been linked to premorbid abnormalities associated with depression (e.g., difficult temperament, cognitive deficits) in offspring. However, few studies have looked across developmental periods to examine maternal stress during pregnancy and offspring depression during adolescence and whether these associations differ by sex. The current study used data from 1711 mother-offspring dyads (offspring sex: 49.8% male) in a longitudinal birth cohort study. Maternal narratives collected during pregnancy were qualitatively coded for stress-related themes by independent raters. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified distinct subgroups of offspring based on exposure to maternal prenatal stress and other developmental factors from the prenatal, childhood, and adolescent periods that have been associated with depression and/or maternal prenatal stress. LCA identified subgroups that were compared to determine whether and to what extent they differed on adolescent depressive symptoms. LCA revealed a subgroup of "high-risk" individuals, characterized by maternal factors during pregnancy (higher ambivalence/negativity and lower positivity towards the pregnancy, higher levels of hassles, lower maternal education and higher maternal age at birth, higher pre-pregnancy BMI) and offspring developmental factors (decreased cognitive functioning during childhood and adolescence, lower perceived parental support during adolescence, and higher levels of maternal depression during adolescence). High-risk females exhibited elevated conduct symptoms and higher birth order, while high-risk males exhibited decreased internalizing symptoms and lower birth order. Both high-risk males and females reported elevated depressive symptoms during adolescence relative to their "low-risk" counterparts.

Prenatal exposure to disaster-related traumatic stress and developmental trajectories of temperament in early childhood: Superstorm Sandy pregnancy study.

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Zhang, Wei; Rajendran, Khushmand; Ham, Jacob; Finik, Jackie; Buthmann, Jessica; Davey, Kei; Pehme, Patricia M; Dana, Kathryn; Pritchett, Alexandra; Laws, Holly; Nomura, Yoko

2018-07-01

Little is known about the impact of prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) on the developmental trajectory of temperament and few studies have been able to incorporate a natural disaster as a quasi-experimental stressor. The current study investigated PNMS related to Superstorm Sandy ('Sandy'), a hurricane that struck the New York metropolitan area in October 2012, in terms of objective exposure during pregnancy, subjective stress reaction as assessed by maternal symptoms of post-traumatic stress, and their impact on the developmental changes in temperament during early childhood. A subsample of 318 mother-child dyads was drawn from the Stress in Pregnancy Study. Temperament was measured at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age. Objective exposure was associated with greater High-Intensity Pleasure, Approach, Perceptual Sensitivity and Fearfulness, but lower Cuddliness and Duration of Orientation at 6 months. Objective exposure and its interaction with subjective stress reaction predicted developmental changes in temperament. In particular, objective exposure was linked to greater increases in Activity Level but decreases in High-Intensity Pleasure, Approach, and Fearfulness. The combination of objective exposure and subjective stress reaction was also associated with greater increases in Activity Level. Temperament was measured solely via maternal report. Trimester-specific effects of Sandy on temperament were not examined. This is the first study to examine the effects of prenatal maternal exposure to a natural disaster on trajectories of early childhood temperament. Findings suggest that both objective stress exposure and subjective stress reaction in-utero predict developmental trajectories of temperament in early childhood. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Health-related quality of life in fathers of children with or without developmental disability: the mediating effect of parental stress.

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Huang, Yu-Ping; Chang, Ming-yuh; Chi, Yu-Lin; Lai, Fei-Chen

2014-02-01

The aims of this study were to compare parental stress and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between Taiwanese fathers of children with and without developmental disabilities (DDs) and to examine the mediating effect of parental stress on the association between having a child with DD and paternal HRQOL within Chinese culture. This cross-sectional, prospective, unmatched case-control study included 206 fathers of children with DDs and 207 fathers of healthy children. HRQOL was assessed by the SF-36 short-form questionnaire, and parental stress was assessed by the Chinese version Parental Stress Scale. Fathers of children with DDs experienced poorer mental and physical HRQOL and higher parental stress than fathers of healthy children. Parental stress acted as a complete mediator for paternal physical HRQOL, while parental stress had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between having a child with DD and paternal mental HRQOL. Having a child with DD also directly affected paternal mental HRQOL. Fathers of children with DDs should be monitored for parental stress and HRQOL, and interventions should be provided to empower them with the knowledge and skills to reduce their stress and to enhance their HRQOL.

Negative Affectivity, Role Stress, and Work-Family Conflict.

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Stoeva, Albena Z.; Chiu, Randy K.; Greenhaus, Jeffrey H.

2002-01-01

Measures of job and family stress and negative affectivity were completed by 148 (of 400) Hong Kong civil service employees. Persons with high negative affectivity experience more work and family stress. Job stress was associated with extensive interference of work with family, and family stress with extensive interference of family with work.…

Comparison in stress of caring mothers of children with developmental, external and internal disorders and normal children

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Narges Zamani

2017-06-01

Full Text Available However, having a baby brings positive emotions such as happiness, sense of maturity and proud, parenting's issue could cause high level of stress and child's characteristics was a detrimental factor which can effect on parent's stress, so the aim of this research was comparison of stress of caring in mothers of children with developmental, external, and internal disorders and normal children. The study population included all mothers of children with developmental, emotional, and disruptive behavior disorders, and mothers with normal children in Hamadan (a city in Iran. 240 mothers (4 groups include 60 mothers were chosen based on simple random sampling. Family inventory of life events and changes Mc Cubbin, Patterson & Wilson was used for assessing participants. The results showed that maternal stress in mothers with children who have diagnosis of disruptive behavior disorders were significantly more than of mothers of children with developmental disorders, emotional and mothers of normal children. The present study showed that disruptive behavior disorders in children have a greater impact on their mothers. So, we suggest approved psychological interventions for helping mothers of children with psychological problems, particularly children with external disorders.

Life Experiences of Hispanic Adolescents: Developmental and Language Considerations in Acculturation Stress

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Cervantes, Richard C.; Cordova, David

2011-01-01

Hispanic youth currently constitute the largest and fastest growing of all ethnic and racial groups in the United States. In addition to normal developmental life stressors, Hispanic youth also face minority status and acculturation-related stress. This study examined the psychosocial and acculturative stressors of Hispanic youth (n=170) residing…

Marital Satisfaction, Parental Stress, and Child Behavior Problems among Parents of Young Children with Developmental Delays

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Robinson, Merideth; Neece, Cameron L.

2015-01-01

Studies have found that low marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and child behavior problems are linked in families of children with developmental delays (DD). However, previous investigations examining the relationships between parenting stress, child behavior problems, and marital satisfaction rarely examine the interrelationships of these…

Irreversibility of a bad start: early exposure to osmotic stress limits growth and adaptive developmental plasticity.

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Wu, Chi-Shiun; Gomez-Mestre, Ivan; Kam, Yeong-Choy

2012-05-01

Harsh environments experienced early in development have immediate effects and potentially long-lasting consequences throughout ontogeny. We examined how salinity fluctuations affected survival, growth and development of Fejervarya limnocharis tadpoles. Specifically, we tested whether initial salinity effects on growth and rates of development were reversible and whether they affected the tadpoles' ability to adaptively accelerate development in response to deteriorating conditions later in development. Tadpoles were initially assigned to either low or high salinity, and then some were switched between salinity levels upon reaching either Gosner stage 30 (early switch) or 38 (late switch). All tadpoles initially experiencing low salinity survived whereas those initially experiencing high salinity had poor survival, even if switched to low salinity. Growth and developmental rates of tadpoles initially assigned to high salinity did not increase after osmotic stress release. Initial low salinity conditions allowed tadpoles to attain a fast pace of development even if exposed to high salinity afterwards. Tadpoles experiencing high salinity only late in development metamorphosed faster and at a smaller size, indicating an adaptive acceleration of development to avoid osmotic stress. Nonetheless, early exposure to high salinity precluded adaptive acceleration of development, always causing delayed metamorphosis relative to those in initially low salinity. Our results thus show that stressful environments experienced early in development can critically impact life history traits, having long-lasting or irreversible effects, and restricting their ability to produce adaptive plastic responses.

Seizure disorders and developmental disorders: impact on life of affected families-a structured interview.

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Spindler, Ulrike Petra; Hotopp, Lena Charlott; Bach, Vivien Angela; Hornemann, Frauke; Syrbe, Steffen; Andreas, Anna; Merkenschlager, Andreas; Kiess, Wieland; Bernhard, Matthias Karl; Bertsche, Thilo; Neininger, Martina Patrizia; Bertsche, Astrid

2017-08-01

Seizure disorder and developmental disorder are two of the most common chronic disorders in childhood. Data on perceived parental burden and specific effects on daily life is scarce. We performed a structured interview, consecutively talking to all parents of pediatric outpatients of our university hospital diagnosed with seizure or developmental disorder. Three hundred seven parents (of 317 affected children: 53 with seizure disorder, 44 with specific developmental disorder, 35 with learning disorder, 71 with intellectual disability, 15 with seizure + specific developmental disorder, 23 with seizure + learning disorder, 76 with seizure disorder + intellectual disability) were interviewed. Parents of children with both seizure disorder and intellectual disability stated the highest constraints in daily life, regarding friends, hobbies, emotional pressure, occupation, partnership, habitation, and financial burden. Due to diagnosis of seizure or developmental disorder, 155/307 (51%) parents reduced their working hours/stopped working, 62/307 (20%) changed their habitation, and 46/307 (15%) broke up. As judged by parents, 148/317 (47%) children are being discriminated against, even own family/friends and educators are held responsible. Parents perceive changes in their daily life and discrimination of their children due to their children's seizure and developmental disorders. An intellectual disability combined with seizure disorder caused the highest constraint. What is Known: • Seizure and/or developmental disorders of children may adversely influence quality of life for affected parents. • Caring for a child with special health care needs can take complete attention and own parental needs may therefore be difficult to meet. What is New: • Two out of three parents stated changes of their daily life such as quitting work, change of habitation, or breakup of partnership due to their child's diagnosis. • As judged by the parents, one in two children with

Acute and Cumulative Effects of Vinyasa Yoga on Affect and Stress among College Students Participating in an Eight-week Yoga Program: A Pilot Study.

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Gaskins, Ronnesia B; Jennings, Ernestine; Thind, Herpreet; Becker, Bruce M; Bock, Beth C

2014-01-01

College students are vulnerable to a critical period in developmental maturation, facing rigorous academic work and learning how to function independently. Western aerobic exercise (WAE), such as running and bicycling, has been shown to improve mood and relieve stress. However, college students often have low levels of physical activity. Yoga is an ancient physical and mental practice that may affect mood and stress. However, rigorous studies examining the psychological effects of yoga are rare in peerreviewed Western journals. The aim of this research was to establish preliminary evidence for the acute effects of Vinyasa yoga on affect and stress in young-adult college students. Twenty healthy college students age 18 years and older were recruited to participate in this pilot study. Participants attended a Vinyasa yoga class at a local studio twice weekly for 8 weeks. Affect and stress were assessed before and after each yoga session. Measures included the Positive and Negative Affective Schedule (PANAS) and the Cohen Perceived Stress scale. Positive affect scores increased significantly (p stress scores. Findings suggest that yoga practice is associated with acute improvements in affect in a young-adult college population. Future research is needed to examine the extent to which different types of yoga address the needs of different college sub-populations (e.g., eating disordered, overweight/obese, sedentary, and smokers).

Child anxiety symptoms related to longitudinal cortisol trajectories and acute stress responses: evidence of developmental stress sensitization.

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Laurent, Heidemarie K; Gilliam, Kathryn S; Wright, Dorianne B; Fisher, Philip A

2015-02-01

Cross-sectional research suggests that individuals at risk for internalizing disorders show differential activation levels and/or dynamics of stress-sensitive physiological systems, possibly reflecting a process of stress sensitization. However, there is little longitudinal research to clarify how the development of these systems over time relates to activation during acute stress, and how aspects of such activation map onto internalizing symptoms. We investigated children's (n = 107) diurnal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity via salivary cortisol (morning and evening levels) across 29 assessments spanning 6+ years, and related longitudinal patterns to acute stress responses at the end of this period (age 9-10). Associations with child psychiatric symptoms at age 10 were also examined to determine internalizing risk profiles. Increasing morning cortisol levels across assessments predicted less of a cortisol decline following interpersonal stress at age 9, and higher cortisol levels during performance stress at age 10. These same profiles of high and/or sustained cortisol elevation during psychosocial stress were associated with child anxiety symptoms. Results suggest developmental sensitization to stress-reflected in rising morning cortisol and eventual hyperactivation during acute stress exposure-may distinguish children at risk for internalizing disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Early childhood adversity, toxic stress, and the role of the pediatrician: translating developmental science into lifelong health.

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Garner, Andrew S; Shonkoff, Jack P

2012-01-01

Advances in a wide range of biological, behavioral, and social sciences are expanding our understanding of how early environmental influences (the ecology) and genetic predispositions (the biologic program) affect learning capacities, adaptive behaviors, lifelong physical and mental health, and adult productivity. A supporting technical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) presents an integrated ecobiodevelopmental framework to assist in translating these dramatic advances in developmental science into improved health across the life span. Pediatricians are now armed with new information about the adverse effects of toxic stress on brain development, as well as a deeper understanding of the early life origins of many adult diseases. As trusted authorities in child health and development, pediatric providers must now complement the early identification of developmental concerns with a greater focus on those interventions and community investments that reduce external threats to healthy brain growth. To this end, AAP endorses a developing leadership role for the entire pediatric community-one that mobilizes the scientific expertise of both basic and clinical researchers, the family-centered care of the pediatric medical home, and the public influence of AAP and its state chapters-to catalyze fundamental change in early childhood policy and services. AAP is committed to leveraging science to inform the development of innovative strategies to reduce the precipitants of toxic stress in young children and to mitigate their negative effects on the course of development and health across the life span.

Feather corticosterone reveals developmental stress in seabirds.

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Will, Alexis P; Suzuki, Yuya; Elliott, Kyle H; Hatch, Scott A; Watanuki, Yutaka; Kitaysky, Alexander S

2014-07-01

In nest-bound avian offspring, food shortages typically trigger a release of the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT). Recent studies indicate that CORT is passively deposited in the tissue of growing feathers and thus may provide an integrated measure of stress incurred during development in the nest. The current hypothesis predicts that, assuming a constant rate of feather growth, elevated CORT circulating in the blood corresponds to higher levels of CORT in feather tissue, but experimental evidence for nutritionally stressed chicks is lacking. Here, we examined how food limitation affects feather CORT content in the rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca moncerata). We (i) used captive chicks reared on control versus restricted diets, and (ii) applied this technique to free-living chicks with unknown nutritional histories that fledged at three separate colonies. We found that (i) feather growth was not affected by experimentally induced nutritional stress; (ii) captive chicks raised on a restricted diet had higher levels of CORT in their primary feathers; (iii) feather CORT deposition is a sensitive method of detecting nutritional stress; and (iv) free-living fledglings from the colony with poor reproductive performance had higher CORT in their primary feathers. We conclude that feather CORT is a sensitive integrated measure revealing the temporal dynamics of food limitations experienced by rhinoceros auklet nestlings. The use of feather CORT may be a powerful endocrine tool in ecological and evolutionary studies of bird species with similar preferential allocation of limited resources to feather development. © 2014. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Stress in nurses: stress-related affect and its determinants examined over the nursing day.

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Johnston, Derek W; Jones, Martyn C; Charles, Kathryn; McCann, Sharon K; McKee, Lorna

2013-06-01

Nurses are a stressed group and this may affect their health and work performance. The determinants of occupational stress in nurses and other occupational groups have almost invariably been examined in between subject studies. This study aimed to determine if the main determinants of occupation stress, i.e. demand, control, effort and reward, operate within nurses. A real time study using personal digital-assistant-based ecological momentary assessment to measure affect and its hypothesised determinants every 90 min in 254 nurses over three nursing shifts. The measures were negative affect, positive affect, demand/effort, control and reward. While the effects varied in magnitude between people, in general increased negative affect was predicted by high demand/effort, low control and low reward. Control and reward moderated the effects of demand/effort. High positive affect was predicted by high demand/effort, control and reward. The same factors are associated with variations in stress-related affect within nurses as between.

Early life stress affects mortality rate more than social behavior, gene expression or oxidative damage in honey bee workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Rueppell, Olav; Yousefi, Babak; Collazo, Juan; Smith, Daniel

2017-04-01

Early life stressors can affect aging and life expectancy in positive or negative ways. Individuals can adjust their behavior and molecular physiology based on early life experiences but relatively few studies have connected such mechanisms to demographic patterns in social organisms. Sociality buffers individuals from environmental influences and it is unclear how much early life stress affects later life history. Workers of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) were exposed to two stressors, Varroa parasitism and Paraquat exposure, early in life. Consequences were measured at the molecular, behavioral, and demographic level. While treatments did not significantly affect levels of oxidative damage, expression of select genes, and titers of the common deformed wing virus, most of these measures were affected by age. Some of the age effects, such as declining levels of deformed wing virus and oxidative damage, were opposite to our predictions but may be explained by demographic selection. Further analyses suggested some influences of worker behavior on mortality and indicated weak treatment effects on behavior. The latter effects were inconsistent among the two experiments. However, mortality rate was consistently reduced by Varroa mite stress during development. Thus, mortality was more responsive to early life stress than our other response variables. The lack of treatment effects on these measures may be due to the social organization of honey bees that buffers the individual from the impact of stressful developmental conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The shape of change in perceived stress, negative affect, and stress sensitivity during mindfulness based stress reduction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snippe, E.; Dziak, J.J.; Lanza, S.T.; Nyklicek, I.; Wichers, M.

2017-01-01

Both daily stress and the tendency to react to stress with heightened levels of negative affect (i.e., stress sensitivity) are important vulnerability factors for adverse mental health outcomes. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) may help to reduce perceived daily stress and stress

The Shape of Change in Perceived Stress, Negative Affect, and Stress Sensitivity During Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snippe, Evelien; Dziak, John J.; Lanza, Stephanie T.; Nykliek, Ivan; Wichers, Marieke

Both daily stress and the tendency to react to stress with heightened levels of negative affect (i.e., stress sensitivity) are important vulnerability factors for adverse mental health outcomes. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) may help to reduce perceived daily stress and stress

Very pre-term infants' behaviour at 1 and 2 years of age and parental stress following basic developmental care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pal, S.M. van der; Maguire, C.M.; Bruil, J.; Cessie, S. le; Zwieten, P. van; Veen, S.; Wit, J.M.; Walther, F.J.

2008-01-01

This study explored the effects of basic developmental care on the behaviour of very pre-term infants and parental stress at I and 2 years of corrected age. A randomized controlled trial was done to compare basic Developmental Care (standardized nests and incubator covers) and controls (standard

Relating stress of mothers of children with developmental disabilities to family-school partnerships.

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Meghan M; Hodapp, Robert M

2014-02-01

Although mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience high levels of stress and schools constitute an important resource, the relation remains unknown between maternal stress and educational services. Responding to a national, web-based survey, 965 mothers of students with disabilities completed a 163-item questionnaire about parent stress. We examined which child, parent, and parent-school characteristics correlated with maternal stress. Mothers with lower stress levels reported better parent-school relationships and low levels of parent advocacy. However, lower stress levels were predominantly shown by mothers with good-to-excellent parent-school relationships (vs. poor-to-fair partnerships) and who engaged in virtually no (vs. any) advocacy activities. Lower maternal stress levels were also noted when children had fewer behavior problems, Down syndrome, and did not have autism. Less stress was also reported by mothers who had not enacted procedural safeguards, were minorities, and rated themselves lower on neuroticism and were more extroverted, dependable, and open to new experiences. This study has important implications for practitioners and researchers.

Early life experience contributes to the developmental programming of depressive-like behaviour, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Réus, Gislaine Z; Fernandes, Gabrielly C; de Moura, Airam B; Silva, Ritele H; Darabas, Ana Caroline; de Souza, Thays G; Abelaira, Helena M; Carneiro, Celso; Wendhausen, Diogo; Michels, Monique; Pescador, Bruna; Dal-Pizzol, Felipe; Macêdo, Danielle S; Quevedo, João

2017-12-01

This study used an animal model of depression induced by maternal care deprivation (MCD) to investigate whether depressive behaviour, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress were underlying factors in developmental programming after early life stress. At postnatal days (PND) 20, 30, 40, and 60, individual subsets of animals were evaluated in behavioural tests and then euthanized to assess cytokine levels and oxidative stress parameters in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus and serum. The results showed that MCD did not induce behavioural changes at PND 30 and 40. However, at PND 20 and 60, the rats displayed a depressive-like behaviour in the forced swimming test, without changes in locomotor spontaneous activity. In the brain and serum, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)) were increased, and the anti-inflammatory cytokine (interleukin-10) level was reduced throughout developmental programming (PND 20, 30, 40 and 60). Protein carbonyl levels increased in the brain at PND 30, 40 and 60. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was decreased during all developmental programming phases evaluated in the brain. Catalase (CAT) activity was decreased at PND 20, 40 and 60 in the brain. Our results revealed that "critical episodes" in early life stressful events are able to induce behavioural alterations that persist into adulthood and can stimulate inflammation and oxidative damage in both central and peripheral systems, which are required for distinct patterns of resilience against psychiatric disorders later in life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of sleep in adolescents' daily stress recovery: Negative affect spillover and positive affect bounce-back effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Chue, Amanda E; Gunthert, Kathleen C; Kim, Rebecca W; Alfano, Candice A; Ruggiero, Aria R

2018-07-01

The present study examined the role of sleep in daily affective stress recovery processes in adolescents. Eighty-nine American adolescents recorded their emotions and stress through daily surveys and sleep with Fitbit devices for two weeks. Results show that objectively measured sleep (sleep onset latency and sleep debt) moderated negative affective responses to previous-day stress, such that stress-related negative affect spillover effects became more pronounced as amount of sleep decreased. Total sleep time and sleep debt moderated cross-day positive affect "bounce-back" effects. With more sleep, morning positive affect on days following high stress tended to bounce back to the levels that were common following low stress days. Conversely, if sleep was short following high stress days, positive affect remained low the next morning. No evidence for subjective sleep quality as a moderator of spillover/bounce-back effects was found. This research suggests that sleep quantity could relate to overnight affective stress recovery. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Positive affect, negative affect, stress, and social support as mediators of the forgiveness-health relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Michelle; Decourville, Nancy; Sadava, Stanley

2012-01-01

Structural equation modeling was used to test a model in which positive affect, negative affect, perceived stress, and social support were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between forgiveness and mental and physical health. Six hundred and twenty-three undergraduates completed a battery of self-report measures. Results of the analyses indicated that the forgiveness-health relation was mediated by positive affect, negative affect, stress, and the interrelationship between negative affect and stress. There was limited support for social support and the interrelationship between positive affect and social support as mediators. The results suggested that the relationship between forgiveness and health is mediated rather than direct. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Stress modulation of cognitive and affective processes

Science.gov (United States)

CAMPEAU, SERGE; LIBERZON, ISRAEL; MORILAK, DAVID; RESSLER, KERRY

2012-01-01

This review summarizes the major discussion points of a symposium on stress modulation of cognitive and affective processes, which was held during the 2010 workshop on the neurobiology of stress (Boulder, CO, USA). The four discussants addressed a number of specific cognitive and affective factors that are modulated by exposure to acute or repeated stress. Dr David Morilak discussed the effects of various repeated stress situations on cognitive flexibility, as assessed with a rodent model of attentional set-shifting task, and how performance on slightly different aspects of this test is modulated by different prefrontal regions through monoaminergic neurotransmission. Dr Serge Campeau summarized the findings of several studies exploring a number of factors and brain regions that regulate habituation of various autonomic and neuroendocrine responses to repeated audiogenic stress exposures. Dr Kerry Ressler discussed a body of work exploring the modulation and extinction of fear memories in rodents and humans, especially focusing on the role of key neurotransmitter systems including excitatory amino acids and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Dr Israel Liberzon presented recent results on human decision-making processes in response to exogenous glucocorticoid hormone administration. Overall, these discussions are casting a wider framework on the cognitive/affective processes that are distinctly regulated by the experience of stress and some of the brain regions and neurotransmitter systems associated with these effects. PMID:21790481

Developmental Pathways from Child Maltreatment to Adolescent Substance Use: The Roles of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Mother-Child Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Susan; Kobulsky, Julia M.; Yoon, Dalhee; Kim, Wonhee

2018-01-01

While many studies have identified a significant relation between child maltreatment and adolescent substance use, the developmental pathways linking this relation remain sparsely explored. The current study examines posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, mother-child relationships, and internalizing and externalizing problems as potential longitudinal pathways through which child maltreatment influences adolescent substance use. Structural equation modeling was conducted on 883 adolescents drawn from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). The pathways of PTS symptoms linked physical and sexual abuse to substance use, and the pathways of mother-child relationships linked emotional abuse and neglect to substance use. None of the four types of maltreatment affected substance use via internalizing or externalizing problems. The findings suggest that intervention efforts aimed at addressing posttraumatic stress symptoms and improving mother-child relationship quality may be beneficial in reducing substance use among adolescents with child maltreatment histories. PMID:29503490

Abnormal stress responsivity in a rodent developmental disruption model of schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Eric C; Bellaire, Mark; Ewing, Samuel G; Grace, Anthony A

2013-10-01

Although numerous studies have implicated stress in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, less is known about how the effects of stress interact with genetic, developmental, and/or environmental determinants to promote disease progression. In particular, it has been proposed that in humans, stress exposure in adolescence could combine with a predisposition towards increased stress sensitivity, leading to prodromal symptoms and eventually psychosis. However, the neurobiological substrates for this interaction are not fully characterized. Previous work in our lab has demonstrated that rats born to dams administered with the DNA-methylating agent methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) at gestational day 17 exhibit as adults behavioral and anatomical abnormalities consistent with those observed in patients with schizophrenia. Here, we examined behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stress in the MAM model of schizophrenia. MAM-treated male rats were exposed to acute and repeated footshock stress at prepubertal, peripubteral, and adult ages. Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), freezing, and corticosterone responses were quantified. We found that juvenile MAM-treated rats emitted significantly more calls, spent more time vocalizing, emitted calls at a higher rate, and showed more freezing in response to acute footshock stress when compared with their saline (SAL) treated counterparts, and that this difference is not present in older animals. In addition, adolescent MAM-treated animals displayed a blunted HPA axis corticosterone response to acute footshock that did not adapt after 10 days of stress exposure. These data demonstrate abnormal stress responsivity in the MAM model of schizophrenia and suggest that these animals are more sensitive to the effects of stress in youth.

Parenting Stress and Child Behavior Problems within Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities: Transactional Relations across 15 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Woodman, Ashley C.; Mawdsley, Helena P.; Hauser-Cram, Penny

2015-01-01

Parents of children with developmental disabilities (DD) are at increased risk of experiencing psychological stress compared to other parents. Children's high levels of internalizing and externalizing problems have been found to contribute to this elevated level of stress. Few studies have considered the reverse direction of effects, however, in…

The developmental stage of strongyle eggs affects the outcome of real-time PCR analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roust, Tina; Haakansson, Ida T.; Rhod, Maria

Several molecular diagnostic tests are based upon measuring and quantifying DNA obtained from parasite eggs. It is well-known that such eggs undergo development during storage, but it remains unknown to which extent the stage of development can affect the diagnostic test result. This project...... investigated whether the developmental stage of strongyle eggs affects real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results. Mixed species strongyle eggs were obtained from the faeces of a naturally infected horse. Eggs were isolated and placed in microtiter plates with demineralised water. A total of 25 wells...... containing 100 eggs each were set up and kept refrigerated for up to five days. Once daily, five wells were microscopied on an inverted microscope, the developmental stages of the eggs were noted, and the eggs harvested for DNA extraction. The protocol was repeated three times. Genomic DNA was extracted...

An Examination of Specific Child Behavior Problems as Predictors of Parenting Stress among Families of Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Allyson L.; Neece, Cameron L.

2017-01-01

Introduction: Studies have shown that parents of children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) exhibit higher levels of stress than parents of typically developing children or children with other types of developmental delays (DD). This relationship appears to be mediated by elevated levels of behavior problems observed in children with…

Locus of Control Fails to Mediate between Stress and Anxiety and Depression in Parents of Children with a Developmental Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Hamlyn-Wright, Sarah; Draghi-Lorenz, Riccardo; Ellis, Jason

2007-01-01

Stress, anxiety and depression are raised amongst parents of children with a developmental disorder. However, the processes by which stress leads to depression and anxiety are poorly understood. In a cross-sectional survey, levels of parental stress, depression and anxiety were compared between parents of children with an autistic disorder,…

Developmental stability, age at onset of foraging and longevity of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) under heat stress (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Medina, Rubén G; Paxton, Robert J; De Luna, Efraín; Fleites-Ayil, Fernando A; Medina Medina, Luis A; Quezada-Euán, José Javier G

2018-05-01

Beekeeping with the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is important in tropical regions but scant information is available on the possible consequences of global warming for tropical beekeeping. We evaluated the effect of heat stress on developmental stability, the age at onset of foraging (AOF) and longevity in Africanized honey bees (AHBs) in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, one of the main honey producing areas in the Neotropics, where high temperatures occur in spring and summer. To do so, we reared worker AHB pupae under a fluctuating temperature regime, simulating current tropical heatwaves, with a high temperature peak of 40.0 °C for 1 h daily across six days, and compared them to control pupae reared at stable temperatures of 34.0-35.5 °C. Heat stress did not markedly affect overall body size, though the forewing of heat-stressed bees was slightly shorter than controls. However, bees reared under heat stress showed significantly greater fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in forewing shape. Heat stress also decreased AOF and reduced longevity. Our results show that changes occur in the phenotype and behavior of honey bees under heat stress, with potential consequences for colony fitness. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The emission factor of volatile isoprenoids: stress, acclimation, and developmental responses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ü. Niinemets

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The rate of constitutive isoprenoid emissions from plants is driven by plant emission capacity under specified environmental conditions (E_S, the emission factor and by responsiveness of the emissions to instantaneous variations in environment. In models of isoprenoid emission, E_S has been often considered as intrinsic species-specific constant invariable in time and space. Here we analyze the variations in species-specific values of E_S under field conditions focusing on abiotic stresses, past environmental conditions and developmental processes. The reviewed studies highlight strong stress-driven, adaptive (previous temperature and light environment and growth CO₂ concentration and developmental (leaf age variations in E_S values operating at medium to long time scales. These biological factors can alter species-specific E_S values by more than an order of magnitude. While the majority of models based on early concepts still ignore these important sources of variation, recent models are including some of the medium- to long-term controls. However, conceptually different strategies are being used for incorporation of these longer-term controls with important practical implications for parameterization and application of these models. This analysis emphasizes the need to include more biological realism in the isoprenoid emission models and also highlights the gaps in knowledge that require further experimental work to reduce the model uncertainties associated with biological sources of variation.

Social support and mastery influence the association between stress and poor physical health in parents caring for children with developmental disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Cantwell, Joanne; Muldoon, Orla T; Gallagher, Stephen

2014-09-01

To date, much of the research linking the stress of caring for children with developmental disabilities (e.g. Autism & Down syndrome) with parental health outcomes have tended to concentrate on mental health with less attention paid to the physical health consequences. Thus, this study sought to explore the psychosocial predictors of poor physical health in these caring parents. One hundred and sixty-seven parents (109 caregivers and 58 control parents) completed measures of stress, child problem behaviours, social support, mastery and physical health. Parents of children with developmental disabilities had poorer physical health compared to control parents. Stress and mastery, but not social support and problem behaviours, were significant predictors of poor physical health within caring parents for children with developmental disabilities. However, the association between mastery and physical health was mediated by perceived stress such that those parents who were higher on mastery reported less stress and better physical health; furthermore, the association between stress and physical health was moderated by social support; those parents high on social support and low in stress had better physical health. These results indicate that the paths between psychosocial factors and poor physical health in the caring parents are working synergistically rather than in isolation. They also underscore the importance of providing multi-component interventions that offer a variety of psychosocial resources to meet the precise needs of the parents. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fluctuating asymmetry and developmental instability in Protoreaster nodosus (Chocolate Chip Sea Star as a biomarker for environmental stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. J. V. Trono

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Fluctuating asymmetry (FA, pertains to small and random departures from perfect symmetry of an organism's bilateral traits and has been used as a measurement of developmental instability and as a potential indicator of stress in populations. It measures the variations from symmetry of a symmetrical structure whose sides are said to be genetically identical, with similar history of gene activity and experiencing the same environment. Symmetries are potentially the basis for studies on FA. Hence, this study assessed the potential of FA as a reliable developmental instability and environmental stress indicator in five-fold dihedral symmetrical Protoreaster nodosus (Chocolate chip sea fish from three (3 different sites (Linamon, Lanao del Norte; Initao, Misamis Oriental and Jasaan, Misamis Oriental. FA for each population from every site was measured for comparison. In this study, anatomical landmarks were subjected to Procrustes superimposition and Principal Component Analysis (PCA using "Symmetry and Asymmetry in Geometric Data" (SAGE program. Results showed highly significant FA and significant DA for population from Jasaan and Linamon where habitat disturbance due to anthropogenic activities were prevalent. Thus, experienced more stress compared to the other populations, suggesting that significant variation in size or left-right side of each individual could be a product of genotype-environment interaction. Moreover, insignificant FA and high DA was obtained from Initao (protected seascape area which indicated that variation among individual genotypes and asymmetry in phenotypes is mostly induced by genetics under less stressful environment. Significant FA and increase FA present inability of species to buffer stress in its developmental pathways and have implications on species fitness. Hypothesis assumes that fluctuating asymmetry has costs, reflects the quality of individuals and the level of genetic and environmental stress experienced by

How social myths about childhood, motherhood and medicine affect the detection of subtle developmental problems in young children.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Jane

Focus by child health professionals on the well-being of young Australian children and their families has intensified in the past decade, with particular attention drawn to the importance of the early detection and intervention of developmental problems. While many children with developmental difficulties are detected in the preschool years, those with more subtle forms of developmental problems are often only noticed by their mothers, passing unnoticed by professionals until the children begin school and fail socially or academically. This study aimed to ascertain ways in which child health professionals may utilise the experience of mothers to improve early recognition and diagnosis of subtle developmental and behavioural problems in children. French philosopher, Roland Barthes (1973) proposed that myths play an important social role in defining underlying social values that affect how people interpret what others say or do. This paper explores how the social myths of childhood, motherhood and medicine impact upon the early detection of children with subtle developmental problems. In particular, it examines how social myths affect when and how mothers become concerned about their children's development, from whom they seek advice, and the responses which mothers receive in regard to their concerns. Mythical notions of the 'blameless child', 'boys will be boys' and 'children who look OK are OK', and the constituted myth of motherhood, are all shown to affect when mothers become concerned about their children's development. What mothers do about their concerns and the responses they receive from child health professionals are also influenced by these myths. The myth of medicine is also examined to determine how it affects communication between mothers and doctors, the roles and responsibilities of doctors, and the value placed on a mother's concerns by doctors.

Allostatic load in parents of children with developmental disorders: Moderating influence of positive affect

OpenAIRE

Song, Jieun; Mailick, Marsha R.; Ryff, Carol D.; Coe, Christopher L.; Greenberg, Jan S.; Hong, Jinkuk

2013-01-01

This study examines whether parents of children with developmental disorders (DD) are at risk for elevated allostatic load (AL) relative to control parents, and whether positive affect moderates difference in risk. Thirty-eight parents of children with DD and 38 matched comparison parents were analyzed. Regression analyses revealed a significant interaction between parent status and AL level: parents of children with DD had lower AL when they had higher positive affect, whereas no such associ...

Parent Stress and Perceptions of Language Development: Comparing Down Syndrome and Other Developmental Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Ashlyn L.; Romski, MaryAnn; Sevcik, Rose A.; Adamson, Lauren B.; Barker, R. Michael

2013-01-01

This study extended research on the Down syndrome advantage by examining differences in parent stress and parent perceptions of language development between 29 parents of young children with Down syndrome and 82 parents of children with other developmental disabilities. Parents of children with Down syndrome reported lower levels of total stress, child-related stress, and stress surrounding the parent-child interaction. Parents of children in both groups reported that they felt successful in their ability to impact their children’s communication development but did differ on perceptions of difficulty such that parents of children with Down syndrome perceived their children’s communication difficulties as less severe despite the children exhibiting similar language skills. Finally, after accounting for potential explanatory confounding variables, child diagnosis remained a significant predictor of parent stress and perceptions of language development. Results highlight the importance of considering etiology when assisting families raising a child with a disability. PMID:24753637

Treatment of developmental stress disorder: mind, body and brain - analysis and pharmacology coupled.

Science.gov (United States)

McFadden, Joseph

2017-11-01

The schism between psychiatry, psychology and analysis, while long present, has widened even more in the past half-century with the advances in psychopharmacology. With the advances in electronic brain imaging, particularly in developmental and post-traumatic stress disorders, there has emerged both an understanding of brain changes resulting from severe, chronic stress and an ability to target brain chemistry in ways that can relieve clinical symptomatology. The use of alpha-1 adrenergic brain receptor antagonists decreases many of the manifestations of PTSD. Additionally, this paper discusses the ways in which dreaming, thinking and the analytic process are facilitated with this concomitant treatment and hypervigilence and hyper-arousal states are signficiantly decreased. © 2017, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

Ecological momentary assessment of stressful events and negative affect in bulimia nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldschmidt, Andrea B; Wonderlich, Stephen A; Crosby, Ross D; Engel, Scott G; Lavender, Jason M; Peterson, Carol B; Crow, Scott J; Cao, Li; Mitchell, James E

2014-02-01

Negative affect precedes binge eating and purging in bulimia nervosa (BN), but little is known about factors that precipitate negative affect in relation to these behaviors. We aimed to assess the temporal relation among stressful events, negative affect, and bulimic events in the natural environment using ecological momentary assessment. A total of 133 women with current BN recorded their mood, eating behavior, and the occurrence of stressful events every day for 2 weeks. Multilevel structural equation mediation models evaluated the relations among Time 1 stress measures (i.e., interpersonal stressors, work/environment stressors, general daily hassles, and stress appraisal), Time 2 negative affect, and Time 2 binge eating and purging, controlling for Time 1 negative affect. Increases in negative affect from Time 1 to Time 2 significantly mediated the relations between Time 1 interpersonal stressors, work/environment stressors, general daily hassles, and stress appraisal and Time 2 binge eating and purging. When modeled simultaneously, confidence intervals for interpersonal stressors, general daily hassles, and stress appraisal did not overlap, suggesting that each had a distinct impact on negative affect in relation to binge eating and purging. Our findings indicate that stress precedes the occurrence of bulimic behaviors and that increases in negative affect following stressful events mediate this relation. Results suggest that stress and subsequent negative affect may function as maintenance factors for bulimic behaviors and should be targeted in treatment. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Developmental Regulation with Progressive Vision Loss: Use of Control Strategies and Affective Well-Being

Science.gov (United States)

Schilling, Oliver K.; Wahl, Hans-Werner; Boerner, Kathrin; Horowitz, Amy; Reinhardt, Joann P.; Cimarolli, Verena R.; Brennan-Ing, Mark; Heckhausen, Jutta

2016-01-01

The present study addresses older adults' developmental regulation when faced with progressive and irreversible vision loss. We used the motivational theory of life span development as a conceptual framework and examined changes in older adults' striving for control over everyday goal achievement, and their association with affective well-being,…

Phonological and Sensory Short-Term Memory Are Correlates and Both Affected in Developmental Dyslexia

Science.gov (United States)

Laasonen, Marja; Virsu, Veijo; Oinonen, Suvi; Sandbacka, Mirja; Salakari, Anita; Service, Elisabet

2012-01-01

We investigated whether poor short-term memory (STM) in developmental dyslexia affects the processing of sensory stimulus sequences in addition to phonological material. STM for brief binary non-verbal stimuli (light flashes, tone bursts, finger touches, and their crossmodal combinations) was studied in 20 Finnish adults with dyslexia and 24…

Developmental programming by androgen affects the circadian timing system in female mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Mereness, Amanda L; Murphy, Zachary C; Sellix, Michael T

2015-04-01

Circadian clocks play essential roles in the timing of events in the mammalian hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis. The molecular oscillator driving these rhythms has been localized to tissues of the HPO axis. It has been suggested that synchrony among these oscillators is a feature of normal reproductive function. The impact of fertility disorders on clock function and the role of the clock in the etiology of endocrine pathology remain unknown. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a particularly devastating fertility disorder, affecting 5%-10% of women at childbearing age with features including a polycystic ovary, anovulation, and elevated serum androgen. Approximately 40% of these women have metabolic syndrome, marked by hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. It has been suggested that developmental exposure to excess androgen contributes to the etiology of fertility disorders, including PCOS. To better define the role of the timing system in these disorders, we determined the effects of androgen-dependent developmental programming on clock gene expression in tissues of the metabolic and HPO axes. Female PERIOD2::luciferase (PER2::LUC) mice were exposed to androgen (dihydrotestosterone [DHT]) in utero (Days 16-18 of gestation) or for 9-10 wk (DHT pellet) beginning at weaning (pubertal androgen excess [PAE]). As expected, both groups of androgen-treated mice had disrupted estrous cycles. Analysis of PER2::LUC expression in tissue explants revealed that excess androgen produced circadian misalignment via tissue-dependent effects on phase distribution. In vitro treatment with DHT differentially affected the period of PER2::LUC expression in tissue explants and granulosa cells, indicating that androgen has direct and tissue-specific effects on clock gene expression that may account for the effects of developmental programming on the timing system. © 2015 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.

Developmental Trajectories of Positive and Negative Affect in Children at High and Low Familial Risk for Depressive Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Olino, Thomas M.; Lopez-Duran, Nestor L.; Kovacs, Maria; George, Charles J.; Gentzler, Amy L.; Shaw, Daniel S.

2011-01-01

Background: Although low positive affect (PA) and high negative affect (NA) have been posited to predispose to depressive disorders, little is known about the developmental trajectories of these affects in children at familial risk for mood disorders. Methods: We examined 202 offspring of mothers who had a history of juvenile-onset unipolar…

Developmental fluoxetine exposure increases behavioral despair and alters epigenetic regulation of the hippocampal BDNF gene in adult female offspring.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulle, Fabien; Pawluski, Jodi L; Homberg, Judith R; Machiels, Barbie; Kroeze, Yvet; Kumar, Neha; Steinbusch, Harry W M; Kenis, Gunter; van den Hove, Daniel L A

2016-04-01

A growing number of infants are exposed to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications during the perinatal period. Perinatal exposure to SSRI medications alter neuroplasticity and increase depressive- and anxiety-related behaviors, particularly in male offspring as little work has been done in female offspring to date. The long-term effects of SSRI on development can also differ with previous exposure to prenatal stress, a model of maternal depression. Because of the limited work done on the role of developmental SSRI exposure on neurobehavioral outcomes in female offspring, the aim of the present study was to investigate how developmental fluoxetine exposure affects anxiety and depression-like behavior, as well as the regulation of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling in the hippocampus of adult female offspring. To do this female Sprague-Dawley rat offspring were exposed to prenatal stress and fluoxetine via the dam, for a total of four groups of female offspring: 1) No Stress+Vehicle, 2) No Stress+Fluoxetine, 3) Prenatal Stress+Vehicle, and 4) Prenatal Stress+Fluoxetine. Primary results show that, in adult female offspring, developmental SSRI exposure significantly increases behavioral despair measures on the forced swim test, decreases hippocampal BDNF exon IV mRNA levels, and increases levels of the repressive histone 3 lysine 27 tri-methylated mark at the corresponding promoter. There was also a significant negative correlation between hippocampal BDNF exon IV mRNA levels and immobility in the forced swim test. No effects of prenatal stress or developmental fluoxetine exposure were seen on tests of anxiety-like behavior. This research provides important evidence for the long-term programming effects of early-life exposure to SSRIs on female offspring, particularily with regard to affect-related behaviors and their underlying molecular mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Acute stress does not affect risky monetary decision-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Sokol-Hessner

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The ubiquitous and intense nature of stress responses necessitate that we understand how they affect decision-making. Despite a number of studies examining risky decision-making under stress, it is as yet unclear whether and in what way stress alters the underlying processes that shape our choices. This is in part because previous studies have not separated and quantified dissociable valuation and decision-making processes that can affect choices of risky options, including risk attitudes, loss aversion, and choice consistency, among others. Here, in a large, fully-crossed two-day within-subjects design, we examined how acute stress alters risky decision-making. On each day, 120 participants completed either the cold pressor test or a control manipulation with equal probability, followed by a risky decision-making task. Stress responses were assessed with salivary cortisol. We fit an econometric model to choices that dissociated risk attitudes, loss aversion, and choice consistency using hierarchical Bayesian techniques to both pool data and allow heterogeneity in decision-making. Acute stress was found to have no effect on risk attitudes, loss aversion, or choice consistency, though participants did become more loss averse and more consistent on the second day relative to the first. In the context of an inconsistent previous literature on risk and acute stress, our findings provide strong and specific evidence that acute stress does not affect risk attitudes, loss aversion, or consistency in risky monetary decision-making.

Transgenerational transmission of a stress-coping phenotype programmed by early-life stress in the Japanese quail

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Zimmer, Cédric; Larriva, Maria; Boogert, Neeltje J.; Spencer, Karen A.

2017-01-01

An interesting aspect of developmental programming is the existence of transgenerational effects that influence offspring characteristics and performance later in life. These transgenerational effects have been hypothesized to allow individuals to cope better with predictable environmental fluctuations and thus facilitate adaptation to changing environments. Here, we test for the first time how early-life stress drives developmental programming and transgenerational effects of maternal exposure to early-life stress on several phenotypic traits in their offspring in a functionally relevant context using a fully factorial design. We manipulated pre- and/or post-natal stress in both Japanese quail mothers and offspring and examined the consequences for several stress-related traits in the offspring generation. We show that pre-natal stress experienced by the mother did not simply affect offspring phenotype but resulted in the inheritance of the same stress-coping traits in the offspring across all phenotypic levels that we investigated, shaping neuroendocrine, physiological and behavioural traits. This may serve mothers to better prepare their offspring to cope with later environments where the same stressors are experienced. PMID:28387355

Family Functioning, Social Opportunities and Health as Predictors of Stress in Families of Children with Developmental Disability in the United Arab Emirates

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Dukmak, Samir J.; Aburezeq, Ibtehal M.

2012-01-01

A significant number of individuals all over the world experience various types of developmental disabilities. Families of these individuals are likely to be impacted by these disabilities in different ways. This research examines the UAE parents' adaptation and stress to the developmental disabilities that their children have as well as examines…

Developmental post-natal stress can alter the effects of pre-natal stress on the adult redox balance.

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Marasco, Valeria; Spencer, Karen A; Robinson, Jane; Herzyk, Pawel; Costantini, David

2013-09-15

Across diverse vertebrate taxa, stressful environmental conditions during development can shape phenotypic trajectories of developing individuals, which, while adaptive in the short-term, may impair health and survival in adulthood. Regardless, the long-lasting benefits or costs of early life stress are likely to depend on the conditions experienced across differing stages of development. Here, we used the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) to experimentally manipulate exposure to stress hormones in developing individuals. We tested the hypothesis that interactions occurring between pre- and post-natal developmental periods can induce long-term shifts on the adult oxidant phenotype in non-breeding sexually mature individuals. We showed that early life stress can induce long-term alterations in the basal antioxidant defences. The magnitude of these effects depended upon the timing of glucocorticoid exposure and upon interactions between the pre- and post-natal stressful stimuli. We also found differences among tissues with stronger effects in the erythrocytes than in the brain in which the long-term effects of glucocorticoids on antioxidant biomarkers appeared to be region-specific. Recent experimental work has demonstrated that early life exposure to stress hormones can markedly reduce adult survival (Monaghan et al., 2012). Our results suggest that long-term shifts in basal antioxidant defences might be one of the potential mechanisms driving such accelerated ageing processes and that post-natal interventions during development may be a potential tool to shape the effects induced by pre-natally glucococorticoid-exposed phenotypes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developmental differences in stress responding after repeated underwater trauma exposures in rats.

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Altman, Daniel E; Simmons, Laurence P; Vuong, Chau T; Taylor, Rachel M; Sousa, Jason C; Marcsisin, Sean R; Zottig, Victor E; Moore, Nicole L T

2018-05-01

Adolescence is a distinct developmental period characterized by behavioral and physiological maturation. Rapid ongoing changes during neurodevelopment in particular present potential opportunities for stress to have lasting effects on longitudinal outcomes of behavioral and neuroendocrine function. While adult stress effects on outcomes during adulthood have been characterized, little is known about the lasting effects of adolescent repeated stressor exposure on outcomes during adolescence. We have previously reported different stress responses in adolescent rats relative to adult rats, including a blunted fear response outcome in adulthood in rats stressed during adolescence. The present study characterized the ontogeny of behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to eight underwater trauma (UWT) exposures in rats over a two week poststress time period during adolescence (P34) or adulthood (P83) relative to age-matched control groups that underwent eight swimming episodes without UWT. Repeated UWT exposures starting in adolescence, but not adulthood, resulted in adverse behavioral responses on the elevated plus maze 1 day post-stress. Corticosterone responses did not differ between UWT-exposed and controls for either age group at 1 day or at 7 days poststress, although there was an effect of age on corticosterone levels. We conclude that repeated UWT stress events have a lasting, negative behavioral effect on adolescent rats that is not observed in adult rats after the two-week exposure window. These results suggest that neurophysiological mechanisms underlying recovery from a repeated stressor are immature in adolescence relative to adulthood in rats.

From Soldiers to Children: Developmental Sciences Transform the Construct of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

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Franks, Bridget A.

2014-01-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was first included in the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders" in 1980. Long used to describe the reactions of soldiers affected by stress in combat situations, PTSD is now recognised as a disorder affecting abused and neglected infants and…

Does Leisure Time as a Stress Coping Resource Increase Affective Complexity? Applying the Dynamic Model of Affect (DMA)

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Qian, Xinyi (Lisa); Yarnal, Careen M.; Almeida, David M.

2013-01-01

Affective complexity, a manifestation of psychological well-being, refers to the relative independence between positive and negative affect (PA, NA). According to the Dynamic Model of Affect (DMA), stressful situations lead to highly inverse PA-NA relationship, reducing affective complexity. Meanwhile, positive events can sustain affective complexity by restoring PA-NA independence. Leisure, a type of positive events, has been identified as a coping resource. This study used the DMA to assess whether leisure time helps restore affective complexity on stressful days. We found that on days with more leisure time than usual, an individual experienced less negative PA-NA relationship after daily stressful events. The finding demonstrates the value of leisure time as a coping resource and the DMA’s contribution to coping research. PMID:24659826

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Parents of Young Children with Developmental Delays: Implications for Parental Mental Health and Child Behavior Problems

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Neece, Cameron L.

2014-01-01

Background: Parents of children with developmental delays (DD) typically report elevated levels of parental stress compared with parents of typically developing children. Children with DD are also at high risk for exhibiting significant behaviour problems. Parental stress has been shown to impact the development of these behaviour problems;…

Unequally redundant RCD1 and SRO1 mediate stress and developmental responses and interact with transcription factors

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Jaspers, P.; Blomster, T.; Brosché, M.; Salojärvi, J.; Ahlfors, R.; Vainonen, J.P.; Reddy, R.A.; Immink, G.H.; Angenent, G.C.; Turck, F.; Overmyer, K.; Kangasjärvi, J.

2009-01-01

RADICAL-INDUCED CELL DEATH1 (RCD1) is an important regulator of stress and hormonal and developmental responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Together with its closest homolog, SIMILAR TO RCD-ONE1 (SRO1), it is the only Arabidopsis protein containing the WWE domain, which is known to mediate

Pathogen-induced Caenorhabditis elegans developmental plasticity has a hormetic effect on the resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses

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Leroy Magali

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Phenotypic plasticity, i.e. the capacity to change the phenotype in response to changes in the environment without alteration of the genotype, is important for coping with unstable environments. In spite of the ample evidence that microorganisms are a major environmental component playing a significant role in eukaryotic organisms health and disease, there is not much information about the effect of microorganism-induced developmental phenotypic plasticity on adult animals’ stress resistance and longevity. Results We examined the consequences of development of Caenorhabditis elegans larvae fed with different bacterial strains on stress resistance and lifespan of adult nematodes. Bacterial strains used in this study were either pathogenic or innocuous to nematodes. Exposure to the pathogen during development did not affect larval survival. However, the development of nematodes on the pathogenic bacterial strains increased lifespan of adult nematodes exposed to the same or a different pathogen. A longer nematode lifespan, developed on pathogens and exposed to pathogens as adults, did not result from an enhanced capacity to kill bacteria, but is likely due to an increased tolerance to the damage inflicted by the pathogenic bacteria. We observed that adult nematodes developed on a pathogen induce higher level of expression of the hsp-16.2 gene and have higher resistance to heat shock than nematodes developed on an innocuous strain. Therefore, the increased resistance to pathogens could be, at least partially, due to the early induction of the heat shock response in nematodes developed on pathogens. The lifespan increase is controlled by the DBL-1 transforming growth factor beta-like, DAF-2/DAF-16 insulin-like, and p38 MAP kinase pathways. Therefore, the observed modulation of adult nematode lifespans by developmental exposure to a pathogen is likely a genetically controlled response. Conclusions Our study shows that development

Anxiety, affect, self-esteem, and stress: mediation and moderation effects on depression.

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Nima, Ali Al; Rosenberg, Patricia; Archer, Trevor; Garcia, Danilo

2013-01-01

Mediation analysis investigates whether a variable (i.e., mediator) changes in regard to an independent variable, in turn, affecting a dependent variable. Moderation analysis, on the other hand, investigates whether the statistical interaction between independent variables predict a dependent variable. Although this difference between these two types of analysis is explicit in current literature, there is still confusion with regard to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables on depression. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating and moderating effects of anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect on depression. Two hundred and two university students (males  = 93, females  = 113) completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, stress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and depression. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using techniques based on standard multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses. The results indicated that (i) anxiety partially mediated the effects of both stress and self-esteem upon depression, (ii) that stress partially mediated the effects of anxiety and positive affect upon depression, (iii) that stress completely mediated the effects of self-esteem on depression, and (iv) that there was a significant interaction between stress and negative affect, and between positive affect and negative affect upon depression. The study highlights different research questions that can be investigated depending on whether researchers decide to use the same variables as mediators and/or moderators.

Job Stress and Presenteeism among Chinese Healthcare Workers: The Mediating Effects of Affective Commitment.

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Yang, Tianan; Guo, Yina; Ma, Mingxu; Li, Yaxin; Tian, Huilin; Deng, Jianwei

2017-08-29

Presenteeism affects the performance of healthcare workers. This study examined associations between job stress, affective commitment, and presenteeism among healthcare workers. To investigate the relationship between job stress, affective commitment, and presenteeism, structural equation modeling was used to analyze a sample of 1392 healthcare workers from 11 Class A tertiary hospitals in eastern, central, and western China. The mediating effect of affective commitment on the association between job stress and presenteeism was examined with the Sobel test. Job stress was high and the level of presenteeism was moderate among healthcare workers. Challenge stress and hindrance stress were strongly correlated (β = 0.62; p < 0.05). Affective commitment was significantly and directly inversely correlated with presenteeism (β = -0.27; p < 0.001). Challenge stress was significantly positively correlated with affective commitment (β = 0.15; p < 0.001) but not with presenteeism. Hindrance stress was significantly inversely correlated with affective commitment (β = -0.40; p < 0.001) but was significantly positively correlated with presenteeism (β = 0.26; p < 0.001). This study provides important empirical data on presenteeism among healthcare workers. Presenteeism can be addressed by increasing affective commitment and challenge stress and by limiting hindrance stress among healthcare workers in China.

Job Stress and Presenteeism among Chinese Healthcare Workers: The Mediating Effects of Affective Commitment

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Tianan Yang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Presenteeism affects the performance of healthcare workers. This study examined associations between job stress, affective commitment, and presenteeism among healthcare workers. Methods: To investigate the relationship between job stress, affective commitment, and presenteeism, structural equation modeling was used to analyze a sample of 1392 healthcare workers from 11 Class A tertiary hospitals in eastern, central, and western China. The mediating effect of affective commitment on the association between job stress and presenteeism was examined with the Sobel test. Results: Job stress was high and the level of presenteeism was moderate among healthcare workers. Challenge stress and hindrance stress were strongly correlated (β = 0.62; p < 0.05. Affective commitment was significantly and directly inversely correlated with presenteeism (β = −0.27; p < 0.001. Challenge stress was significantly positively correlated with affective commitment (β = 0.15; p < 0.001 but not with presenteeism. Hindrance stress was significantly inversely correlated with affective commitment (β = −0.40; p < 0.001 but was significantly positively correlated with presenteeism (β = 0.26; p < 0.001. Conclusions: This study provides important empirical data on presenteeism among healthcare workers. Presenteeism can be addressed by increasing affective commitment and challenge stress and by limiting hindrance stress among healthcare workers in China.

Does the Perception that Stress Affects Health Matter? The Association with Health and Mortality

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Keller, Abiola; Litzelman, Kristin; Wisk, Lauren E.; Maddox, Torsheika; Cheng, Erika Rose; Creswell, Paul D.; Witt, Whitney P.

2012-01-01

Objective This study sought to examine the relationship among the amount of stress, the perception that stress affects health, and health and mortality outcomes in a nationally-representative sample of U.S. adults. Methods Data from the 1998 National Health Interview Survey were linked to prospective National Death Index mortality data through 2006. Separate logistic regression models were used to examine the factors associated with current health status and psychological distress. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine the impact of perceiving that stress affects health on all-cause mortality. Each model specifically examined the interaction between the amount of stress and the perception that stress affects health, controlling for sociodemographic, health behavior, and access to healthcare factors. Results 33.7% of nearly 186 million (n=28,753) U.S. adults perceived that stress affected their health a lot or to some extent. Both higher levels of reported stress and the perception that stress affects health were independently associated with an increased likelihood of worse health and mental health outcomes. The amount of stress and the perception that stress affects health interacted such that those who reported a lot of stress and that stress impacted their health a lot had a 43% increased risk of premature death (HR = 1.43, 95% CI [1.20, 1.71]). Conclusions High amounts of stress and the perception that stress impacts health are each associated with poor health and mental health. Individuals who perceived that stress affects their health and reported a large amount of stress had an increased risk of premature death. PMID:22201278

The contribution of trait negative affect and stress to recall for bodily states.

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Ma-Kellams, Christine; Lai, Lei; Taylor, Shelley E; Lerner, Jennifer S

2016-12-01

How does trait negative affect shape somatic memory of stressful events? We hypothesized that negative affect would impair accurate recall of one's own heart rate during stressful situations. Two bio-behavioral studies used a new paradigm to test retrospective visceral perception and assessed whether negative affective states experienced during aversive events (i.e., the Trier Stress Task-Time 1) would retrospectively shape recall of past heart rate (Time 2), even when accounting for actual heart rate at the time of each stressful event (Time 1). Results across both studies showed that individual differences in negative affect in response to a stressful task predicted visceral recollections, and those who experienced more negative affect were more inaccurate. Negative affect was associated with a tendency to remember visceral reactions as worse than they actually were. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anxiety, affect, self-esteem, and stress: mediation and moderation effects on depression.

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Ali Al Nima

Full Text Available Mediation analysis investigates whether a variable (i.e., mediator changes in regard to an independent variable, in turn, affecting a dependent variable. Moderation analysis, on the other hand, investigates whether the statistical interaction between independent variables predict a dependent variable. Although this difference between these two types of analysis is explicit in current literature, there is still confusion with regard to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables on depression. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating and moderating effects of anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect on depression.Two hundred and two university students (males  = 93, females  = 113 completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, stress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and depression. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using techniques based on standard multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses.The results indicated that (i anxiety partially mediated the effects of both stress and self-esteem upon depression, (ii that stress partially mediated the effects of anxiety and positive affect upon depression, (iii that stress completely mediated the effects of self-esteem on depression, and (iv that there was a significant interaction between stress and negative affect, and between positive affect and negative affect upon depression.The study highlights different research questions that can be investigated depending on whether researchers decide to use the same variables as mediators and/or moderators.

Anxiety, Affect, Self-Esteem, and Stress: Mediation and Moderation Effects on Depression

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Nima, Ali Al; Rosenberg, Patricia; Archer, Trevor; Garcia, Danilo

2013-01-01

Background Mediation analysis investigates whether a variable (i.e., mediator) changes in regard to an independent variable, in turn, affecting a dependent variable. Moderation analysis, on the other hand, investigates whether the statistical interaction between independent variables predict a dependent variable. Although this difference between these two types of analysis is explicit in current literature, there is still confusion with regard to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables on depression. The purpose of this study was to assess the mediating and moderating effects of anxiety, stress, positive affect, and negative affect on depression. Methods Two hundred and two university students (males  = 93, females  = 113) completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, stress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect, and depression. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using techniques based on standard multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses. Main Findings The results indicated that (i) anxiety partially mediated the effects of both stress and self-esteem upon depression, (ii) that stress partially mediated the effects of anxiety and positive affect upon depression, (iii) that stress completely mediated the effects of self-esteem on depression, and (iv) that there was a significant interaction between stress and negative affect, and between positive affect and negative affect upon depression. Conclusion The study highlights different research questions that can be investigated depending on whether researchers decide to use the same variables as mediators and/or moderators. PMID:24039896

Acoustic and Perceptual Correlates of Stress in Nonwords Produced by Children with Suspected Developmental Apraxia of Speech and Children with Phonological Disorder.

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Munson, Benjamin; Bjorum, Elissa M.; Windsor, Jennifer

2003-01-01

This study examined whether accuracy in producing linguistic stress reliably distinguished between five children with suspected developmental apraxia of speech (sDAS) and five children with phonological disorder (PD). No group differences in the production of stress were found; however, listeners judged that nonword repetitions of the children…

Mouthing off about developmental stress : Individuality of palate marking in the European badger and its relationship with juvenile parasitoses

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Nouvellet, P.; Buesching, C. D.; Dugdale, H. L.; Newman, C.; Macdonald, D. W.

Fluctuating asymmetry has become a common measure of developmental instability (the inability of individuals to buffer their development from environmental stresses). Here we investigate the symmetry of palatine marking (maculation) in the European badger Meles meles, with regard to the

Effects of developmental manganese, stress, and the combination of both on monoamines, growth, and corticosterone

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Charles V. Vorhees

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Developmental exposure to manganese (Mn or stress can each be detrimental to brain development. Here, Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to two housing conditions and Mn from postnatal day (P4–28. Within each litter two males and two females were assigned to the following groups: 0 (vehicle, 50, or 100 mg/kg Mn by gavage every other day. Half the litters were reared in cages with standard bedding and half with no bedding. One pair/group in each litter had an acute shallow water stressor before tissue collection (i.e., standing in shallow water. Separate litters were assessed at P11, 19, or 29. Mn-treated rats raised in standard cages showed no change in baseline corticosterone but following acute stress increased more than controls on P19; no Mn effects were seen on P11 or P29. Mn increased neostriatal dopamine in females at P19 and norepinephrine at P11 and P29. Mn increased hippocampal dopamine at P11 and P29 and 5-HT at P29 regardless of housing or sex. Mn had no effect on hypothalamic dopamine, but increased norepinephrine in males at P29 and 5-HT in males at all ages irrespective of rearing condition. Barren reared rats showed no or opposite effects of Mn, i.e., barren rearing + Mn attenuated corticosterone increases to acute stress. Barren rearing also altered the Mn-induced changes in dopamine and norepinephrine in the neostriatum, but not in the hippocampus. Barren rearing caused a Mn-associated increase in hypothalamic dopamine at P19 and P29 not seen in standard reared Mn-treated groups. Developmental Mn alters monoamines and corticosterone as a function of age, stress (acute and chronic, and sex.

Thoracic radiography and oxidative stress indices in heartworm affected dogs

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P. K. Rath

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim was to study the pathomorphological changes through thoracic radiography and status of oxidative stress parameters in heartworm affected dogs in Odisha. Materials and Methods: A total of 16 dogs with clinically established diagnosis of dirofilariasis by wet blood smear and modified Knott’s test and equal numbers of dogs as control were included in this study. The present study was conducted in heartworm affected dogs to see the pathomorphological changes through thoracic radiography. Similarly, the evaluation was undertaken for observing any alterations in oxidative stress status in affected as well as non-affected, but healthy control dogs by adopting standard procedure. Results: Thoracic radiography revealed cardiac enlargement, round heart appearance suggestive of right ventricular hypertrophy, tortuous pulmonary artery and darkening of lungs. Alterations in oxidative stress indices showed a significant rise of lipid peroxidase activity, non-significant rise of superoxide dismutase and a significant although reverse trend for catalase levels in affected dogs in comparison to Dirofilaria negative control but apparently healthy dogs. Conclusions: Radiographic changes, as well as alterations in oxidative stress parameters, may not be diagnostic for heartworm infection, but useful for detecting heartworm disease, assessing severity and evaluating cardiopulmonary parenchyma changes and gives a fair idea about the degree of severity of the disease. It aids as contributing factors in disease pathogenesis.

Emotional stress-reactivity and positive affect among college students: the role of depression history.

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O'Hara, Ross E; Armeli, Stephen; Boynton, Marcella H; Tennen, Howard

2014-02-01

Multiple theories posit that people with a history of depression are at higher risk for a depressive episode than people who have never experienced depression, which may be partly due to differences in stress-reactivity. In addition, both the dynamic model of affect and the broaden-and-build theory suggest that stress and positive affect interact to predict negative affect, but this moderation has never been tested in the context of depression history. The current study used multilevel modeling to examine these issues among 1,549 college students with or without a history of depression. Students completed a 30-day online diary study in which they reported daily their perceived stress, positive affect, and negative affect (including depression, anxiety, and hostility). On days characterized by higher than usual stress, students with a history of depression reported greater decreases in positive affect and greater increases in depressed affect than students with no history. Furthermore, the relations between daily stress and both depressed and anxious affect were moderated by daily positive affect among students with remitted depression. These results indicate that students with a history of depression show greater stress-reactivity even when in remission, which may place them at greater risk for recurrence. These individuals may also benefit more from positive affect on higher stress days despite being less likely to experience positive affect on such days. The current findings have various implications both clinically and for research on stress, mood, and depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with autism and other developmental disabilities: associations with ethnicity, child comorbid symptoms, and parental stress.

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Valicenti-McDermott, Maria; Burrows, Bethany; Bernstein, Leora; Hottinger, Kathryn; Lawson, Katharine; Seijo, Rosa; Schechtman, Merryl; Shulman, Lisa; Shinnar, Shlomo

2014-03-01

The use of complementary and alternative medicine by children with autism and the association of its use with child comorbid symptoms and parental stress was studied in an ethnically diverse population, in a cross-sectional study with structured interviews. The sample included 50 families of children with autism and 50 families of children with other developmental disabilities, matched by age/gender. Interview included the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire, Gastrointestinal Questionnaire, Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Aberrant Behavior Checklist, and Parenting Stress Index. In this ethnically diverse sample, the use of complementary and alternative medicine was significantly higher for the autism group. In the autism group, use was significantly related to child's irritability, hyperactivity, food allergies, and parental stress; in the developmental disabilities group, there was no association with child comorbid symptoms or parental stress. The results contribute information to health care providers about families of children with autism who are more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine.

Relationships Among Nightly Sleep Quality, Daily Stress, and Daily Affect.

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Blaxton, Jessica M; Bergeman, Cindy S; Whitehead, Brenda R; Braun, Marcia E; Payne, Jessic D

2017-05-01

We explored the prospective, microlevel relationship between nightly sleep quality (SQ) and the subsequent day's stress on positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) as well as the moderating relationships between nightly SQ, subsequent stress, and subsequent PA on NA. We investigated whether age moderated these relationships. We collected 56 days of sleep, stress, and affect data using daily diary questionnaires (N = 552). We used multilevel modeling to assess relationships at the between- and within-person levels. Daily increases in SQ and decreases in stress interacted to predict higher daily PA and lower daily NA. Better SQ in older adults enhanced the benefits of PA on the stress-NA relationship more during times of low stress, whereas better sleep in younger adults enhanced the benefits of PA more during times of high stress. Between-person effects were stronger predictors of well-being outcomes than within-person variability. The combination of good SQ and higher PA buffered the impact of stress on NA. The moderating impact of age suggests that sleep and stress play different roles across adulthood. Targeting intervention and prevention strategies to improve SQ and enhance PA could disrupt the detrimental relationship between daily stress and NA. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The importance of physical activity and sleep for affect on stressful days: Two intensive longitudinal studies.

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Flueckiger, Lavinia; Lieb, Roselind; Meyer, Andrea H; Witthauer, Cornelia; Mata, Jutta

2016-06-01

We investigated the potential stress-buffering effect of 3 health behaviors-physical activity, sleep quality, and snacking-on affect in the context of everyday life in young adults. In 2 intensive longitudinal studies with up to 65 assessment days over an entire academic year, students (Study 1, N = 292; Study 2, N = 304) reported stress intensity, sleep quality, physical activity, snacking, and positive and negative affect. Data were analyzed using multilevel regression analyses. Stress and positive affect were negatively associated; stress and negative affect were positively associated. The more physically active than usual a person was on a given day, the weaker the association between stress and positive affect (Study 1) and negative affect (Studies 1 and 2). The better than usual a person's sleep quality had been during the previous night, the weaker the association between stress and positive affect (Studies 1 and 2) and negative affect (Study 2). The association between daily stress and positive or negative affect did not differ as a function of daily snacking (Studies 1 and 2). On stressful days, increasing physical activity or ensuring high sleep quality may buffer adverse effects of stress on affect in young adults. These findings suggest potential targets for health-promotion and stress-prevention programs, which could help reduce the negative impact of stress in young adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of mind-body training on stress reduction, positive affect, and plasma catecholamines.

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Jung, Ye-Ha; Kang, Do-Hyung; Jang, Joon Hwan; Park, Hye Yoon; Byun, Min Soo; Kwon, Soo Jin; Jang, Go-Eun; Lee, Ul Soon; An, Seung Chan; Kwon, Jun Soo

2010-07-26

This study was designed to assess the association between stress, positive affect and catecholamine levels in meditation and control groups. The meditation group consisted of 67 subjects who regularly engaged in mind-body training of "Brain-Wave Vibration" and the control group consisted of 57 healthy subjects. Plasma catecholamine (norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), and dopamine (DA)) levels were measured, and a modified form of the Stress Response Inventory (SRI-MF) and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) were administered. The meditation group showed higher scores on positive affect (p=.019) and lower scores on stress (pmind-body training is associated with lower stress, higher positive affect and higher plasma DA levels when comparing the meditation group with the control group. Thus, mind-body training may influence stress, positive affect and the sympathetic nervous system including DA activity. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Affective temperament, job stress and professional burnout in nurses and civil servants.

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Jaracz, Marcin; Rosiak, Izabela; Bertrand-Bucińska, Anna; Jaskulski, Maciej; Nieżurawska, Joanna; Borkowska, Alina

2017-01-01

The risk of professional burnout is constituted by job-related as well as individual factors. The latter involve affective temperament, which influences the perception of job-related stress. The aim of the present study was to assess the affective temperament, the level of job stress and professional burnout, as well as the relationships between these variables, in public servants and nurses. 100 civil servants and 100 nurses were enrolled in the study. Affective temperament and burnout were assessed by means of TEMPS-A and MBI questionnaires, respectively. To measure the level of job-related stress, we have designed a 6-item self-reported questionnaire, which considered stressors common for both professions. Compared to the civil servants, nurses showed higher rate of anxious temperament and experienced greater intensity of job-related stress. The groups did not differ in the intensity of burnout symptoms. The rates of cyclothymic and anxious temperaments correlated with the intensity of stress, and burnout symptoms in the group of nurses. Within the civil servants group, the level of stress correlated with intensity of burnout, however no correlations with affective temperament were observed. The regression analysis performed in both groups revealed the significant effect of stress and cyclothymic temperament on burnout, while the effect of anxious temperament was not significant. Cyclothymic and anxious temperaments are related to the level of experienced job stress and the risk of burnout. In professions like nursing, where employees show elevated rates of these temperaments, burnout prevention and stress management education is of particular importance.

Affective temperament, job stress and professional burnout in nurses and civil servants.

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Marcin Jaracz

Full Text Available The risk of professional burnout is constituted by job-related as well as individual factors. The latter involve affective temperament, which influences the perception of job-related stress. The aim of the present study was to assess the affective temperament, the level of job stress and professional burnout, as well as the relationships between these variables, in public servants and nurses.100 civil servants and 100 nurses were enrolled in the study. Affective temperament and burnout were assessed by means of TEMPS-A and MBI questionnaires, respectively. To measure the level of job-related stress, we have designed a 6-item self-reported questionnaire, which considered stressors common for both professions.Compared to the civil servants, nurses showed higher rate of anxious temperament and experienced greater intensity of job-related stress. The groups did not differ in the intensity of burnout symptoms. The rates of cyclothymic and anxious temperaments correlated with the intensity of stress, and burnout symptoms in the group of nurses. Within the civil servants group, the level of stress correlated with intensity of burnout, however no correlations with affective temperament were observed. The regression analysis performed in both groups revealed the significant effect of stress and cyclothymic temperament on burnout, while the effect of anxious temperament was not significant.Cyclothymic and anxious temperaments are related to the level of experienced job stress and the risk of burnout. In professions like nursing, where employees show elevated rates of these temperaments, burnout prevention and stress management education is of particular importance.

Does Chronic Unpredictable Stress during Adolescence Affect Spatial Cognition in Adulthood?

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Chaby, Lauren E; Sheriff, Michael J; Hirrlinger, Amy M; Lim, James; Fetherston, Thomas B; Braithwaite, Victoria A

2015-01-01

Spatial abilities allow animals to retain and cognitively manipulate information about their spatial environment and are dependent upon neural structures that mature during adolescence. Exposure to stress in adolescence is thought to disrupt neural maturation, possibly compromising cognitive processes later in life. We examined whether exposure to chronic unpredictable stress in adolescence affects spatial ability in late adulthood. We evaluated spatial learning, reference and working memory, as well as long-term retention of visuospatial cues using a radial arm water maze. We found that stress in adolescence decreased the rate of improvement in spatial learning in adulthood. However, we found no overall performance impairments in adult reference memory, working memory, or retention caused by adolescent-stress. Together, these findings suggest that adolescent-stress may alter the strategy used to solve spatial challenges, resulting in performance that is more consistent but is not refined by incorporating available spatial information. Interestingly, we also found that adolescent-stressed rats showed a shorter latency to begin the water maze task when re-exposed to the maze after an overnight delay compared with control rats. This suggests that adolescent exposure to reoccurring stressors may prepare animals for subsequent reoccurring challenges. Overall, our results show that stress in adolescence does not affect all cognitive processes, but may affect cognition in a context-dependent manner.

Developmental Acclimation of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) and Its Effect on Diapause and Winter Stress Tolerance.

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Wallingford, Anna K; Loeb, Gregory M

2016-08-01

We investigated the influence of developmental conditions on adult morphology, reproductive arrest, and winter stress tolerance of the invasive pest of small fruit, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Cooler rearing temperatures (15 °C) resulted in larger, darker "winter morph" (WM) adults than "summer morph" flies reared at optimal temperatures (25 °C). Abdominal pigmentation scores and body size measurements of laboratory-reared WMs were similar to those of D. suzukii females captured in late autumn in Geneva, NY. We evaluated reproductive diapause and cold hardiness in live-captured D. suzukii WMs as well as WMs reared in the laboratory from egg to adult under four developmental conditions: static cool temperatures (SWM; 15 °C, 12:12 h L:D), fluctuating temperatures (FWM; 20 °C L: 10 °C D, 12:12 h L:D), and static cool temperatures (15 °C, 12:12 h L:D) followed by posteclosion chilling (CWM; 10 °C) under short-day (SD; 12:12 h L:D) or long-day photoperiods (LD; 16:8 h L:D). Live-captured D. suzukii WMs and CWMs had longer preoviposition times than newly eclosed summer morph adults, indicating a reproductive diapause that was not observed in SWMs or FWMs. Additionally, recovery after acute freeze stress was not different between CWM-SD females and live captured WM females. More 7-d-old CWMs survived 0, -1, or - 3 °C freeze stress than summer morph adults, and more CWM-SD adults survived -3 °C freeze stress than CWM-LD adults. Survival after -3 °C freeze stress was significantly higher in diapausing, CWMs than nondiapausing SWMs and FWMs. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Critical thermal limits affected differently by developmental and adult thermal fluctuations

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Salachan, Paul Vinu; Sørensen, Jesper Givskov

2017-01-01

the developmental and adult life stages. For developmental acclimation, we found mildly detrimental effects of high amplitude fluctuations for critical thermal minima, while the critical thermal maxima showed a beneficial response to higher amplitude fluctuations. For adult acclimation involving shifts between...... fluctuating and constant regimes, cold tolerance was shown to be dictated by developmental temperature conditions irrespective of the adult treatments, while the acquired heat tolerance was readily lost when flies developed at fluctuating temperature were shifted to a constant regime as adults. Interestingly......, we also found that effect of fluctuations at any life stage was gradually lost with prolonged adult maintenance suggesting a more prominent effect of fluctuations during developmental compared to adult acclimation in Drosophila melanogaster....

Social stress in early adolescents' daily lives: Associations with affect and loneliness.

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van Roekel, Eeske; Ha, Thao; Verhagen, Maaike; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Scholte, Ron H J; Engels, Rutger C M E

2015-12-01

Adolescence is characterized by increased social stress due to changes in interpersonal relationships, but little is known about daily experiences of social stress. The aim of the present study was to examine daily life predictors of increases in social stress, how these increases affected adolescents' mood, and whether loneliness moderated these relations. The Experience Sampling Method was used to measure positive and negative affect and increases in social stress in 278 early adolescents from the Netherlands. Results showed that adolescents were most likely to experience increases in social stress when they were with classmates, during week days, and in the morning. Lonely adolescents showed higher increases in social stress and responded more negatively to increases in social stress, compared to non-lonely adolescents. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stress, interviewer support, and children's eyewitness identification accuracy.

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Rush, Elizabeth B; Quas, Jodi A; Yim, Ilona S; Nikolayev, Mariya; Clark, Steven E; Larson, Rakel P

2014-01-01

Few studies have investigated how stress affects eyewitness identification capabilities across development, and no studies have investigated whether retrieval context in conjunction with stress affects accuracy. In this study, one hundred fifty-nine 7- to 8- and 12- to 14-year-olds completed a high- or low-stress laboratory protocol during which they interacted with a confederate. Two weeks later, they attempted to identify the confederate in a photographic lineup. The lineup administrator behaved in either a supportive or a nonsupportive manner. Participants who experienced the high-stress event and were questioned by a supportive interviewer were most accurate in rejecting target-absent lineups. Results have implications for debates about effects of stress on eyewitness recall, how best to elicit accurate identifications in children, and developmental changes in episodic mnemonic processes. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Ambient temperature and genotype differentially affect developmental and phenotypic plasticity in Arabidopsis thaliana.

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Ibañez, Carla; Poeschl, Yvonne; Peterson, Tom; Bellstädt, Julia; Denk, Kathrin; Gogol-Döring, Andreas; Quint, Marcel; Delker, Carolin

2017-07-06

Global increase in ambient temperatures constitute a significant challenge to wild and cultivated plant species. Forward genetic analyses of individual temperature-responsive traits have resulted in the identification of several signaling and response components. However, a comprehensive knowledge about temperature sensitivity of different developmental stages and the contribution of natural variation is still scarce and fragmented at best. Here, we systematically analyze thermomorphogenesis throughout a complete life cycle in ten natural Arabidopsis thaliana accessions grown under long day conditions in four different temperatures ranging from 16 to 28 °C. We used Q 10 , GxE, phenotypic divergence and correlation analyses to assess temperature sensitivity and genotype effects of more than 30 morphometric and developmental traits representing five phenotype classes. We found that genotype and temperature differentially affected plant growth and development with variing strengths. Furthermore, overall correlations among phenotypic temperature responses was relatively low which seems to be caused by differential capacities for temperature adaptations of individual accessions. Genotype-specific temperature responses may be attractive targets for future forward genetic approaches and accession-specific thermomorphogenesis maps may aid the assessment of functional relevance of known and novel regulatory components.

Parent Perspectives of Applying Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Strategies to Special Education.

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Burke, Meghan M; Chan, Neilson; Neece, Cameron L

2017-06-01

Parents of children with (versus without) intellectual and developmental disabilities report greater stress; such stress may be exacerbated by dissatisfaction with school services, poor parent-school partnerships, and the need for parent advocacy. Increasingly, mindfulness interventions have been used to reduce parent stress. However, it is unclear whether parents apply mindfulness strategies during the special education process to reduce school-related stress. To investigate whether mindfulness may reduce school-related stress, interviews were conducted with 26 parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who completed a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention. Participants were asked about their stress during meetings with the school, use of mindfulness strategies in communicating with the school, and the impact of such strategies. The majority of parent participants reported: special education meetings were stressful; they used mindfulness strategies during IEP meetings; and such strategies affected parents' perceptions of improvements in personal well-being, advocacy, family-school relationships, and access to services for their children. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Acute stress affects risk taking but not ambiguity aversion.

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Buckert, Magdalena; Schwieren, Christiane; Kudielka, Brigitte M; Fiebach, Christian J

2014-01-01

Economic decisions are often made in stressful situations (e.g., at the trading floor), but the effects of stress on economic decision making have not been systematically investigated so far. The present study examines how acute stress influences economic decision making under uncertainty (risk and ambiguity) using financially incentivized lotteries. We varied the domain of decision making as well as the expected value of the risky prospect. Importantly, no feedback was provided to investigate risk taking and ambiguity aversion independent from learning processes. In a sample of 75 healthy young participants, 55 of whom underwent a stress induction protocol (Trier Social Stress Test for Groups), we observed more risk seeking for gains. This effect was restricted to a subgroup of participants that showed a robust cortisol response to acute stress (n = 26). Gambling under ambiguity, in contrast to gambling under risk, was not influenced by the cortisol response to stress. These results show that acute psychosocial stress affects economic decision making under risk, independent of learning processes. Our results further point to the importance of cortisol as a mediator of this effect.

Sleep Efficiency Modulates Associations Between Family Stress and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms and Negative Affect.

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Chiang, Jessica J; Kim, Joanna J; Almeida, David M; Bower, Julienne E; Dahl, Ronald E; Irwin, Michael R; McCreath, Heather; Fuligni, Andrew J

2017-10-01

The goal of this study was to determine whether sleep moderates the associations between family-related stress and depressive symptoms and negative affect outcomes during adolescence. We combined traditional survey measures of stress and depressive symptoms with daily assessments of stress and negative affect to examine whether sleep differentially impacts the link between chronic and acute experiences of stress and affect. Participants were 316 adolescents from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Primary caregivers and adolescents reported on stressful family events during the past 12 and 3 months, respectively. Adolescents also reported on their daily experiences of family demands for 15 days and wore actigraph watches for the assessment of sleep during the first eight nights. Regression analyses revealed that more stressful family events were related to more depressive symptoms. This relation was stronger among adolescents with lower sleep efficiency. The same pattern emerged for the relation between daily family demands and negative affect aggregated across the 15 days. Daily-level analyses indicated that daily negative affect was related to daily family demands when sleep efficiency was higher than usual, but only among European American adolescents. These findings suggest that chronic experiences of lower sleep efficiency, but not sleep duration, may render adolescents more vulnerable to the negative effects of family stress on emotional adjustment. A more complex picture emerged for the role of prior night's sleep in the day-to-day variation in negative affect reactivity to family stress. Copyright © 2017 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prefrontal cortex executive processes affected by stress in health and disease.

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Girotti, Milena; Adler, Samantha M; Bulin, Sarah E; Fucich, Elizabeth A; Paredes, Denisse; Morilak, David A

2017-07-06

Prefrontal cortical executive functions comprise a number of cognitive capabilities necessary for goal directed behavior and adaptation to a changing environment. Executive dysfunction that leads to maladaptive behavior and is a symptom of psychiatric pathology can be instigated or exacerbated by stress. In this review we survey research addressing the impact of stress on executive function, with specific focus on working memory, attention, response inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. We then consider the neurochemical pathways underlying these cognitive capabilities and, where known, how stress alters them. Finally, we review work exploring potential pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches that can ameliorate deficits in executive function. Both preclinical and clinical literature indicates that chronic stress negatively affects executive function. Although some of the circuitry and neurochemical processes underlying executive function have been characterized, a great deal is still unknown regarding how stress affects these processes. Additional work focusing on this question is needed in order to make progress on developing interventions that ameliorate executive dysfunction. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, underlying affective vulnerabilities, and smoking for affect regulation.

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Mathew, Amanda R; Cook, Jessica W; Japuntich, Sandra J; Leventhal, Adam M

2015-01-01

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is overrepresented among cigarette smokers. It has been hypothesized that those with PTSD smoke to alleviate negative affect and counteract deficient positive affect commonly associated with the disorder; however, limited research has examined associations between PTSD symptoms, smoking motives, and affective vulnerability factors. In the current study, we examined (1) whether PTSD symptoms were associated with positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement smoking motives; and (2) whether two affective vulnerability factors implicated in PTSD-anxiety sensitivity and anhedonia-mediated relationships between PTSD symptoms and smoking motives. Data were drawn from a community sample of non-treatment-seeking smokers recruited without regard for trauma history (N = 342; 10+ cig/day). We used the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) to assess overall PTSD symptom severity as well as individual PTSD subfactors. Overall, PTSD symptom severity was significantly associated with negative reinforcement, but not positive reinforcement, smoking motives. Variation in anxiety sensitivity significantly mediated the relation between PTSD symptom severity and negative reinforcement smoking motives, whereas anhedonia did not. Regarding PTSD subfactors, emotional numbing was the only PTSD subfactor associated with smoking rate, while re-experiencing symptoms were uniquely associated with both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement smoking motives. Findings suggest that anxiety sensitivity may be an important feature associated with PTSD that enhances motivation to smoke for negative reinforcement purposes. Smoking cessation interventions that alleviate anxiety sensitivity and enhance coping with negative affect may be useful for smokers with elevated PTSD symptoms. © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Does Maternal Prenatal Stress Adversely Affect the Child's Learning and Memory at Age Six?

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Gutteling, Barbara M.; de Weerth, Carolina; Zandbelt, Noortje; Mulder, Eduard J. H.; Visser, Gerard H. A.; Buitelaar, Jan K.

2006-01-01

Prenatal maternal stress has been shown to affect postnatal development in animals and humans. In animals, the morphology and function of the offspring's hippocampus is negatively affected by prenatal maternal stress. The present study prospectively investigated the influence of prenatal maternal stress on learning and memory of 112 children (50…

Stress in Context: Morpho-Syntactic Properties Affect Lexical Stress Assignment in Reading Aloud.

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Spinelli, Giacomo; Sulpizio, Simone; Primativo, Silvia; Burani, Cristina

2016-01-01

Recent findings from English and Russian have shown that grammatical category plays a key role in stress assignment. In these languages, some grammatical categories have a typical stress pattern and this information is used by readers. However, whether readers are sensitive to smaller distributional differences and other morpho-syntactic properties (e.g., gender, number, person) remains unclear. We addressed this issue in word and non-word reading in Italian, a language in which: (1) nouns and verbs differ in the proportion of words with a dominant stress pattern; (2) information specified by words sharing morpho-syntactic properties may contrast with other sources of information, such as stress neighborhood. Both aspects were addressed in two experiments in which context words were used to induce the desired morpho-syntactic properties. Experiment 1 showed that the relatively different proportions of stress patterns between grammatical categories do not affect stress processing in word reading. In contrast, Experiment 2 showed that information specified by words sharing morpho-syntactic properties outweighs stress neighborhood in non-word reading. Thus, while general information specified by grammatical categories may not be used by Italian readers, stress neighbors with morpho-syntactic properties congruent with those of the target stimulus have a primary role in stress assignment. These results underscore the importance of expanding investigations of stress assignment beyond single words, as current models of single-word reading seem unable to account for our results.

Sodium benzoate induced developmental defects, oxidative stress and anxiety-like behaviour in zebrafish larva.

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Gaur, Himanshu; Purushothaman, Srinithi; Pullaguri, Narasimha; Bhargava, Yogesh; Bhargava, Anamika

2018-05-28

Sodium benzoate (SB) is a common food preservative. Its FDA described safety limit is 1000 ppm. Lately, increased use of SB has prompted investigations regarding its effects on biological systems. Data regarding toxicity of SB is divergent and controversial with studies reporting both harmful and beneficial effects. Therefore, we did a systematic dose dependent toxicity study of SB using zebrafish vertebrate animal model. We also investigated oxidative stress and anxiety-like behaviour in zebrafish larva treated with SB. Our results indicate that SB induced developmental (delayed hatching), morphological (pericardial edema, yolk sac edema and tail bending), biochemical (oxidative stress) and behavioural (anxiety-like behaviour) abnormalities in developing zebrafish larva. LC 50 of SB induced toxicity was approximately 400 ppm after 48 h of SB exposure. Our study strongly supports its harmful effects on vertebrates at increasing doses. Thus, we suggest caution in the excessive use of this preservative in processed and convenience foods. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Glutamate neurotransmission is affected in prenatally stressed offspring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adrover, Ezequiela; Pallarés, Maria Eugenia; Baier, Carlos Javier

2015-01-01

Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that male adult offspring of stressed mothers exhibited higher levels of ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors than control rats. These offspring also showed long-lasting astroglial hypertrophy and a reduced dendritic arborization with syn......Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that male adult offspring of stressed mothers exhibited higher levels of ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors than control rats. These offspring also showed long-lasting astroglial hypertrophy and a reduced dendritic arborization...... with synaptic loss. Since metabolism of glutamate is dependent on interactions between neurons and surrounding astroglia, our results suggest that glutamate neurotransmitter pathways might be impaired in the brain of prenatally stressed rats. To study the effect of prenatal stress on the metabolism...... was not affected it was found that prenatal stress (PS) changed the expression of the transporters, thus, producing a higher level of vesicular vGluT-1 in the frontal cortex (FCx) and elevated levels of GLT1 protein and messenger RNA in the hippocampus (HPC) of adult male PS offspring. We also observed increased...

Impaired Integration of Emotional Faces and Affective Body Context in a Rare Case of Developmental Visual Agnosia

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Aviezer, Hillel; Hassin, Ran. R.; Bentin, Shlomo

2011-01-01

In the current study we examined the recognition of facial expressions embedded in emotionally expressive bodies in case LG, an individual with a rare form of developmental visual agnosia who suffers from severe prosopagnosia. Neuropsychological testing demonstrated that LG‘s agnosia is characterized by profoundly impaired visual integration. Unlike individuals with typical developmental prosopagnosia who display specific difficulties with face identity (but typically not expression) recognition, LG was also impaired at recognizing isolated facial expressions. By contrast, he successfully recognized the expressions portrayed by faceless emotional bodies handling affective paraphernalia. When presented with contextualized faces in emotional bodies his ability to detect the emotion expressed by a face did not improve even if it was embedded in an emotionally-congruent body context. Furthermore, in contrast to controls, LG displayed an abnormal pattern of contextual influence from emotionally-incongruent bodies. The results are interpreted in the context of a general integration deficit in developmental visual agnosia, suggesting that impaired integration may extend from the level of the face to the level of the full person. PMID:21482423

Coping with stress in adults with speech fluency disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magdalena Pietraszek

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background Stuttering is a developmental speech disorder that affects the fluency of speech. Persons who stutter perceive speaking situations and social interactions as threatening. Participants and procedure Nineteen (47.50% adults with speech fluency disorders (SFD and 21 (52.50% without participated in the study. All participants completed the following measures individually: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS, and an informational survey. Results Our study confirmed that persons with SFD experience more stressful situations in life and feel greater anxiety, both as a trait and as a state, which influences their daily life. The negative affect experienced contributed to their preferred use of Emotion-Oriented Coping strategies, at the expense of more proactive Task-Oriented Coping. Experienced stress and anxiety influenced and consolidated their habitual stress coping styles, devoted mainly to dealing with negative emotions. Conclusions Stuttering affects daily activities, interpersonal relationships, and the quality of life. Therefore, professional support should include adaptive, task-oriented coping.

Social stress in early adolescents' daily lives : Associations with affect and loneliness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Roekel, Eeske; Ha, Thao; Verhagen, Maaike; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Scholte, Ron H. J.; Engels, Rutger C. M. E.

2015-01-01

Adolescence is characterized by increased social stress due to changes in interpersonal relationships, but little is known about daily experiences of social stress. The aim of the present study was to examine daily life predictors of increases in social stress, how these increases affected

Impact of sleep quality on amygdala reactivity, negative affect, and perceived stress.

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Prather, Aric A; Bogdan, Ryan; Hariri, Ahmad R

2013-05-01

Research demonstrates a negative impact of sleep disturbance on mood and affect; however, the biological mechanisms mediating these links are poorly understood. Amygdala reactivity to negative stimuli has emerged as one potential pathway. Here, we investigate the influence of self-reported sleep quality on associations between threat-related amygdala reactivity and measures of negative affect and perceived stress. Analyses on data from 299 participants (125 men, 50.5% white, mean [standard deviation] age = 19.6 [1.3] years) who completed the Duke Neurogenetics Study were conducted. Participants completed several self-report measures of negative affect and perceived stress. Threat-related (i.e., angry and fearful facial expressions) amygdala reactivity was assayed using blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Global sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Amygdala reactivity to fearful facial expressions predicted greater depressive symptoms and higher perceived stress in poor (β values = 0.18-1.86, p values .05). In sex-specific analyses, men reporting poorer global sleep quality showed a significant association between amygdala reactivity and levels of depression and perceived stress (β values = 0.29-0.44, p values sleep quality or in women, irrespective of sleep quality. This study provides novel evidence that self-reported sleep quality moderates the relationships between amygdala reactivity, negative affect, and perceived stress, particularly among men.

Oxidative stress negatively affects human sperm mitochondrial respiration.

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Ferramosca, Alessandra; Pinto Provenzano, Sara; Montagna, Daniela Domenica; Coppola, Lamberto; Zara, Vincenzo

2013-07-01

To correlate the level of oxidative stress in serum and seminal fluid and the level of sperm deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation with sperm mitochondrial respiratory efficiency. Sperm mitochondrial respiratory activity was evaluated with a polarographic assay of oxygen consumption carried out in hypotonically treated sperm cells. A possible relationship between sperm mitochondrial respiratory efficiency, the level of oxidative stress, and the level of sperm DNA fragmentation was investigated. Sperm motility was positively correlated with mitochondrial respiration but negatively correlated with oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation. Interestingly, sperm mitochondrial respiratory activity was negatively affected by oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation. Our data indicate that sperm mitochondrial respiration is decreased in patients with high levels of reactive oxygen species by an uncoupling between electron transport and adenosine triphosphate synthesis. This reduction in mitochondrial functionality might be 1 of the reasons responsible for the decrease in spermatozoa motility. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Job Stress and Presenteeism among Chinese Healthcare Workers: The Mediating Effects of Affective Commitment

OpenAIRE

Tianan Yang; Yina Guo; Mingxu Ma; Yaxin Li; Huilin Tian; Jianwei Deng

2017-01-01

Background: Presenteeism affects the performance of healthcare workers. This study examined associations between job stress, affective commitment, and presenteeism among healthcare workers. Methods: To investigate the relationship between job stress, affective commitment, and presenteeism, structural equation modeling was used to analyze a sample of 1392 healthcare workers from 11 Class A tertiary hospitals in eastern, central, and western China. The mediating effect of affective commitment o...

[The Mediating Role of Parenting Self-Efficacy on Parenting Stress and Quality of Life in Parents of Young Children With Developmental Delay].

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Sun, Yi; Wu, Wei-Wen; Lin, Kuan-Chia; Chen, Jo-Lin

2016-10-01

Previous studies indicate that parents of developmentally delayed children have higher parenting stress (PS) and lower quality of life (QoL) than parents of healthy children. Parenting self-efficacy (PSE) may mediate the effects of PS on the QoL of parents. The present study explores the mediating role of PSE between PS and the QoL of parents of developmentally delayed children and compares the differences in several variables between fathers and mothers. A cross-sectional research design was used to study a sample of 70 parent dyads. Instruments used were the Basic Information Form, Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF), Parenting Self-efficacy Scale (PSE Scale), and World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF Taiwan version (WHOQOL-BREF). (1) Participants had a moderate level of QoL, PS, and PSE. (2) The PS of participants was significantly and negatively correlated with both QoL and PSE while their PSE was significantly and positively correlated with QoL. (3) The PSE of the fathers completely mediated the effects of PS on their QoL (p accounting for 62.2% of observed variation, while the PSE of the mothers partially mediated the effects of PS on their QoL (p accounting for 59.5% of observed variation. PSE was identified as the mediator between PS and QoL in both fathers and mothers. The PSE of the fathers completely mediated the effect of PS on QoL, while the PSE of the mothers partially mediated the effect of PS on QoL. Further research that explores the factors that affect the QoL of parents and then uses the results to develop interventions to enhance the PSE of parents, especially fathers, is recommended.

Beyond allostatic load: rethinking the role of stress in regulating human development.

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Ellis, Bruce J; Del Giudice, Marco

2014-02-01

How do exposures to stress affect biobehavioral development and, through it, psychiatric and biomedical disorder? In the health sciences, the allostatic load model provides a widely accepted answer to this question: stress responses, while essential for survival, have negative long-term effects that promote illness. Thus, the benefits of mounting repeated biological responses to threat are traded off against costs to mental and physical health. The adaptive calibration model, an evolutionary-developmental theory of stress-health relations, extends this logic by conceptualizing these trade-offs as decision nodes in allocation of resources. Each decision node influences the next in a chain of resource allocations that become instantiated in the regulatory parameters of stress response systems. Over development, these parameters filter and embed information about key dimensions of environmental stress and support, mediating the organism's openness to environmental inputs, and function to regulate life history strategies to match those dimensions. Drawing on the adaptive calibration model, we propose that consideration of biological fitness trade-offs, as delineated by life history theory, is needed to more fully explain the complex relations between developmental exposures to stress, stress responsivity, behavioral strategies, and health. We conclude that the adaptive calibration model and allostatic load model are only partially complementary and, in some cases, support different approaches to intervention. In the long run, the field may be better served by a model informed by life history theory that addresses the adaptive role of stress response systems in regulating alternative developmental pathways.

Daily Stress, Coping, and Negative and Positive Affect in Depression: Complex Trigger and Maintenance Patterns.

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Dunkley, David M; Lewkowski, Maxim; Lee, Ihno A; Preacher, Kristopher J; Zuroff, David C; Berg, Jody-Lynn; Foley, J Elizabeth; Myhr, Gail; Westreich, Ruta

2017-05-01

Major depressive disorder is characterized by emotional dysfunction, but mood states in daily life are not well understood. This study examined complex explanatory models of daily stress and coping mechanisms that trigger and maintain daily negative affect and (lower) positive affect in depression. Sixty-three depressed patients completed perfectionism measures, and then completed daily questionnaires of stress appraisals, coping, and affect for 7 consecutive days. Multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) demonstrated that, across many stressors, when the typical individual with depression perceives more criticism than usual, he/she uses more avoidant coping and experiences higher event stress than usual, and this is connected to daily increases in negative affect as well as decreases in positive affect. In parallel, results showed that perceived control, less avoidant coping, and problem-focused coping commonly operate together when daily positive affect increases. MSEM also showed that avoidant coping tendencies and ongoing stress, in combination, explain why people with depression and higher self-critical perfectionism maintain daily negative affect and lower positive affect. These findings advance a richer and more detailed understanding of specific stress and coping patterns to target in order to more effectively accomplish the two predominant therapy goals of decreasing patients' distress and strengthening resilience. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Developmental light level affects growth, morphology, and leaf physiology of young carambola trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marler, T.E.; Schaffer, B.; Crane, J.H.

1994-01-01

Growth and leaf physiology responses of container-grown 'Arkin' carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) trees to long-term exposure of approximately 25%, approximately 50%, or 100% sunlight were studied in four experiments in Guam and Florida. Shading increased rachis length and leaflet area, and decreased leaflet thickness. Shaded trees also had a more horizontal branch orientation. Shading reduced dark respiration (Rd) and light compensation and saturation points but increased chlorophyll concentration and N-use efficiency. Light-saturated net CO2 assimilation (A) was not affected by developmental light level. Trees in full sun had smaller total leaf area, canopy diameter, and shoot:root ratio and exhibited leaflet movement to avoid direct solar radiation. Also, trees grown in 100% sunlight had a more vertical branch orientation and greater stomatal density than shaded trees. The ratio of variable to maximum fluorescence (Fv/Fm) declined during midday in 100% sunlight trees. This pattern was accompanied by a midday suppression of A in 100% sunlight-grown trees in Guam. 'Arkin' carambola trees exposed to approximately 25%, approximately 50%, or 100% sunlight for up to 39 weeks exhibited physiological and morphological adaptations that resulted in similar growth. These results indicate that carambola efficiently adapts to different developmental light intensities

Face and Word Recognition Can Be Selectively Affected by Brain Injury or Developmental Disorders.

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Robotham, Ro J; Starrfelt, Randi

2017-01-01

Face and word recognition have traditionally been thought to rely on highly specialised and relatively independent cognitive processes. Some of the strongest evidence for this has come from patients with seemingly category-specific visual perceptual deficits such as pure prosopagnosia, a selective face recognition deficit, and pure alexia, a selective word recognition deficit. Together, the patterns of impaired reading with preserved face recognition and impaired face recognition with preserved reading constitute a double dissociation. The existence of these selective deficits has been questioned over the past decade. It has been suggested that studies describing patients with these pure deficits have failed to measure the supposedly preserved functions using sensitive enough measures, and that if tested using sensitive measurements, all patients with deficits in one visual category would also have deficits in the other. The implications of this would be immense, with most textbooks in cognitive neuropsychology requiring drastic revisions. In order to evaluate the evidence for dissociations, we review studies that specifically investigate whether face or word recognition can be selectively affected by acquired brain injury or developmental disorders. We only include studies published since 2004, as comprehensive reviews of earlier studies are available. Most of the studies assess the supposedly preserved functions using sensitive measurements. We found convincing evidence that reading can be preserved in acquired and developmental prosopagnosia and also evidence (though weaker) that face recognition can be preserved in acquired or developmental dyslexia, suggesting that face and word recognition are at least in part supported by independent processes.

Impact of Sleep Quality on Amygdala Reactivity, Negative Affect, and Perceived Stress

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Prather, Aric A.; Bogdan, Ryan; Ahmad R. Hariri, PhD

2013-01-01

Objective Research demonstrates a negative impact of sleep disturbance on mood and affect; however, the biological mechanisms mediating these links are poorly understood. Amygdala reactivity to negative stimuli has emerged as one potential pathway. Here, we investigate the influence of self-reported sleep quality on associations between threat-related amygdala reactivity and measures of negative affect and perceived stress. Methods Analyses on data from 299 participants (125 men, 50.5% white, mean [standard deviation] age = 19.6 [1.3] years) who completed the Duke Neurogenetics Study were conducted. Participants completed several self-report measures of negative affect and perceived stress. Threat-related (i.e., angry and fearful facial expressions) amygdala reactivity was assayed using blood oxygen level–dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Global sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results Amygdala reactivity to fearful facial expressions predicted greater depressive symptoms and higher perceived stress in poor (β values = 0.18–1.86, p values .05). In sex-specific analyses, men reporting poorer global sleep quality showed a significant association between amygdala reactivity and levels of depression and perceived stress (β values = 0.29–0.44, p values < .05). In contrast, no significant associations were observed in men reporting good global sleep quality or in women, irrespective of sleep quality. Conclusions This study provides novel evidence that self-reported sleep quality moderates the relationships between amygdala reactivity, negative affect, and perceived stress, particularly among men. PMID:23592753

Developmental Origins of Stress and Psychiatric Disorders.

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Guest, Francesca L; Guest, Paul C

2018-01-01

Over the last few decades, evidence has emerged that the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia can involve perturbations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and other neuroendocrine systems. Variations in the manifestation of these effects could be related to differences in clinical symptoms between affected individuals and to differences in treatment response. Such effects can also arise from the complex interaction between genes and environmental factors. Here, we review the effects of maternal stress on abnormalities in HPA axis regulation and the development of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Studies in this area may prove critical for increasing our understanding of the multidimensional nature of mental disorders and could lead to the development of improved diagnostics and novel therapeutic approaches for treating individuals who suffer from these conditions.

Parenting stress mediates the association between negative affectivity and harsh parenting: A longitudinal dyadic analysis.

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Le, Yunying; Fredman, Steffany J; Feinberg, Mark E

2017-09-01

The current study examined parenting stress (disaggregated into personal distress and child rearing stress) at 12 months postpartum as a mediator of the longitudinal association between parental negative affectivity at 6 months postpartum and harsh parenting at 3 years postpartum for first-time parents with a child transitioning from late toddlerhood to the early preschool years. Analyses were conducted using Mediation for Actor Partner Interdependence Modeling in a sample of 164 couples who participated in a randomized controlled trial of a universal, couple-based transition to parenthood program. There were indirect actor effects of negative affect on a parent's own harsh parenting through both dimensions of parenting stress, with a stronger mediating effect for personal distress than child rearing stress. There were also indirect partner effects of negative affect on one's partner's harsh parenting through the partner's parenting stress, with a stronger indirect partner effect from mothers' negative affect to fathers' harsh parenting than vice versa. Specifically, the mediating effect of personal distress was found for both mothers and fathers, whereas the mediating effect of child rearing stress was found from mothers' negative affect to fathers' harsh parenting only. Findings highlight the importance of a dyadic approach in examining the longitudinal association between negative affect and harsh parenting and suggest that reducing parenting stress in the first year postpartum may decrease the risk of future harsh parenting among couples in which one or both partners experience negative affectivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

[The study on metabolic difference of human body affected by active stress and passive stress under special events].

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Guo, Guang-hong; Gu, Feng; Dong, Zhen-nan; Yuan, Xin-hong; Wang, Ling; Tian, Ya-ping

2010-05-01

To study the metabolic difference of body influenced by active stress and passive stress under special events. To detect serum multiple biochemistry index of 57 earthquake rescue medical team and 13 victims of a natural calamity in Wenchuan earthquake by using Hitachi 7600 automatic analyzer. Stress affected biochemistry index deeply. To compared with rescue medical team, the serum ADA, ALP and TG of victims increased obviously and TP, ALB, MAO, Cr, UA, K, Na, Cl, Ca, ApoA1 and HDL decreased obviously. Many biochemistry index have been changed under stress and it relate with stress extent. The human body function status was better in active stress than in passive stress.

Stress-Preventive Management Competencies, Psychosocial Work Environments, and Affective Well-Being: A Multilevel, Multisource Investigation

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Balducci, Cristian

2018-01-01

The Management Competencies for Preventing and Reducing Stress at Work framework represents one of the few tailored models of leadership for work stress prevention purposes, but it has never been empirically evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether supervisors’ stress-preventive management competencies, as measured by the Stress Management Competencies Indicator Tool (SMCIT), are related to employees’ affective well-being through psychosocial work environmental factors. To this end, multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) was developed and tested, including data provided by both supervisors and employees. Supervisors (n = 84) self-assessed their stress-preventive management competencies (i.e., being respectful and responsible, managing and communicating existing and future work, reasoning and managing difficult situations, and managing the individual within the team) with a previously validated reduced version of the SMCIT. The supervised employees (n = 584) rated job content (e.g., job demands) and work context (e.g., role clarity) psychosocial factors and their job-related affective well-being. Supervisors’ job-related affective well-being was also included in the tested model. The results revealed that the stress-preventive competencies factor was related to employees’ affective well-being through the psychosocial work environment only when the latter was operationalized by means of contextual work factors. Supervisors’ affective well-being was related to their stress-preventive competencies, but it was not related to employees’ affective well-being. We discuss the implications of the results obtained. PMID:29495360

Stress-Preventive Management Competencies, Psychosocial Work Environments, and Affective Well-Being: A Multilevel, Multisource Investigation.

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Toderi, Stefano; Balducci, Cristian

2018-02-26

The Management Competencies for Preventing and Reducing Stress at Work framework represents one of the few tailored models of leadership for work stress prevention purposes, but it has never been empirically evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether supervisors' stress-preventive management competencies, as measured by the Stress Management Competencies Indicator Tool (SMCIT), are related to employees' affective well-being through psychosocial work environmental factors. To this end, multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) was developed and tested, including data provided by both supervisors and employees. Supervisors ( n = 84) self-assessed their stress-preventive management competencies (i.e., being respectful and responsible, managing and communicating existing and future work, reasoning and managing difficult situations, and managing the individual within the team) with a previously validated reduced version of the SMCIT. The supervised employees ( n = 584) rated job content (e.g., job demands) and work context (e.g., role clarity) psychosocial factors and their job-related affective well-being. Supervisors' job-related affective well-being was also included in the tested model. The results revealed that the stress-preventive competencies factor was related to employees' affective well-being through the psychosocial work environment only when the latter was operationalized by means of contextual work factors. Supervisors' affective well-being was related to their stress-preventive competencies, but it was not related to employees' affective well-being. We discuss the implications of the results obtained.

Heme oxygenase-1 deletion affects stress erythropoiesis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-An Cao

Full Text Available Homeostatic erythropoiesis leads to the formation of mature red blood cells under non-stress conditions, and the production of new erythrocytes occurs as the need arises. In response to environmental stimuli, such as bone marrow transplantation, myelosuppression, or anemia, erythroid progenitors proliferate rapidly in a process referred to as stress erythropoiesis. We have previously demonstrated that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1 deficiency leads to disrupted stress hematopoiesis. Here, we describe the specific effects of HO-1 deficiency on stress erythropoiesis.We used a transplant model to induce stress conditions. In irradiated recipients that received hmox(+/- or hmox(+/+ bone marrow cells, we evaluated (i the erythrocyte parameters in the peripheral blood; (ii the staining intensity of CD71-, Ter119-, and CD49d-specific surface markers during erythroblast differentiation; (iii the patterns of histological iron staining; and (iv the number of Mac-1(+-cells expressing TNF-α. In the spleens of mice that received hmox(+/- cells, we show (i decreases in the proerythroblast, basophilic, and polychromatophilic erythroblast populations; (ii increases in the insoluble iron levels and decreases in the soluble iron levels; (iii increased numbers of Mac-1(+-cells expressing TNF-α; and (iv decreased levels of CD49d expression in the basophilic and polychromatophilic erythroblast populations.As reflected by effects on secreted and cell surface proteins, HO-1 deletion likely affects stress erythropoiesis through the retention of erythroblasts in the erythroblastic islands of the spleen. Thus, HO-1 may serve as a therapeutic target for controlling erythropoiesis, and the dysregulation of HO-1 may be a predisposing condition for hematologic diseases.

Low tryptophan diet increases stress-sensitivity, but does not affect habituation in rats

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tanke, Marit A. C.; Alserda, Edwin; Doornbos, Bennard; van der Most, Peter J.; Goeman, Kitty; Postema, Folkert; Korf, Jakob

Cerebral dysfunction of 5-HT (serotonin) has been associated with stress response and with affective disorders. Stress alone is insufficient to induce depression, since only a minor proportion of subjects that have experienced stressful life events develop depressive episodes. We investigated

Early environmental predictors of the affective and interpersonal constructs of psychopathy.

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Daversa, Maria T

2010-02-01

Early childhood maltreatment (i.e., physical, sexual, emotional abuse) and caregiver disruptions are hypothesized to be instrumental in altering the neurobiology of the brain, particularly the amygdala, and contributing to the development of the affective deficits examined in individuals with psychopathy. Exposure to early untoward life events in models of rodent and nonhuman primates changes the neurobiology of the stress response. It is hypothesized that these changes may permanently shape brain regions that mediate stress and emotion and therefore play a role in the etiology of affective disorders in humans. The significance of experience (e.g., the intensity/severity, chronicity/duration, and developmental timing of experiences) and how the accompanying changes in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system affect alterations in the amygdala are discussed as critical contributors to the etiology of psychopathy. A model is proposed in which early maltreatment experiences contribute to alterations to the amygdala and produce a blunted or dissociative response to stress, a key factor in the affective deficits observed in psychopaths.

Cross-fostering alters advertisement vocalizations of grasshopper mice (Onychomys): Evidence for the developmental stress hypothesis.

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Pasch, Bret; Abbasi, Mustafa Z; Wilson, Macey; Zhao, Daniel; Searle, Jeremy B; Webster, Michael S; Rice, Aaron N

2016-04-01

Nutritional stress can have lasting impacts on the development of traits involved in vocal production. Cross-fostering experiments are often used to examine the propensity for vocal learning in a variety of taxa, but few studies assess the influence of malnourishment that can occur as a byproduct of this technique. In this study, we reciprocally cross-fostered sister taxa of voluble grasshopper mice (genus Onychomys) to explore their propensity for vocal learning. Vocalizations of Onychomys leucogaster did not differ between control and cross-fostered animals, but cross-fostered Onychomys arenicola produced vocalizations that were higher in frequency in a direction away from tutors. These same animals exhibited a transient reduction in body mass early in development, indicative of malnutrition. Our findings simultaneously refute vocal learning and support the developmental stress hypothesis to highlight the importance of early ontogeny on the production of vocalizations later in life. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Locus of control fails to mediate between stress and anxiety and depression in parents of children with a developmental disorder.

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Hamlyn-Wright, Sarah; Draghi-Lorenz, Riccardo; Ellis, Jason

2007-11-01

Stress, anxiety and depression are raised amongst parents of children with a developmental disorder. However, the processes by which stress leads to depression and anxiety are poorly understood. In a cross-sectional survey, levels of parental stress, depression and anxiety were compared between parents of children with an autistic disorder, children with Down's syndrome and children with no disorder (N = 619) and the mediational role of locus of control was examined. Anxiety and depression were higher in parents of children with a disorder, and highest in parents of children with autism. Locus of control was more external in parents of children with autism. Locus of control failed to mediate the relationship between stress and both anxiety and depression in parents of children with a disorder. This suggests that help for parents of a child with a disorder may be effective if focused on the sources of stress rather than perceived control over events.

Developmental programming of cardiovascular disease by prenatal hypoxia.

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Giussani, D A; Davidge, S T

2013-10-01

It is now recognized that the quality of the fetal environment during early development is important in programming cardiovascular health and disease in later life. Fetal hypoxia is one of the most common consequences of complicated pregnancies worldwide. However, in contrast to the extensive research effort on pregnancy affected by maternal nutrition or maternal stress, the contribution of pregnancy affected by fetal chronic hypoxia to developmental programming is only recently becoming delineated and established. This review discusses the increasing body of evidence supporting the programming of cardiac susceptibility to ischaemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury, of endothelial dysfunction in peripheral resistance circulations, and of indices of the metabolic syndrome in adult offspring of hypoxic pregnancy. An additional focus of the review is the identification of plausible mechanisms and the implementation of maternal and early life interventions to protect against adverse programming.

Bruxism affects stress responses in stressed rats.

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Sato, Chikatoshi; Sato, Sadao; Takashina, Hirofumi; Ishii, Hidenori; Onozuka, Minoru; Sasaguri, Kenichi

2010-04-01

It has been proposed that suppression of stress-related emotional responses leads to the simultaneous activation of both sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and that the expression of these emotional states has a protective effect against ulcerogenesis. In the present study, we investigated whether stress-induced bruxism activity (SBA) has a physiological effect of on the stress-induced changes of the stomach, thymus, and spleen as well as blood leukocytes, cortisol, and adrenaline. This study demonstrated that SBA attenuated the stress-induced ulcer genesis as well as degenerative changes of thymus and spleen. SBA also attenuated increases of adrenaline, cortisol, and neutrophils in the blood. In conclusion, expression of aggression through SBA during stress exposure attenuates both stress-induced ANS response, including gastric ulcer formation.

Developmental trauma, complex PTSD, and the current proposal of DSM-5

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vedat Sar

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This paper evaluates representation of clinical consequences of developmental psychological trauma in the current proposal of DSM-5. Despite intensive efforts by its proponents for two decades, it is not known yet if Complex PTSD will take a place in the final version of DSM-5. Recognition of dissociative character of several symptom dimensions and introduction of items about negative affects such as shame and guilt imply an indirect improvement toward better coverage of the consequences of developmental trauma in the existing category of PTSD. As disorders with highest prevalence of chronic traumatization in early years of life, dissociative disorders and personality disorder of borderline type are maintained as DSM-5 categories; however, recognition of a separate type of trauma-related personality disorder is unlikely. While a preschooler age variant of PTSD is under consideration, the proposed diagnosis of Developmental Trauma Disorder (child version of Complex PTSD has not secured a place in the DSM-5 yet. We welcome considerations of subsuming Adjustment Disorders, Acute Stress Disorder, PTSD, and Dissociative Disorders under one rubric, i.e., Section of Trauma, Stress, or Event Related Disorders. Given the current conceptualization of DSM-5, this paper proposes Complex PTSD to be a subtype of the DSM-5 PTSD. Composition of a trauma-related disorders section would facilitate integration of knowledge and expertise about interrelated and overlapping consequences of trauma.For the abstract or full text in other languages, please see Supplementary files under Reading Tools online

Comparing Service Delivery Models for Children with Developmental Delays in Canada: Adaptive and Maladaptive Behaviours, Parental Perceptions of Stress and of Care

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Sladeczek, Ingrid E.; Fontil, Laura; Miodrag, Nancy; Karagiannakis, Anastasia; Amar, Daniel; Amos, Janet

2017-01-01

This study compares two service delivery models (community-based and centre-based), examining them in light of children's adaptive and maladaptive behaviours, and parental perceptions of stress and of care. More specifically, parents of 96 children with developmental delays assessed their children's adaptive and maladaptive behaviours and rated…

Host species and developmental stage, but not host social structure, affects bacterial community structure in socially polymorphic bees.

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McFrederick, Quinn S; Wcislo, William T; Hout, Michael C; Mueller, Ulrich G

2014-05-01

Social transmission and host developmental stage are thought to profoundly affect the structure of bacterial communities associated with honey bees and bumble bees, but these ideas have not been explored in other bee species. The halictid bees Megalopta centralis and M. genalis exhibit intrapopulation social polymorphism, which we exploit to test whether bacterial communities differ by host social structure, developmental stage, or host species. We collected social and solitary Megalopta nests and sampled bees and nest contents from all stages of host development. To survey these bacterial communities, we used 16S rRNA gene 454 pyrosequencing. We found no effect of social structure, but found differences by host species and developmental stage. Wolbachia prevalence differed between the two host species. Bacterial communities associated with different developmental stages appeared to be driven by environmentally acquired bacteria. A Lactobacillus kunkeei clade bacterium that is consistently associated with other bee species was dominant in pollen provisions and larval samples, but less abundant in mature larvae and pupae. Foraging adults appeared to often reacquire L. kunkeei clade bacteria, likely while foraging at flowers. Environmental transmission appears to be more important than social transmission for Megalopta bees at the cusp between social and solitary behavior. © 2014 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gender-associated differences in the psychosocial and developmental outcome in patients affected with the bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex.

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Lee, Celine; Reutter, Heiko M; Grässer, Melanie F; Fisch, Margit; Noeker, Meinolf

2006-02-01

To identify problems in the long-term psychosocial and developmental outcome specific to patients with the bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex (BEEC), using a self-developed semi-structured questionnaire, as there are various techniques of reconstruction to repair BEEC but to date neither patients nor surgeons have a clear answer about which type gives the most acceptable long-term results. Increasingly many patients with BEEC reach adulthood and wish to have sexual relationships and families. To date, no studies have used disease-specific psychological instruments to measure the psychosocial status of patients with BEEC. Thus we contacted 208 patients with BEEC, and 122 were enrolled, covering the complete spectrum of the BEEC. The data assessed included the surgical reconstruction, subjective assessment of continence, developmental milestones, school performance and career, overall satisfaction in life, disease-specific fears and partnership experiences in patients aged >18 years. We compared affected females and males to assess gender-associated differences in quality of life. Affected females had more close friendships, fewer disadvantages in relation to healthy female peers and more partnerships than the males. Family planning seemed to be less of a problem in affected females. There were no gender differences in the adjustments within school and professional career, which was very good in general. Future studies are needed to assess the disease-specific anxieties, considering gender-specific differences.

Parenting Children with Developmental Delays: The Role of Positive Beliefs

OpenAIRE

PACZKOWSKI, EMILIE; BAKER, BRUCE L.

2008-01-01

Parents of children with developmental delays consistently report higher levels of child behavior problems and also parenting stress than parents of typically developing children. This study examined how mothers' positive beliefs influence the relation between children's behavior problems and mothers' parenting stress among families of children who are developmentally delayed (DD: n = 72) or typically developing (TD: n = 95) and assessed at ages 3, 5, and 7 years. Positive beliefs had a main ...

Prenatal flavor exposure affects flavor recognition and stress-related behavior of piglets.

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Oostindjer, Marije; Bolhuis, J Elizabeth; van den Brand, Henry; Kemp, Bas

2009-11-01

Exposure to flavors in the amniotic fluid and mother's milk derived from the maternal diet has been shown to modulate food preferences and neophobia of young animals of several species. Aim of the experiment was to study the effects of pre- and postnatal flavor exposure on behavior of piglets during (re)exposure to this flavor. Furthermore, we investigated whether varying stress levels, caused by different test settings, affected behavior of animals during (re)exposure. Piglets were exposed to anisic flavor through the maternal diet during late gestation and/or during lactation or never. Piglets that were prenatally exposed to the flavor through the maternal diet behaved differently compared with unexposed pigs during reexposure to the flavor in several tests, suggesting recognition of the flavor. The differences between groups were more pronounced in tests with relatively high stress levels. This suggests that stress levels, caused by the design of the test, can affect the behavior shown in the presence of the flavor. We conclude that prenatal flavor exposure affects behaviors of piglets that are indicative of recognition and that these behaviors are influenced by stress levels during (re)exposure.

Cortisol Stress Response Variability in Early Adolescence Attachment, Affect and Sex

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Cameron, Catherine Ann; McKay, Stacey; Susman, Elizabeth J.; Wynne-Edwards, Katherine; Wright, Joan M.; Weinberg, Joanne

2017-01-01

Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls' attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents. PMID:27468997

Cortisol Stress Response Variability in Early Adolescence: Attachment, Affect and Sex.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, Catherine Ann; McKay, Stacey; Susman, Elizabeth J; Wynne-Edwards, Katherine; Wright, Joan M; Weinberg, Joanne

2017-01-01

Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls' attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents.

The moderating effects of aging and cognitive abilities on the association between work stress and negative affect.

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Hyun, Jinshil; Sliwinski, Martin J; Almeida, David M; Smyth, Joshua M; Scott, Stacey B

2018-05-01

Given that the association between work stress and negative affect can exacerbate negative health and workplace outcomes, it is important to identify the protective and risk factors that moderate this association. Socioemotional aging and cognitive abilities might influence how people utilize emotion regulation skills and engage in practical problem solving to manage their work stress. The aim of this study is to examine whether age and cognitive abilities independently and interactively moderate the association between work-related stress and negative affect. A diverse working adult sample (N = 139, age 25-65, 69% of females) completed a cross-sectional survey that assessed chronic work stress, negative affect, and fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities. Results from regression analyses suggested that both fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities, but not age, moderated the association between work stress and negative affect. Further, we found that crystallized cognition had a stronger attenuating effect on the work stress-negative affect association for older compared to younger workers. The moderating effect of fluid cognition was invariant across age. Our findings demonstrate that cognitive abilities are an important personal resource that might protect individuals against the negative impacts of work stress and negative affect. Although the role that fluid cognition plays in work stress-negative affect association is comparably important for both younger and older workers, crystallized cognition might play a more valuable role for older than younger workers.

Sex-specific developmental plasticity of generalist and specialist predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in response to food stress.

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Walzer, Andreas; Schausberger, Peter

2011-03-01

We studied developmental plasticity under food stress in three female-biased size dimorphic predatory mite species, Phytoseiulus persimilis, Neoseiulus californicus, and Amblyseius andersoni. All three species prey on two-spotted spider mites but differ in the degree of adaptation to this prey. Phytoseiulus persimilis is a specialized spider mite predator, N. californicus is a generalist with a preference for spider mites, and A. andersoni is a broad generalist. Immature predators were offered prey patches of varying density and their survival chances, dispersal tendencies, age and size at maturity measured. Amblyseius andersoni dispersed earlier from and had lower survival chances in low density prey patches than N. californicus and P. persimilis. Age at maturity was not affected by prey density in the generalist A. andersoni, whereas both the specialist P. persimilis and the generalist N. californicus accelerated development at low prey densities. Species-specific plasticity in age at maturity reflects opposite survival strategies when confronted with limited prey: to prematurely leave and search for other food (A. andersoni) or to stay and accelerate development (P. persimilis, N. californicus). In all species, size at maturity was more plastic in females than males, indicating that males incur higher fitness costs from deviations from optimal body size.

Developmental and familial predictors of adult cognitive traits in the European starling

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Nettle, Daniel; Andrews, Clare P.; Monaghan, Pat; Brilot, Ben O.; Bedford, Thomas; Gillespie, Robert; Bateson, Melissa

2015-01-01

In birds, there is evidence that adult cognitive traits can both run in families and be affected by early developmental influences. However, different studies use different cognitive tasks, which may not be measuring the same traits, and also focus on different developmental factors. We report results from a study in which we administered multiple cognitive tasks (autoshaping, discrimination learning, reversal learning, progressive ratio schedule, extinction learning and impulsivity) to a cohort of 34 European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, for which several early developmental measures were available. The cohort consisted of siblings raised either apart or together, whose position in the size hierarchy of the rearing brood had been experimentally manipulated. We examined how the different cognitive measures covaried, the extent to which they ran in families, and which of the developmental factors predicted which of the cognitive outcomes. We found that discrimination and reversal learning speeds were positively correlated, as were breakpoint on the progressive ratio schedule and resistance to extinction. Otherwise, the cognitive measures were uncorrelated, suggesting that they reflected different underlying traits. All traits except discrimination and reversal learning speed ran in families to a substantial extent. Using a model selection approach, we found evidence that natal brood size and developmental telomere attrition (the extent to which the birds' erythrocyte telomeres shortened in early life, an integrative measure of developmental stress) were related to several adult cognitive measures. Results are discussed with respect to the best way of measuring avian cognitive abilities, and the utility of developmental telomere attrition as a predictor of adult outcomes. PMID:26405302

Stress affects the neural ensemble for integrating new information and prior knowledge.

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Vogel, Susanne; Kluen, Lisa Marieke; Fernández, Guillén; Schwabe, Lars

2018-06-01

Prior knowledge, represented as a schema, facilitates memory encoding. This schema-related learning is assumed to rely on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) that rapidly integrates new information into the schema, whereas schema-incongruent or novel information is encoded by the hippocampus. Stress is a powerful modulator of prefrontal and hippocampal functioning and first studies suggest a stress-induced deficit of schema-related learning. However, the underlying neural mechanism is currently unknown. To investigate the neural basis of a stress-induced schema-related learning impairment, participants first acquired a schema. One day later, they underwent a stress induction or a control procedure before learning schema-related and novel information in the MRI scanner. In line with previous studies, learning schema-related compared to novel information activated the mPFC, angular gyrus, and precuneus. Stress, however, affected the neural ensemble activated during learning. Whereas the control group distinguished between sets of brain regions for related and novel information, stressed individuals engaged the hippocampus even when a relevant schema was present. Additionally, stressed participants displayed aberrant functional connectivity between brain regions involved in schema processing when encoding novel information. The failure to segregate functional connectivity patterns depending on the presence of prior knowledge was linked to impaired performance after stress. Our results show that stress affects the neural ensemble underlying the efficient use of schemas during learning. These findings may have relevant implications for clinical and educational settings. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stress modulation of drug self-administration: implications for addiction comorbidity with post-traumatic stress disorder

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Logrip, Marian L.; Zorrilla, Eric P.; Koob, George F.

2011-01-01

Drug abuse and dependence present significant health burdens for our society, affecting roughly 10% of the population. Stress likely contributes to the development and persistence of drug use; for example, rates of substance dependence are elevated among individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Thus, understanding the interaction between stress and drug use, and associated neuroadaptations, is key for developing therapies to combat substance use disorders. For this purpose, many rodent models of the effects of stress exposure on substance use have been developed; the models can be classified according to three categories of stress exposure: developmental, adult nonsocial, and adult social. The present review addresses preclinical findings on the effect of each type of trauma on responses to and self-administration of drugs of abuse by focusing on a key exemplar for each category. In addition, the potential efficacy of targeting neuropeptide systems that have been implicated in stress responses and stress system neuroadaptation in order to treat comorbid PTSD and substance abuse will be discussed. PMID:21782834

Label-free proteome profiling reveals developmental-dependent patterns in young barley grains.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaspar-Schoenefeld, Stephanie; Merx, Kathleen; Jozefowicz, Anna Maria; Hartmann, Anja; Seiffert, Udo; Weschke, Winfriede; Matros, Andrea; Mock, Hans-Peter

2016-06-30

Due to its importance as a cereal crop worldwide, high interest in the determination of factors influencing barley grain quality exists. This study focusses on the elucidation of protein networks affecting early grain developmental processes. NanoLC-based separation coupled to label-free MS detection was applied to gain insights into biochemical processes during five different grain developmental phases (pre-storage until storage phase, 3days to 16days after flowering). Multivariate statistics revealed two distinct developmental patterns during the analysed grain developmental phases: proteins showed either highest abundance in the middle phase of development - in the transition phase - or at later developmental stages - within the storage phase. Verification of developmental patterns observed by proteomic analysis was done by applying hypothesis-driven approaches, namely Western Blot analysis and enzyme assays. High general metabolic activity of the grain with regard to protein synthesis, cell cycle regulation, defence against oxidative stress, and energy production via photosynthesis was observed in the transition phase. Proteins upregulated in the storage phase are related towards storage protein accumulation, and interestingly to the defence of storage reserves against pathogens. A mixed regulatory pattern for most enzymes detected in our study points to regulatory mechanisms at the level of protein isoforms. In-depth understanding of early grain developmental processes of cereal caryopses is of high importance as they influence final grain weight and quality. Our knowledge about these processes is still limited, especially on proteome level. To identify key mechanisms in early barley grain development, a label-free data-independent proteomics acquisition approach has been applied. Our data clearly show, that proteins either exhibit highest expression during cellularization and the switch to the storage phase (transition phase, 5-7 DAF), or during storage

Temperature experienced during incubation affects antioxidant capacity but not oxidative damage in hatchling red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans).

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Treidel, L A; Carter, A W; Bowden, R M

2016-02-01

Our understanding of how oxidative stress resistance phenotypes are affected by the developmental environment is limited. One component of the developmental environment, which is likely central to early life oxidative stress among ectothermic and oviparous species, is that of temperature. We investigated how incubation temperature manipulations affect oxidative damage and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) hatchlings. First, to determine whether temperature fluctuations elicit oxidative stress, eggs from clutches were randomly assigned to either a constant (29.5 °C) or daily fluctuating temperature incubation (28.7 ± 3 °C) treatment. Second, to assess the effect of temperature fluctuation frequency on oxidative stress, eggs were incubated in one of three fluctuating incubation regimes: 28.7 ± 3 °C fluctuations every 12 h (hyper), 24 h (normal) or 48 h (hypo). Third, we tested the influence of average incubation temperature by incubating eggs in a daily fluctuating incubation temperature regime with a mean temperature of 26.5 °C (low), 27.1 °C (medium) or 27.7 °C (high). Although the accumulation of oxidative damage in hatchlings was unaffected by any thermal manipulation, TAC was affected by both temperature fluctuation frequency and average incubation temperature. Individuals incubated with a low frequency of temperature fluctuations had reduced TAC, while incubation at a lower average temperature was associated with enhanced TAC. These results indicate that although sufficient to prevent oxidative damage, TAC is influenced by developmental thermal environments, potentially because of temperature-mediated changes in metabolic rate. The observed differences in TAC may have important future consequences for hatchling fitness and overwinter survival. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Developmental toxicology: adequacy of current methods.

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Peters, P W

1998-01-01

Toxicology embraces several disciplines such as carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and reproductive toxicity. Reproductive toxicology is concerned with possible effects of substances on the reproductive process, i.e. on sexual organs and their functions, endocrine regulation, fertilization, transport of the fertilized ovum, implantation, and embryonic, fetal and postnatal development, until the end-differentiation of the organs is achieved. Reproductive toxicology is divided into areas related to male and female fertility, and developmental toxicology. Developmental toxicology can be further broken down into prenatal and postnatal toxicology. Today, much new information is available about the origins of developmental disorders resulting from chemical exposure. While these findings seem to promise important new developments in methodology and research, there is a danger of losing sight of the precepts and principles established in the light of existing knowledge. There is also a danger that we may fail to correct shortcomings in our existing procedures and practice. The aim of this presentation is to emphasize the importance of testing substances for their impact in advance of their use and to underline that we must use the best existing tools for carrying out risk assessments. Moreover, it needs to be stressed that there are many substances that are never assessed with respect to reproductive and developmental toxicity. Similarly, our programmes for post-marketing surveillance with respect to developmental toxicology are grossly inadequate. Our ability to identify risks to normal development and reproduction would be much improved, first if a number of straightforward precepts were always followed and second, if we had a clearer understanding of what we mean by risk and acceptable levels of risk in the context of development. Other aims of this paper are: to stress the complexity of the different stages of normal prenatal development; to note the principles that are

Factors Affecting Role Stress and Burnout among School Counselors

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Willingham, Wendy Elizabeth

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine factors affecting role stress and burnout among practicing school counselors as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) and the Role Conflict and Ambiguity Scale. The MBI-ES utilizes three subscales to measure burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal…

Family Environments and Children's Executive Function: The Mediating Role of Children's Affective State and Stress.

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He, Zhong-Hua; Yin, Wen-Gang

2016-09-01

There is increasing evidence that inadequate family environments (family material environment and family psychosocial environment) are not only social problems but also factors contributing to adverse neurocognitive outcomes. In the present study, the authors investigated the relationship among family environments, children's naturalistic affective state, self-reported stress, and executive functions in a sample of 157 Chinese families. These findings revealed that in inadequate family material environments, reduced children's cognitive flexibility is associated with increased naturalistic negative affectivity and self-reported stress. In addition, naturalistic negative affectivity mediated the association between family expressiveness and children's cognitive flexibility. The authors used a structural equation model to examine the mediation model hypothesis, and the results confirmed the mediating roles of naturalistic negative affectivity and self-reported stress between family environments and the cognitive flexibility of Chinese children. These findings indicate the importance of reducing stress and negative emotional state for improving cognitive functions in children of low socioeconomic status.

Basolateral amygdala and stress-induced hyperexcitability affect motivated behaviors and addiction

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Sharp, B M

2017-01-01

The amygdala integrates and processes incoming information pertinent to reward and to emotions such as fear and anxiety that promote survival by warning of potential danger. Basolateral amygdala (BLA) communicates bi-directionally with brain regions affecting cognition, motivation and stress responses including prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens and hindbrain regions that trigger norepinephrine-mediated stress responses. Disruption of intrinsic amygdala and BLA regulatory neuro...

Providing lipid-based nutrient supplements does not affect developmental milestones among Malawian children.

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Mangani, Charles; Cheung, Yin Bun; Maleta, Kenneth; Phuka, John; Thakwalakwa, Chrissie; Dewey, Kathryn; Manary, Mark; Puumalainen, Taneli; Ashorn, Per

2014-01-01

To assess whether using lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) to complement the diets of infants and young children affected when they achieved selected developmental milestones. In rural Malawi, 840 6-month-old healthy infants were enrolled to a randomised trial. Control participants received no supplements, others were provided with milk-containing LNS, soy-containing LNS or corn-soy blend (CSB) for 12 months. Outcomes were the age at which they achieved key milestone: motor (walking with assistance, standing and walking alone, running), social (drinking from a cup and eating by themselves) and language (saying single comprehensible words and waving goodbye). The mean age at which the subjects walked with assistance was 42.5, 42.3, 42.7 and 43.2 weeks in the control, milk-LNS, soy-LNS and CSB groups, respectively (p = 0.748). There were also no significant differences in the mean age at standing alone (45.0, 44.9, 45.1 and 46.3 weeks), walking alone (54.6, 55.1, 55.3, 56.5 weeks), running (64.6, 63.7, 64.8, 65.9 weeks) or any other social or language milestones (each p > 0.10). The findings do not support a hypothesis that providing tested formulations and doses of micronutrient-fortified LNS or CSB would have an impact on when young children in rural Malawi achieved selected developmental milestones. ©2013 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Proposed Functional Abilities Classification Tool for Developmental Disorders Affecting Learning and Behaviour

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Benjamin Klein

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Children with developmental disorders affecting learning and behaviour (DDALB (e.g., attention, social communication, language, and learning disabilities, etc. require individualized support across multiple environments to promote participation, quality of life, and developmental outcomes. Support to enhance participation is based largely on individual profiles of functioning (e.g., communication, cognitive, social skills, executive functioning, etc., which are highly heterogeneous within medical diagnoses. Currently educators, clinicians, and parents encounter widespread difficulties in meeting children’s needs as there is lack of universal classification of functioning and disability for use in school environments. Objective: a practical tool for functional classification broadly applicable for children with DDALB could facilitate the collaboration, identification of points of entry of support, individual program planning, and reassessment in a transparent, equitable process based on functional need and context. We propose such a tool, the Functional Abilities Classification Tool (FACT based on the concepts of the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. FACT is intended to provide ability and participation classification that is complementary to medical diagnosis. For children presenting with difficulties, the proposed tool initially classifies participation over several environments. Then, functional abilities are classified and personal factors and environment are described. Points of entry for support are identified given an analysis of functional ability profile, personal factors, environmental features, and pattern of participation. Conclusion: case examples, use of the tool and implications for children, agencies, and the system are described.

Maternal stress, well-being, and impaired sleep in mothers of children with developmental disabilities: a literature review.

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Lee, Jiwon

2013-11-01

Having children with developmental disabilities (DDs) requires a high level of caregiving responsibilities, and existing studies support that mothers of children with DDs experience high levels of maternal stress as well as poor sleep and well-being. Given the fact that the number of children with DDs has increased, an up-to-date literature review is necessary to identify factors associated with maternal stress, sleep, and well-being. In addition, understanding these factors and their relationships may provide better strategies in designing effective interventions that can reduce the burden in mothers of children with DDs. This review summarized 28 scientific research papers that examined maternal stress, sleep, and well-being in mothers of children with DDs in past 12 years. The study findings indicate that mothers of children with DDs experience higher levels of stress than mothers of typically developing children, and it remains high over time. In addition, these mothers often encounter depressive symptoms as well as poor sleep quality. The study results also reveal that there is a bidirectional relationship between maternal stress and depressive symptoms as well as between poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms. For example, higher stress mothers experienced more depressive symptoms. Mothers of children with DDs with poor sleep quality are significantly associated with more depressive symptoms. Child behavior problems were significantly associated with both maternal stress and depressive symptoms, but cautious interpretation is warranted due to the shared variance between child behavior problems, maternal stress, and depressive symptoms. Methodological guidelines for future research involve the use of reliable and valid instruments for the measurement of child behavior problems, maternal stress, and sleep. Recommendations for future research are included. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Negative affect mediates effects of psychological stress on disordered eating in young Chinese women.

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Jue Chen

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The bi-relationships between psychological stress, negative affect and disordered eating has been well studied in western culture, while tri-relationship among them, i.e. how some of those factors influence these bi-relationships, has rarely been studied. However, there has been little related study in the different Chinese culture. This study was conducted to investigate the bi-relationships and tri-relationship between psychological stress, negative affect, and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in young Chinese women. METHODOLOGY: A total of 245 young Chinese policewomen employed to carry out health and safety checks at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo were recruited in this study. The Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10, Beck Depression Inventory Revised (BDI-II, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI, and Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26 were administered to all participants. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The total scores of PSS-10, BDI-II and BAI were all highly correlated with that of EAT-26. The PSS-10 score significantly correlated with both BDI-II and BAI scores. There was no statistically significant direct effect from perceived stress to disordered eating (-0.012, 95%CI: -.038~0.006, p=0.357, however, the indirect effects from PSS-10 via affect factors were statistically significant, e.g. the estimated mediation effects from PSS to EAT-26 via depression and anxiety were 0.036 (95%CI: 0.022~0.044, p<0.001 and 0.015 (95%CI: 0.005~0.023, p<0.01, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived stress and negative affects of depression and anxiety were demonstrated to be strongly associated with disordered eating. Negative affect mediated the relationship between perceived stress and disordered eating. The findings suggest that effective interventions and preventative programmes for disordered eating should pay more attention to depression and anxiety among the young Chinese female population.

The Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test: Validity and Relationship with Cardiovascular Stress-Responses.

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van der Ploeg, Melanie M; Brosschot, Jos F; Thayer, Julian F; Verkuil, Bart

2016-01-01

Self-report, i.e., explicit, measures of affect cannot fully explain the cardiovascular (CV) responses to stressors. Measuring affect beyond self-report, i.e., using implicit measures, could add to our understanding of stress-related CV activity. The Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT) was administered in two studies to test its ecological validity and relation with CV responses and self-report measures of affect. In Study 1 students (N = 34) viewed four film clips inducing anger, happiness, fear, or no emotion, and completed the IPANAT and the Positive And Negative Affect Scale at baseline and after each clip. Implicit negative affect (INA) was higher and implicit positive affect (IPA) was lower after the anger inducing clip and vice versa after the happiness inducing clip. In Study 2 students performed a stressful math task with (n = 14) or without anger harassment (n = 15) and completed the IPANAT and a Visual Analog Scale as an explicit measure afterwards. Systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were recorded throughout. SBP and DBP were higher and TPR was lower in the harassment condition during the task with a prolonged effect on SBP and DBP during recovery. As expected, explicit negative affect (ENA) was higher and explicit positive affect (EPA) lower after harassment, but ENA and EPA were not related to CV activity. Although neither INA nor IPA differed between the tasks, during both tasks higher INA was related to higher SBP, lower HRV and lower TPR and to slower recovery of DBP after both tasks. Low IPA was related to slower recovery of SBP and DBP after the tasks. Implicit affect was not related to recovery of HR, HRV, and TPR. In conclusion, the IPANAT seems to respond to film clip-induced negative and positive affect and was related to CV activity during and after stressful tasks. These findings support the theory that implicitly measured affect

Stress does not affect ghrelin secretion in obese and normal weight women.

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Kiessl, Gundula R R; Laessle, Reinhold G

2017-03-01

Stress has been supposed to increase appetite. The biological basis of this phenomenon may be a stress-induced alteration of the secretion of GUT peptides such as ghrelin. Stress-induced changes in ghrelin secretion could be a biological basis of overeating and a factor contributing to the development of obesity. Aim of the study was to analyze the effect of acute psychosocial stress on ghrelin secretion in obese and normal weight women. We compared pre- and postprandial plasma ghrelin secretion of 42 obese and 43 normal weight women in a randomized crossover design. Ghrelin and cortisol concentrations were measured and ratings of stress were also recorded in response to a psychological stressor (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST). Ghrelin samples were collected in the fasting state one time before participating in the TSST and one time before a control session. After the TSST, respectively, control session participants had a standardized ad libitum meal. 30 and 60 min after the TSST, respectively, control session preprandial ghrelin was measured again. Obese women showed lower pre- and postprandial release of ghrelin than normal weight controls. Moreover, obese women showed inhibited postprandial decrease of ghrelin secretion. Stress did not affect postprandial ghrelin secretion, but inhibited food intake in all subjects. The present data provide further evidence of altered ghrelin release in obesity. Acute stress did not affect postprandial ghrelin secretion, but inhibited food intake in all subjects. Results are discussed with regard to biological and psychological regulation of hunger and satiety in obesity.

Fired up or burned out? How developmental challenge differentially impacts leader behavior.

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Courtright, Stephen H; Colbert, Amy E; Choi, Daejeong

2014-07-01

Leadership development research has largely drawn on experiential and enactive learning theories to explore the positive effects of developmental challenge on leaders. In contrast, we examined potential positive and negative effects of developmental challenge (i.e., challenging job assignments) on leader behavior through an alternative theoretical lens--transactional stress theory. We predicted, on one hand, that developmental challenge may be associated with higher leader engagement and transformational leadership behavior; however, developmental challenge also has the potential to be associated with higher leader emotional exhaustion and laissez-faire leadership behavior. We further proposed that leadership self-efficacy (LSE) moderates these potential effects of developmental challenge and helps explain why leaders react either positively or negatively to developmental challenge. We tested our hypotheses in a sample of 153 leaders and 631 direct reports at a Fortune 500 company. Findings supported positive relationships among developmental challenge, leader engagement, and transformational leadership. However, we also found support for significant relationships among developmental challenge, emotional exhaustion, and laissez-faire leadership. Additionally, leaders lower in LSE were more likely to encounter the negative effects of developmental challenge by experiencing increased emotional exhaustion and displaying laissez-faire leadership behaviors. Our study contributes to theory and practice by elucidating a "dark side" of developmental challenge, identifying LSE as a moderator of the negative effects of developmental challenge, identifying antecedents of transformational and laissez-faire leadership behaviors, and investigating demands and stress in leadership roles.

Oxidative Stress Implications in the Affective Disorders: Main Biomarkers, Animal Models Relevance, Genetic Perspectives, and Antioxidant Approaches.

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Balmus, Ioana Miruna; Ciobica, Alin; Antioch, Iulia; Dobrin, Romeo; Timofte, Daniel

2016-01-01

The correlation between the affective disorders and the almost ubiquitous pathological oxidative stress can be described in a multifactorial way, as an important mechanism of central nervous system impairment. Whether the obvious changes which occur in oxidative balance of the affective disorders are a part of the constitutive mechanism or a collateral effect yet remains as an interesting question. However it is now clear that oxidative stress is a component of these disorders, being characterized by different aspects in a disease-dependent manner. Still, there are a lot of controversies regarding the relevance of the oxidative stress status in most of the affective disorders and despite the fact that most of the studies are showing that the affective disorders development can be correlated to increased oxidative levels, there are various studies stating that oxidative stress is not linked with the mood changing tendencies. Thus, in this minireview we decided to describe the way in which oxidative stress is involved in the affective disorders development, by focusing on the main oxidative stress markers that could be used mechanistically and therapeutically in these deficiencies, the genetic perspectives, some antioxidant approaches, and the relevance of some animal models studies in this context.

Using the Dynamic Model of Affect (DMA) to examine leisure time as a stress coping resource: Taking into account stress severity and gender difference

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Qian, Xinyi Lisa; Yarnal, Careen M.; Almeida, David M.

2014-01-01

Affective complexity (AC) is a marker of psychological well-being. According to the Dynamic Model of Affect (DMA), stressful experiences reduce AC while positive events increase AC. One type of positive events is leisure, which was also identified as a coping resource. This study extended the DMA and leisure coping research by assessing gender difference in how daily stress severity and leisure time influence AC. Analyzing eight-day diary data, we found that females, compared to males, experienced greater decrease in AC with increase in stress severity but also bigger increase in AC with increase in leisure time. The finding highlights gender difference in affective reactivity to and coping with daily stress, the value of the DMA, and the importance of severity appraisal. PMID:25242824

Evidence for a developmental role for TLR4 in learning and memory.

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Eitan Okun

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs play essential roles in innate immunity and increasing evidence indicates that these receptors are expressed in neurons, astrocytes and microglia in the brain where they mediate responses to infection, stress and injury. Very little is known about the roles of TLRs in cognition. To test the hypothesis that TLR4 has a role in hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and memory, we used mice deficient for TLR4 and mice receiving chronic TLR4 antagonist infusion to the lateral ventricles in the brain. We found that developmental TLR4 deficiency enhances spatial reference memory acquisition and memory retention, impairs contextual fear-learning and enhances motor functions, traits that were correlated with CREB up-regulation in the hippocampus. TLR4 antagonist infusion into the cerebral ventricles of adult mice did not affect cognitive behavior, but instead affected anxiety responses. Our findings indicate a developmental role for TLR4 in shaping spatial reference memory, and fear learning and memory. Moreover, we show that central TLR4 inhibition using a TLR4 antagonist has no discernible physiological role in regulating spatial and contextual hippocampus-dependent cognitive behavior.

Negative Affect Mediates Effects of Psychological Stress on Disordered Eating in Young Chinese Women

OpenAIRE

Chen, Jue; Wang, Zhen; Guo, Boliang; Arcelus, Jon; Zhang, Haiyin; Jia, Xiuzhen; Xu, Yong; Qiu, Jianyin; Xiao, Zeping; Yang, Min

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND: The bi-relationships between psychological stress, negative affect and disordered eating has been well studied in western culture, while tri-relationship among them, i.e. how some of those factors influence these bi-relationships, has rarely been studied. However, there has been little related study in the different Chinese culture. This study was conducted to investigate the bi-relationships and tri-relationship between psychological stress, negative affect, and disordered eating...

Does student debt affect dental students' and dentists' stress levels?

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Boyles, J D; Ahmed, B

2017-10-27

Introduction Many studies have shown financial worries and debt to induce stress in individuals, this combined with the existing stress of being a dentist raises the question of how student debt affects students' and dentists' stress levels.Objectives Determine whether student debt has had any noticeable effect on student stress levels; investigate whether student debt has any effect on dentists' career choice; investigate whether the increase in tuition fees has influenced the number of applicants to study dentistry at the University of Birmingham.Method Anonymous questionnaires were completed by 70 4th year and 38 5th year BDS and 22 Dental Core Trainees (DCTs). Participants circled the response which best fitted their situation regarding statements on their level of stress and future career path. Ethical approval granted. Application figures to study dentistry obtained from head of admissions.Results Forty-two percent of males and 63% of females strongly agreed with the statement that having no debt would reduce their stress levels. Of those with debt >£40,000, 11% strongly agreed and 42% agreed that their total amount of student debt causes them stress. Whereas, those whose debt is stress. Seventy-seven percent of participants who had parental or family financial support reported this reduced their stress levels. Student debt was found to deter females from undertaking further study more than it deters males (P stressed about their total student loan(s) (P stress (P stress; students reporting a higher level of debt also report more stress and concern about paying off their student debt. Having no student debt would reduce stress levels, although to what extent is undetermined. Applications to study dentistry have fallen since the increase in tuition fees.

Academic stress and positive affect: Asian value and self-worth contingency as moderators among Chinese international students.

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Liao, Kelly Yu-Hsin; Wei, Meifen

2014-01-01

The theoretical model proposed by Berry and colleagues (Berry, 1997; Berry, Kim, Minde, & Mok, 1987) highlights the importance of identifying moderators in the acculturation process. Accordingly, the current study examined the Asian cultural value of family recognition through achievement (FRTA) and contingency of self-worth on academic competence (CSW-AC) as moderators in the association between academic stress and positive affect among Chinese international students. A total of 370 Chinese international students completed online surveys. Results from a hierarchical regression indicated that while academic stress was negatively associated with positive affect, FRTA was positively associated with positive affect. In other words, those with high academic stress reported a lower level of positive affect. However, individuals who endorsed high levels of FRTA reported a higher level of positive affect. In addition, results also revealed a significant interaction between academic stress and CSW-AC on positive affect. Thus, the study's finding supported the moderator role of CSW-AC. Simple effect analyses were conducted to examine the significant interaction. The results showed that higher levels of CSW-AC strengthened the negative association between academic stress and positive affect but lower levels of CSW-AC did not. Future research directions and implications are discussed.

BDNF and VEGF in the pathogenesis of stress-induced affective diseases: an insight from experimental studies.

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Nowacka, Marta; Obuchowicz, Ewa

2013-01-01

Stress is known to play an important role in etiology, development and progression of affective diseases. Especially, chronic stress, by initiating changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), neurotransmission and the immune system, acts as a trigger for affective diseases. It has been reported that the rise in the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines and persistent up-regulation of glucocorticoid expression in the brain and periphery increases the excitotoxic effect on CA3 pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus resulting in dendritic atrophy, apoptosis of neurons and possibly inhibition of neurogenesis in adult brain. Stress was observed to disrupt neuroplasticity in the brain, and growing evidence demonstrates its role in the pathomechanism of affective disorders. Experimental studies indicate that a well-known brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which have recently focused increasing attention of neuroscientists, promote cell survival, positively modulate neuroplasticity and hippocampal neurogenesis. In this paper, we review the alterations in BDNF and VEGF pathways induced by chronic and acute stress, and their relationships with HPA axis activity. Moreover, behavioral effects evoked in rodents by both above-mentioned factors and the effects consequent to their deficit are presented. Biochemical as well as behavioral findings suggest that BDNF and VEGF play an important role as components of cascade of changes in the pathomechanism of stress-induced affective diseases. Further studies on the mechanisms regulating their expression in stress conditions are needed to better understand the significance of trophic hypothesis of stress-induced affective diseases.

Physical fitness level affects perception of chronic stress in military trainees.

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Tuch, Carolin; Teubel, Thomas; La Marca, Roberto; Roos, Lilian; Annen, Hubert; Wyss, Thomas

2017-12-01

This study investigated whether physical fitness affects the perception of chronic stress in military trainees while controlling for established factors influencing stress perception. The sample consisted of 273 men (20.23 ± 1.12 years, 73.56 ± 10.52 kg, 1.78 ± 0.06 m). Physical fitness was measured by progressive endurance run (maximum oxygen uptake; VO 2 max), standing long jump, seated shot put, trunk muscle strength, and one leg standing test. Perceived stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Questionnaire in Weeks 1 and 11 of basic military training (BMT). VO 2 max and four influencing variables (perceived stress in Week 1, neuroticism, transformational leadership style, and education level) explained 44.44% of the variance of the increase in perceived stress during 10 weeks of BMT (R 2  = 0.444, F = 23.334, p good aerobic fitness on the varied level of perceived stress. We conclude that it is advisable to provide conscripts with a specific endurance training program prior to BMT for stress prevention reasons. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hydroxylated PBDEs induce developmental arrest in zebrafish

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Usenko, Crystal Y., E-mail: Crystal_usenko@baylor.edu; Hopkins, David C.; Trumble, Stephen J., E-mail: Stephen_trumble@baylor.edu; Bruce, Erica D., E-mail: Erica_bruce@baylor.edu

2012-07-01

The ubiquitous spread of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) has led to concerns regarding the metabolites of these congeners, in particular hydroxylated PBDEs. There are limited studies regarding the biological interactions of these chemicals, yet there is some concern they may be more toxic than their parent compounds. In this study three hydroxylated PBDEs were assessed for toxicity in embryonic zebrafish: 3-OH-BDE 47, 5-OH-BDE 47, and 6-OH-BDE 47. All three congeners induced developmental arrest in a concentration-dependent manner; however, 6-OH-BDE 47 induced adverse effects at lower concentrations than the other congeners. Furthermore, all three induced cell death; however apoptosis was not observed. In short-term exposures (24–28 hours post fertilization), all hydroxylated PBDEs generated oxidative stress in the region corresponding to the cell death at 5 and 10 ppm. To further investigate the short-term effects that may be responsible for the developmental arrest observed in this study, gene regulation was assessed for embryos exposed to 0.625 ppm 6-OH-BDE 47 from 24 to 28 hpf. Genes involved in stress response, thyroid hormone regulation, and neurodevelopment were significantly upregulated compared to controls; however, genes related to oxidative stress were either unaffected or downregulated. This study suggests that hydroxylated PBDEs disrupt development, and may induce oxidative stress and potentially disrupt the cholinergic system and thyroid hormone homeostasis. -- Highlights: ► OH-PBDEs induce developmental arrest in a concentration-dependent manner. ► Hydroxyl group location influences biological interaction. ► OH-PBDEs induce oxidative stress. ► Thyroid hormone gene regulation was disrupted following exposure. ► To our knowledge, this is the first whole organism study of OH-PBDE toxicity.

Heat stress in pregnant sows: Thermal responses and subsequent performance of sows and their offspring.

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Lucy, Matthew C; Safranski, Timothy J

2017-09-01

Seasonal infertility is a significant problem in the swine industry, and may be influenced by photoperiod and heat stress. Heat stress during gestation in particular affects pregnancy, resulting in long-term developmental damage to the offspring. This review summarizes what is known about how heat stress on the pregnant sow affects lactation and her offspring. Sows responded to heat stress during gestation with increased rectal temperature, respiration rate, and skin temperature, and tended to reduce their activity-which may have changed their body composition, increasing the adipose-to-muscle ratio. Heat stress during gestation caused temporary insulin resistance during lactation, but this metabolic state did not seem to affect health, lactation, or rebreeding performance of the sow. Heat-stressed sows also presented with a shorter gestation period and reduced litter birth weight, although weaning weights are not affected when these sows are moved to thermoneutral conditions for lactation. The offspring of gestational heat-stressed sows, however, possessed unique phenotypes, including elevated body temperature, greater fat deposition, and impaired gonad development. Thus, gestational heat stress may significantly impact a herd through its effects on sows and their offspring. Further work is necessary to determine the magnitude of the effects across fa cilities and breeds. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fluoride-elicited developmental testicular toxicity in rats: Roles of endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammatory response

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Zhang, Shun [Department of Environmental Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan 430030, Hubei (China); Jiang, Chunyang [Department of Environmental Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan 430030, Hubei (China); Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tianjin Union Medicine Centre, 190 Jieyuan Road, Hongqiao District, Tianjin 300121, Tianjin (China); Liu, Hongliang [Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Huayue Road 6, Hedong Region, Tianjin 300011, Tianjin (China); Guan, Zhizhong [Department of Pathology, Guiyang Medical College, Guiyang 550004, Guizhou (China); Zeng, Qiang [Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Huayue Road 6, Hedong Region, Tianjin 300011, Tianjin (China); Zhang, Cheng; Lei, Rongrong; Xia, Tao; Gao, Hui; Yang, Lu; Chen, Yihu; Wu, Xue; Zhang, Xiaofei [Department of Environmental Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan 430030, Hubei (China); Cui, Yushan; Yu, Linyu [Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Huayue Road 6, Hedong Region, Tianjin 300011, Tianjin (China); Wang, Zhenglun [Department of Environmental Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan 430030, Hubei (China); Wang, Aiguo, E-mail: wangaiguo@mails.tjmu.edu.cn [Department of Environmental Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hangkong Road 13, Wuhan 430030, Hubei (China)

2013-09-01

Long-term excessive fluoride intake is known to be toxic and can damage a variety of organs and tissues in the human body. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying fluoride-induced male reproductive toxicity are not well understood. In this study, we used a rat model to simulate the situations of human exposure and aimed to evaluate the roles of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and inflammatory response in fluoride-induced testicular injury. Sprague–Dawley rats were administered with sodium fluoride (NaF) at 25, 50 and 100 mg/L via drinking water from pre-pregnancy to gestation, birth and finally to post-puberty. And then the testes of male offspring were studied at 8 weeks of age. Our results demonstrated that fluoride treatment increased MDA accumulation, decreased SOD activity, and enhanced germ cell apoptosis. In addition, fluoride elevated mRNA and protein levels of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), inositol requiring ER-to-nucleus signal kinase 1 (IRE1), and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), indicating activation of ER stress signaling. Furthermore, fluoride also induced testicular inflammation, as manifested by gene up-regulation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), in a nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-dependent manner. These were associated with marked histopathological lesions including injury of spermatogonia, decrease of spermatocytes and absence of elongated spermatids, as well as severe ultrastructural abnormalities in testes. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that ER stress and inflammation would be novel and significant mechanisms responsible for fluoride-induced disturbance of spermatogenesis and germ cell loss in addition to oxidative stress. - Highlights: • We used a rat model to simulate the situations of human fluoride (F) exposure. • Developmental F exposure induces testicular damage related with oxidative stress. �

Fluoride-elicited developmental testicular toxicity in rats: Roles of endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammatory response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Shun; Jiang, Chunyang; Liu, Hongliang; Guan, Zhizhong; Zeng, Qiang; Zhang, Cheng; Lei, Rongrong; Xia, Tao; Gao, Hui; Yang, Lu; Chen, Yihu; Wu, Xue; Zhang, Xiaofei; Cui, Yushan; Yu, Linyu; Wang, Zhenglun; Wang, Aiguo

2013-01-01

Long-term excessive fluoride intake is known to be toxic and can damage a variety of organs and tissues in the human body. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying fluoride-induced male reproductive toxicity are not well understood. In this study, we used a rat model to simulate the situations of human exposure and aimed to evaluate the roles of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and inflammatory response in fluoride-induced testicular injury. Sprague–Dawley rats were administered with sodium fluoride (NaF) at 25, 50 and 100 mg/L via drinking water from pre-pregnancy to gestation, birth and finally to post-puberty. And then the testes of male offspring were studied at 8 weeks of age. Our results demonstrated that fluoride treatment increased MDA accumulation, decreased SOD activity, and enhanced germ cell apoptosis. In addition, fluoride elevated mRNA and protein levels of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), inositol requiring ER-to-nucleus signal kinase 1 (IRE1), and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), indicating activation of ER stress signaling. Furthermore, fluoride also induced testicular inflammation, as manifested by gene up-regulation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), in a nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-dependent manner. These were associated with marked histopathological lesions including injury of spermatogonia, decrease of spermatocytes and absence of elongated spermatids, as well as severe ultrastructural abnormalities in testes. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that ER stress and inflammation would be novel and significant mechanisms responsible for fluoride-induced disturbance of spermatogenesis and germ cell loss in addition to oxidative stress. - Highlights: • We used a rat model to simulate the situations of human fluoride (F) exposure. • Developmental F exposure induces testicular damage related with oxidative stress. �

Spilling over: Partner parenting stress as a predictor of family cohesion in parents of adolescents with developmental disabilities.

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Mitchell, Darcy B; Szczerepa, Alexandra; Hauser-Cram, Penny

2016-01-01

Family cohesion relates to positive outcomes for both parents and children. Maintaining cohesion may be especially challenging for families of adolescents with developmental disabilities, yet this has been studied infrequently in this group. We investigated cohesion in these families, particularly with respect to partner stress, using the notion of the 'spillover effect' as a model. Adolescents with disabilities and their parents participated. Parents reported on teen adaptive and problem behaviours and on marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and family cohesion. The stress of one partner was tested as a predictor of the quality of family cohesion reported by the other. Adolescent behaviour problems were negative predictors of family cohesion in mothers, and marital satisfaction positively predicted cohesion for both parents. Above other factors, greater partner stress predicted poorer family cohesion for both fathers and mothers. Marital satisfaction acted as a suppressor of this relation. To improve the overall climate of families, care providers should take into consideration individual relationships, including the marital relationship. In addition, the possibility of spillover from one individual to another should be recognized as a factor in family functioning. Family-centred practices are likely to lead to greater feelings of cohesion and overall better individual and family well-being. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elevated NaCl concentration improves cryotolerance and developmental competence of porcine oocytes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lin, L; Du, Y; Liu, Y

2009-01-01

High hydrostatic pressure has been reported to improve the fertilizing or developmental ability of mammalian spermatozoa, oocytes and embryos. This study investigated the effect of another stress, temporarily increased NaCl concentration, on cryotolerance and developmental competence of porcine...

Analysis of soybean root proteins affected by gibberellic acid treatment under flooding stress.

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Oh, Myeong Won; Nanjo, Yohei; Komatsu, Setsuko

2014-01-01

Flooding is a serious abiotic stress for soybean because it restricts growth and reduces grain yields. To investigate the effect of gibberellic acid (GA) on soybean under flooding stress, root proteins were analyzed using a gel-free proteomic technique. Proteins were extracted from the roots of 4-days-old soybean seedlings exposed to flooding stress in the presence and absence of exogenous GA3 for 2 days. A total of 307, 324, and 250 proteins were identified from untreated, and flooding-treated soybean seedlings without or with GA3, respectively. Secondary metabolism- and cell-related proteins, and proteins involved in protein degradation/synthesis were decreased by flooding stress; however, the levels of these proteins were restored by GA3 supplementation under flooding. Fermentation- and cell wall-related proteins were not affected by GA3 supplementation. Furthermore, putative GA-responsive proteins, which were identified by the presence of a GA-responsive element in the promoter region, were less abundant by flooding stress; however, these proteins were more abundant by GA3 supplementation under flooding. Taken together, these results suggest that GA3 affects the abundance of proteins involved in secondary metabolism, cell cycle, and protein degradation/synthesis in soybeans under flooding stress.

Stress and depression in informal caregivers of patients with bipolar affective disorder

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Ximena Palacios-Espinosa

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This study aims to establish the stress and depression´s prevalence in informal primary caregivers of patients with bipolar affective disorder of the Clínica de Nuestra Señora de la Paz (Bogotá, Colombia. The sample consisted of 40 informal primary caregivers who were tested by several tools: a survey filter, a sociodemographic record, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI and the Daily Stress Questionnaire. Results indicate that there is much more presence of depression than of daily stress in the sample.

Social instability stress differentially affects amygdalar neuron adaptations and memory performance in adolescent and adult rats

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Sheng-Feng eTsai

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Adolescence is a time of developmental changes and reorganization in the brain. It has been hypothesized that stress has a greater neurological impact on adolescents than on adults. However, scientific evidence in support of this hypothesis is still limited. We treated adolescent (4-week-old and adult (8-week-old rats with social instability stress for five weeks and compared the subsequent structural and functional changes to amygdala neurons. In the stress-free control condition, the adolescent group showed higher fear-potentiated startle responses, larger dendritic arborization, more proximal dendritic spine distribution and lower levels of truncated TrkB than the adult rats. Social instability stress exerted opposite effects on fear-potentiated startle responses in these two groups, i.e., the stress period appeared to hamper the performance in adolescents but improved it in adult rats. Furthermore, whilst the chronic social stress applied to adolescent rats reduced their dendritic field and spine density in basal and lateral amygdala neurons, the opposite stress effects on neuron morphology were observed in the adult rats. Moreover, stress in adolescence suppressed the amygdala expression of synaptic proteins, i.e., full-length TrkB and SNAP-25, whereas, in the adult rats, chronic stress enhanced full-length and truncated TrkB expressions in the amygdala. In summary, chronic social instability stress hinders amygdala neuron development in the adolescent brain, while mature neurons in the amygdala are capable of adapting to the stress. The stress induced age-dependent effects on the fear-potentiated memory may occur by altering the BDNF-TrkB signaling and neuroplasticity in the amygdala.

Developmental neurotoxicity of Propylthiouracil in rats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Marta Axelstad; Hansen, P.; Christiansen, S.

2007-01-01

early in pregnancy may cause adverse effects on the offspring. This has led to increased concern about thyroid hormone disrupting chemicals (TDCs) in our environment. We have studied how developmental exposure to the known antithyroid agent propylthiouracil (PTU) affects the development of rat pups...... behaviour and hearing function. This supports that exposure to TDC's in general may cause long-lasting developmental neurotoxicity....

Minority stress model components and affective well-being in a sample of sexual orientation minority adults living with HIV/AIDS.

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Cramer, Robert J; Burks, Alixandra C; Plöderl, Martin; Durgampudi, Praveen

2017-12-01

To date very little literature exists examining theoretically-based models applied to day-to-day positive and negative affective well-being among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Grounded in the perspective of Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 674-697. Minority Stress Model, the present study examined HIV- and sexual orientation-related factors influencing affective well-being (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, life satisfaction, and stress). Participants were 154 HIV-positive LGB adults from an urban area in the southwestern United States. Data were drawn from an archival database (i.e., Project Legacy). The study methodology featured a cross-sectional self-report survey of minority stress, victimization, coping, and emotional well-being, among other subjects. Primary regression results were: (1) males reported less general stress than females; (2) higher internalized HIV-related stigma was associated with elevated negative affect; (3) higher internalized homophobia was associated with elevations in negative affect and general stress; (4) higher coping self-efficacy was associated with lesser negative affect, lesser general stress, greater positive affect, and greater satisfaction with life; (5) a significant interaction between HIV-related victimization and coping self-efficacy showed that coping self-efficacy was positively associated with positive affect only (only for non-victims). Contrary to expectations, coping self-efficacy demonstrated the largest main effects on affective well-being. Results are discussed with regard to potential need for theoretical refinement of Minority Stress Model applied to PLWHA and affective well-being outcomes. Recommendations are offered for future research.

Neonatal hypothyroidism affects testicular glucose homeostasis through increased oxidative stress in prepubertal mice: effects on GLUT3, GLUT8 and Cx43.

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Sarkar, D; Singh, S K

2017-07-01

Thyroid hormones (THs) play an important role in maintaining the link between metabolism and reproduction and the altered THs status is associated with induction of oxidative stress in various organs like brain, heart, liver and testis. Further, reactive oxygen species play a pivotal role in regulation of glucose homeostasis in several organs, and glucose utilization by Leydig cells is essential for testosterone biosynthesis and thus is largely dependent on glucose transporter 8 (GLUT8). Glucose uptake by Sertoli cells is mediated through glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3) under the influence of THs to meet energy requirement of developing germ cells. THs also modulate level of gap junctional protein such as connexin 43 (Cx43), a potential regulator of cell proliferation and apoptosis in the seminiferous epithelium. Although the role of transient neonatal hypothyroidism in adult testis in terms of testosterone production is well documented, the effect of THs deficiency in early developmental period and its role in testicular glucose homeostasis and oxidative stress with reference to Cx43 in immature mice remain unknown. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of neonatal hypothyroidism on testicular glucose homeostasis and oxidative stress at postnatal days (PND) 21 and 28 in relation to GLUT3, GLUT8 and Cx43. Hypothyroidism induced by 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) markedly decreased testicular glucose level with considerable reduction in expression level of GLUT3 and GLUT8. Likewise, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and intratesticular concentration of lactate were also decreased in hypothyroid mice. There was also a rise in germ cell apoptosis with increased expression of caspase-3 in PTU-treated mice. Further, neonatal hypothyroidism affected germ cell proliferation with decreased expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Cx43. In conclusion, our results suggest that neonatal hypothyroidism alters testicular glucose

Using feminist, emotion-focused, and developmental approaches to enhance cognitive-behavioral therapies for posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood sexual abuse.

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Cohen, Jacqueline N

2008-06-01

A body of research indicates the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral interventions for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) subsequent to sexual assault in adulthood. The generalizability of these treatments to women who present with trauma symptoms associated with childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has yet to be shown, however. A number of characteristics and dynamics of CSA that make it unique from sexual assault in adulthood are described, specifically its disruption of normal childhood development, its impact on attachment style and interpersonal relationships, its inescapability, and the stigma attached to it. Then, drawing on the developmental, emotion-focused, and feminist literatures, a number of considerations that would enhance the application of cognitive- behavioral trauma therapies to the treatment of women with PTSD related to CSA are delineated. These considerations relate to providing clients with corrective interpersonal experiences, creating new relationship events, enhancing affect regulation skills before initiating exposure therapy, considering the time elapsed since the abuse, addressing themes of power, betrayal, self-blame, stigma, and sex-related cognitions and emotions, and helping clients develop a feminist consciousness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Low-level lasers affect Escherichia coli cultures in hyperosmotic stress

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Pinheiro, C. C.; Barboza, L. L.; Paoli, F.; Fonseca, A. S.

2015-08-01

Physical characteristics and practical properties have made lasers of interest for biomedical applications. Effects of low-level lasers on biological tissues could occur or be measurable depending on cell type, presence of a pathologic process or whether the cells are in an adverse environment. The objective of this work was to evaluate the survival, morphology and filamentation of E. coli cells proficient and deficient in the repair of oxidative DNA lesions exposed low-level red and infrared lasers submitted to hyperosmotic stress. Wild type and endonuclease VIII deficient E. coli cells in exponential and stationary growth phase were exposed to red and infrared lasers and submitted to hyperosmotic stress. Cell viability, filamentation phenotype and cell morphology were evaluated. Cell viability was not significantly altered but previous laser exposure induced filamentation and an altered area of stressed cells depending on physiologic condition and presence of the DNA repair. Results suggest that previous exposure to low-level red and infrared lasers could not affect viability but induced morphologic changes in cells submitted to hyperosmotic stress depending on physiologic conditions and repair of oxidative DNA lesions.

Abiotic stresses affect Trichoderma harzianum T39-induced resistance to downy mildew in grapevine.

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Roatti, Benedetta; Perazzolli, Michele; Gessler, Cesare; Pertot, Ilaria

2013-12-01

Enhancement of plant defense through the application of resistance inducers seems a promising alternative to chemical fungicides for controlling crop diseases but the efficacy can be affected by abiotic factors in the field. Plants respond to abiotic stresses with hormonal signals that may interfere with the mechanisms of induced systemic resistance (ISR) to pathogens. In this study, we exposed grapevines to heat, drought, or both to investigate the effects of abiotic stresses on grapevine resistance induced by Trichoderma harzianum T39 (T39) to downy mildew. Whereas the efficacy of T39-induced resistance was not affected by exposure to heat or drought, it was significantly reduced by combined abiotic stresses. Decrease of leaf water potential and upregulation of heat-stress markers confirmed that plants reacted to abiotic stresses. Basal expression of defense-related genes and their upregulation during T39-induced resistance were attenuated by abiotic stresses, in agreement with the reduced efficacy of T39. The evidence reported here suggests that exposure of crops to abiotic stress should be carefully considered to optimize the use of resistance inducers, especially in view of future global climate changes. Expression analysis of ISR marker genes could be helpful to identify when plants are responding to abiotic stresses, in order to optimize treatments with resistance inducers in field.

Toxic stress history and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in a social stress task: Genetic and epigenetic factors.

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Lapp, Hannah E; Ahmed, Sarah; Moore, Celia L; Hunter, Richard G

2018-02-21

Histories of early life stress (ELS) or social discrimination can reach levels of severity characterized as toxic to mental and physical health. Such toxic social stress during development has been linked to altered acute hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) response to social stress in adulthood. However, there are important individual differences in the size and direction of these effects. We explored developmental, genetic, epigenetic, and contextual sources of individual differences in the relationship between ELS, discrimination, and adult responses to acute social stress in a standard laboratory test. Additional measures included perceived status, social support, background activity of HPA axis, and genetic variants in aspects of the stress response system. Participants (n = 90) answered questions about historical and ongoing stress, provided a DNA sample to examine genetic polymorphisms and epigenetic marks, and underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) during which three saliva samples were collected to assess HPA function. Individuals who reported high levels of childhood adversity had a blunted salivary cortisol response to the TSST. Childhood adversity, discrimination experiences, and FKBP5 genotype were found to predict pretest cortisol levels. Following up on recent observations that the glucocorticoid receptor directly interacts with the mitochondrial genome, particularly the NADH dehydrogenase 6 (MT-ND6) gene, individuals who reported high childhood adversity were also found to have higher percent methylation across six CpG sites upstream of MT-ND6. These findings suggest multiple contributions across psychological, genetic, epigenetic, and social domains to vulnerability and resilience in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation. Further study to examine how these multiple contributors affect developmental endpoints through integrated or independent pathways will be of use. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Approaches to modeling the development of physiological stress responsivity.

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Hinnant, J Benjamin; Philbrook, Lauren E; Erath, Stephen A; El-Sheikh, Mona

2018-05-01

Influential biopsychosocial theories have proposed that some developmental periods in the lifespan are potential pivot points or opportunities for recalibration of stress response systems. To date, however, there have been few longitudinal studies of physiological stress responsivity and no studies comparing change in physiological stress responsivity across developmental periods. Our goals were to (a) address conceptual and methodological issues in studying the development of physiological stress responsivity within and between individuals, and (b) provide an exemplar for evaluating development of responsivity to stress in the parasympathetic nervous system, comparing respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) responsivity from middle to late childhood with middle to late adolescence. We propose the use of latent growth modeling of stress responsivity that includes time-varying covariates to account for conceptual and methodological issues in the measurement of physiological stress responsivity. Such models allow researchers to address key aspects of developmental sensitivity including within-individual variability, mean level change over time, and between-individual variability over time. In an empirical example, we found significant between-individual variability over time in RSA responsivity to stress during middle to late childhood but not during middle to late adolescence, suggesting that childhood may be a period of greater developmental sensitivity at the between-individual level. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

The Affective Bases of Risk Perception: Negative Feelings and Stress Mediate the Relationship between Mental Imagery and Risk Perception.

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Sobkow, Agata; Traczyk, Jakub; Zaleskiewicz, Tomasz

2016-01-01

Recent research has documented that affect plays a crucial role in risk perception. When no information about numerical risk estimates is available (e.g., probability of loss or magnitude of consequences), people may rely on positive and negative affect toward perceived risk. However, determinants of affective reactions to risks are poorly understood. In a series of three experiments, we addressed the question of whether and to what degree mental imagery eliciting negative affect and stress influences risk perception. In each experiment, participants were instructed to visualize consequences of risk taking and to rate riskiness. In Experiment 1, participants who imagined negative risk consequences reported more negative affect and perceived risk as higher compared to the control condition. In Experiment 2, we found that this effect was driven by affect elicited by mental imagery rather than its vividness and intensity. In this study, imagining positive risk consequences led to lower perceived risk than visualizing negative risk consequences. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that negative affect related to higher perceived risk was caused by negative feelings of stress. In Experiment 3, we introduced risk-irrelevant stress to show that participants in the stress condition rated perceived risk as higher in comparison to the control condition. This experiment showed that higher ratings of perceived risk were influenced by psychological stress. Taken together, our results demonstrate that affect-laden mental imagery dramatically changes risk perception through negative affect (i.e., psychological stress).

The effect of physical activity on sleep quality, well-being, and affect in academic stress periods

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Wunsch K

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Kathrin Wunsch, Nadine Kasten, Reinhard Fuchs Department of Sport Science, Sport Psychology Unit, Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Abstract: The stress-buffering hypothesis postulates that physical activity and exercise can buffer the negative effects of (academic stress on health. It still remains an open question whether students, who regularly engage in physical activity and exercise within their academic examination period, can successfully diminish these negative effects. Sixty-four subjects participated in this study and completed a total of five surveys, with T1 at the end of the semester break (baseline and T2–T5 being presented every Friday in the last 4 weeks of the semester (examination period. They were asked to answer questions about their activity level, sleep quality, well-being and affect. Hierarchical linear models showed significant dependencies on time for all dependent measures. The expansion of the model for exercise also showed significant main effects of this predictor on well-being and positive affect (PA and negative affect. Moreover, significant interactions with time for sleep quality and PA were found. Results suggest that physical activity and exercise in the academic examination period may be able to buffer the negative effects of stress on health-related outcomes. Therefore, activity levels should be maintained in times of high stress to prevent negative effects on sleep, well-being and affect in students. Keywords: examination stress, exercise, stress-buffering hypothesis

Morphological variability and developmental instability in subpopulations of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pertoldi, Cino; Bach, Lars Arve; Madsen, Aksel Bo

2002-01-01

and teeth of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) collected during the period 1995–97 from three different populations in Denmark. One of these thrives at low population density, whereas the two others are characterized by high local density. Methods The skulls were investigated for developmental instability...... a stabilizing regime hence their FA is mainly affected by environmental stresses. The negative relationship between canine size and FA found in males suggests the capacity of badgers to respond in an evolutionary way to environmental changes, despite the low genetic variability previously found at the molecular...

Subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics affect stress and virulence gene expression in Listeria monocytogenes and cause enhanced stress sensitivity but do not affect Caco‐2 cell invasion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Gitte Maegaard; Holch, Anne; Gram, Lone

2012-01-01

with promoter fusions, 14 of 16 antibiotics induced or repressed expression of one or more stress and/or virulence genes. Despite ampicillin‐induced up‐regulation of PinlA‐lacZ expression, Caco‐2 cell invasion was not affected. Subinhibitory concentrations of ampicillin and tetracycline caused up‐ and down...

Extended evolutionary psychology: the importance of transgenerational developmental plasticity

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Karola eStotz

2014-08-01

Full Text Available What kind mechanisms one deems central for the evolutionary process deeply influences one’s understanding of the nature of organisms, including cognition. Reversely, adopting a certain approach to the nature of life and cognition and the relationship between them or between the organism and its environment should affect one’s view of evolutionary theory. This paper explores this reciprocal relationship in more detail. In particular it argues that the view of living and cognitive systems, especially humans, as deeply integrated beings embedded in and transformed by their genetic, epigenetic (molecular and cellular, behavioral, ecological, socio-cultural and cognitive-symbolic legacies calls for an extended evolutionary synthesis that goes beyond either a theory of genes juxtaposed against a theory of cultural evolution and or even more sophisticated theories of gene-culture coevolution and niche construction. Environments, particularly in the form of developmental environments, do not just select for variation, they also create new variation by influencing development through the reliable transmission of non-genetic but heritable information. This paper stresses particularly views of embodied, embedded, enacted and extended cognition, and their relationship to those aspects of extended inheritance that lie between genetic and cultural inheritance, the still grey area of epigenetic and behavioral inheritance systems that play a role in parental effect. These are the processes that can be regarded as transgenerational developmental plasticity and that I think can most fruitfully contribute to, and be investigated by, developmental psychology.

Extended evolutionary psychology: the importance of transgenerational developmental plasticity.

Science.gov (United States)

Stotz, Karola

2014-01-01

What kind mechanisms one deems central for the evolutionary process deeply influences one's understanding of the nature of organisms, including cognition. Reversely, adopting a certain approach to the nature of life and cognition and the relationship between them or between the organism and its environment should affect one's view of evolutionary theory. This paper explores this reciprocal relationship in more detail. In particular it argues that the view of living and cognitive systems, especially humans, as deeply integrated beings embedded in and transformed by their genetic, epigenetic (molecular and cellular), behavioral, ecological, socio-cultural and cognitive-symbolic legacies calls for an extended evolutionary synthesis that goes beyond either a theory of genes juxtaposed against a theory of cultural evolution and or even more sophisticated theories of gene-culture coevolution and niche construction. Environments, particularly in the form of developmental environments, do not just select for variation, they also create new variation by influencing development through the reliable transmission of non-genetic but heritable information. This paper stresses particularly views of embodied, embedded, enacted and extended cognition, and their relationship to those aspects of extended inheritance that lie between genetic and cultural inheritance, the still gray area of epigenetic and behavioral inheritance systems that play a role in parental effect. These are the processes that can be regarded as transgenerational developmental plasticity and that I think can most fruitfully contribute to, and be investigated by, developmental psychology.

Day and night heat stress trigger different transcriptomic responses in green and ripening grapevine (vitis vinifera) fruit.

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Rienth, Markus; Torregrosa, Laurent; Luchaire, Nathalie; Chatbanyong, Ratthaphon; Lecourieux, David; Kelly, Mary T; Romieu, Charles

2014-04-28

Global climate change will noticeably affect plant vegetative and reproductive development. The recent increase in temperatures has already impacted yields and composition of berries in many grapevine-growing regions. Physiological processes underlying temperature response and tolerance of the grapevine fruit have not been extensively investigated. To date, all studies investigating the molecular regulation of fleshly fruit response to abiotic stress were only conducted during the day, overlooking possible critical night-specific variations. The present study explores the night and day transcriptomic response of grapevine fruit to heat stress at several developmental stages. Short heat stresses (2 h) were applied at day and night to vines bearing clusters sequentially ordered according to the developmental stages along their vertical axes. The recently proposed microvine model (DRCF-Dwarf Rapid Cycling and Continuous Flowering) was grown in climatic chambers in order to circumvent common constraints and biases inevitable in field experiments with perennial macrovines. Post-véraison berry heterogeneity within clusters was avoided by constituting homogenous batches following organic acids and sugars measurements of individual berries. A whole genome transcriptomic approach was subsequently conducted using NimbleGen 090818 Vitis 12X (30 K) microarrays. Present work reveals significant differences in heat stress responsive pathways according to day or night treatment, in particular regarding genes associated with acidity and phenylpropanoid metabolism. Precise distinction of ripening stages led to stage-specific detection of malic acid and anthocyanin-related transcripts modulated by heat stress. Important changes in cell wall modification related processes as well as indications for heat-induced delay of ripening and sugar accumulation were observed at véraison, an effect that was reversed at later stages. This first day - night study on heat stress adaption of the

How does the brain deal with cumulative stress? A review with focus on developmental stress, HPA axis function and hippocampal structure in humans.

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Frodl, Thomas; O'Keane, Veronica

2013-04-01

There is evidence that excessive stress exposure of the brain, mediated through the neurotoxic effects of cortisol and possibly neuroinflammation, causes damage to brain structure and function: the glucocorticoid cascade hypothesis. Functional changes of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as well as alterations in brain structures like the hippocampus have been consistently reported in major depression. However, there has not been a lot of emphasis on bringing findings from studies on early childhood stress, HPA axis functioning and hippocampal imaging together. This is the subject for this systematic review of the literature on how developmental stress, specifically childhood maltreatment, may impact on HPA axis function and hippocampal structure. We will also review the literature on the relationship between HPA axis function and hippocampal volume in healthy, depressed and other disease states. There is evidence that prenatal stress and childhood maltreatment is associated with an abnormally developing HPA system, as well as hippocampal volume reduction. Smaller hippocampal volumes are associated with increased cortisol secretion during the day. We conclude that a model integrating childhood maltreatment, cortisol abnormalities and hippocampal volume may need to take other factors into account, such as temperament, genetics or the presence of depression; to provide a cohesive explanation of all the findings. Finally, we have to conclude that the cascade hypothesis, mainly based on preclinical studies, has not been translated enough into humans. While there is evidence that early life maltreatment results in structural hippocampal changes and these are in turn more prominent in subjects with higher continuous cortisol secretion it is less clear which role early life maltreatment plays in HPA axis alteration. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prenatal Stress as a Risk-and an Opportunity-Factor.

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Hartman, Sarah; Freeman, Sara M; Bales, Karen L; Belsky, Jay

2018-04-01

Two separate lines of research indicate (a) that prenatal stress is associated with heightened behavioral and physiological reactivity and (b) that these postnatal phenotypes are associated with increased susceptibility to both positive and negative developmental experiences. Therefore, prenatal stress may increase sensitivity to the rearing environment. We tested this hypothesis by manipulating prenatal stress and rearing-environment quality, using a cross-fostering paradigm, in prairie voles. Results showed that prenatally stressed voles, as adults, displayed the highest behavioral and physiological reactivity when cross-fostered to low-contact (i.e., low-quality) rearing but the lowest behavioral and physiological reactivity when cross-fostered to high-contact (i.e., high-quality) rearing; non-prenatally stressed voles showed no effect of rearing condition. Additionally, while neither prenatal stress nor rearing condition affected oxytocin receptor binding, prenatally stressed voles cross-fostered to high-contact rearing showed the highest vasopressin-1a receptor binding in the amygdala. Results indicate that prenatal stress induces greater environmental sensitivity, making it both a risk and an opportunity factor.

Trait Positive Affect Buffers the Effects of Acute Stress on Skin Barrier Recovery

Science.gov (United States)

Robles, Theodore F.; Brooks, Kathryn P.; Pressman, Sarah D.

2010-01-01

Objective This study examines the role of self-reported trait positive affect (PA) on skin barrier recovery after skin disruption, and whether the role of trait PA in wound healing is consistent with the direct effects model or the stress-buffering model of PA and health. Design Sixty healthy participants (mean age 22.7 ± 3.9 years) completed a self-report measure of trait positive and negative affect, underwent a “tape-stripping” procedure that disrupts normal skin barrier function, and were randomly assigned to a Stress (Trier Social Stress Test) or No Stress (reading task) condition. Main Outcome Measures Skin barrier recovery was assessed by measuring transepidermal water loss up to 2 hr after skin disruption. Results Multilevel modeling indicated that greater trait PA was related to faster skin barrier recovery (p < .05). The effects of PA on skin barrier recovery were independent of levels of trait NA. Conclusion These findings suggest that trait PA may influence skin barrier recovery following a brief stressor. In addition, these results provide additional evidence that trait PA can positively impact objective health outcomes. PMID:19450044

Prenatal stress programs neuroendocrine stress responses and affective behaviors in second generation rats in a sex-dependent manner.

Science.gov (United States)

Grundwald, Natalia J; Brunton, Paula J

2015-12-01

with controls, with no differences in the F2 females. No differences in depressive-like behavior (sucrose preference or forced swim test) were observed in either sex. In conclusion, the effects of maternal stress during pregnancy on HPA axis regulation and anxiety-like behavior can be transmitted to future generations in a sex-dependent manner. These data have implications for human neuropsychiatric disorders with developmental origins. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Natural variation in rosette size under salt stress conditions corresponds to developmental differences between Arabidopsis accessions and allelic variation in the LRR-KISS gene

KAUST Repository

Julkowska, Magdalena

2016-02-11

Natural variation among Arabidopsis accessions is an important genetic resource to identify mechanisms underlying plant development and stress tolerance. To evaluate the natural variation in salinity stress tolerance, two large-scale experiments were performed on two populations consisting of 160 Arabidopsis accessions each. Multiple traits, including projected rosette area, and fresh and dry weight were collected as an estimate for salinity tolerance. Our results reveal a correlation between rosette size under salt stress conditions and developmental differences between the accessions grown in control conditions, suggesting that in general larger plants were more salt tolerant. This correlation was less pronounced when plants were grown under severe salt stress conditions. Subsequent genome wide association study (GWAS) revealed associations with novel candidate genes for salinity tolerance such as LRR-KISS (At4g08850), flowering locus KH-domain containing protein and a DUF1639-containing protein. Accessions with high LRR-KISS expression developed larger rosettes under salt stress conditions. Further characterization of allelic variation in candidate genes identified in this study will provide more insight into mechanisms of salt stress tolerance due to enhanced shoot growth.

Perceived Thermal Discomfort and Stress Behaviours Affecting Students’ Learning in Lecture Theatres in the Humid Tropics

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Tamaraukuro Tammy Amasuomo

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The study investigated the relationship between students’ perceived thermal discomfort and stress behaviours affecting their learning in lecture theatres in the humid tropics. Two lecture theatres, LTH-2 and 3, at the Niger Delta University, Nigeria, were used for the study. Two groups of students from the Faculties of Agriculture and Engineering and the Department of Technology Education constituted the population. The sample size selected through random sampling for Groups A and B was 210 and 370 students, respectively. Objective and self-report instruments were used for data collection. The objective instrument involved physical measurement of the two lecture theatres and of the indoor temperature, relative humidity and air movement. The self-report instrument was a questionnaire that asked for the students perceived indoor thermal discomfort levels and the effect of indoor thermal comfort level on perceived stress behaviours affecting their learning. The objective indoor environmental data indicated thermal discomfort with an average temperature of 29–32 °C and relative humidity of 78% exceeding the ASHARE [1] and Olgyay [2].The students’ experienced a considerable level of thermal discomfort and also perceived that stress behaviours due to thermal discomfort affected their learning. Further, there were no significant differences in the perceived thermal discomfort levels of the two groups of students in LTH-2 and 3. Furthermore, stress behaviours affecting learning as perceived by the two groups of students did not differ significantly. In addition, no correlation existed between the perceived indoor thermal discomfort levels and stress behaviour levels affecting learning for students in LTH-2, because the arousal level of the students in the thermal environment was likely higher than the arousal level for optimal performance [3,4]. However, a correlation existed in the case of students in LTH-3, which was expected because it only

Developmental instability and fitness in Periploca laevigata experiencing grazing disturbance

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Alados, C.L.; Giner, M.L.; Dehesa, L.; Escos, J.; Barroso, F.; Emlen, J.M.; Freeman, D.C.

2002-01-01

We investigated the sensitivity of developmental instability measurements (leaf fluctuating asymmetry, floral radial asymmetry, and shoot translational asymmetry) to a long‐standing natural stress (grazing) in a palatable tannin‐producing shrub (Periploca laevigata Aiton). We also assessed the relationship between these measures of developmental instability and fitness components (growth and floral production). Developmental instability, measured by translational asymmetry, was the most accurate estimator of a plant’s condition and, consequently, environmental stress. Plants with less translational asymmetry grew more and produced more flowers. Plants from the medium‐grazed population were developmentally more stable, as estimated by translational and floral asymmetry, than either more heavily or more lightly grazed populations. Leaf fluctuating asymmetry was positively correlated with tannin concentration. The pattern of internode growth also responded to grazing impact. Plants under medium to heavy grazing pressure accelerated early growth and consequently escaped herbivory later in the season, i.e., at the beginning of the spring, when grazing activity was concentrated in herbaceous plants. Periploca laevigata accelerated growth and finished growing sooner than in the other grazing treatment. Thus, its annual growth was more mature and less palatable later in the season when grazers typically concentrate on shrubs. The reduction of developmental instability under medium grazing is interpreted as a direct effect of grazing and not as the release from competition.

Developmental Exposure to Mild Variable Stress: Adult ...

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In utero exposure to mild variable stress has been reported to influence learning and memory formation in offspring. Our research aims to examine whether nonchemical environmental stressors will exacerbate effects to chemical exposure. This study utilized a varying stress paradigm to simulate human psychosocial stress incurred during and after pregnancy to identify phenotypic learning changes in adult offspring that are potential stress markers. We additionally wanted to compare these behavioral outcomes to rat performance induced by perinatal exposure to manganese (Mn), a neurotoxic environmental element, at 2 or 5 g/l in drinking water throughout gestation and lactation. Pregnant Long Evans rats were exposed to an unpredictable series of mild stressful events which had previously been shown to increase maternal corticosterone levels. Nonchemical stressors were presented from GD 13 through GD 21 and included varying noise, light, housing, and confinement during both sleep and wake cycles. A subgroup of offspring was also exposed to periods of maternal separation. Starting at PND 97 offspring were trained with a trace fear conditioning protocol whereby rats were exposed to a compound cue (light and tone) followed by 30 seconds (trace period) and a mild foot shock (1mA, 0.5 seconds). Five paired training sessions occurred on the first day. The following day, context and cue learning were assessed by measuring motor activity. Preliminary data suggests adu

A longitudinal study of schizophrenia- and affective spectrum disorders in individuals diagnosed with a developmental language disorder as children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mouridsen, Svend Erik Birkebæk; Hauschild, K.M.

2008-01-01

The prevalence and types of schizophrenia- and affective spectrum disorders were studied in 469 individuals with a developmental language disorder (DLD), assessed in the same clinic during a period of 10 years, and 2,345 controls from the general population. All participants were screened through...... the nationwide Danish Psychiatric Central Register (DPCR). The mean length of follow-up was 34.7 years, and the mean age at follow-up 35.8 years. The results show an excess of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (F20-F29) within participants with DLD when compared with controls from the overall population (6.4% vs....... 1.8%; P disorder was significantly associated with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder diagnosis in the DPCR. There was no significant increase in affective...

ER stress affects processing of MHC class I-associated peptides

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Meloche Sylvain

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Viral infection and neoplastic transformation trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress. Thus, a large proportion of the cells that must be recognized by the immune system are stressed cells. Cells respond to ER stress by launching the unfolded protein response (UPR. The UPR regulates the two key processes that control major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I-peptide presentation: protein synthesis and degradation. We therefore asked whether and how the UPR impinges on MHC I-peptide presentation. Results We evaluated the impact of the UPR on global MHC I expression and on presentation of the H2Kb-associated SIINFEKL peptide. EL4 cells stably transfected with vectors coding hen egg lysozyme (HEL-SIINFEKL protein variants were stressed with palmitate or exposed to glucose deprivation. UPR decreased surface expression of MHC I but did not affect MHC I mRNA level nor the total amount of intracellular MHC I proteins. Impaired MHC I-peptide presentation was due mainly to reduced supply of peptides owing to an inhibition of overall protein synthesis. Consequently, generation of H2Kb-SIINFEKL complexes was curtailed during ER stress, illustrating how generation of MHC I peptide ligands is tightly coupled to ongoing protein synthesis. Notably, the UPR-induced decline of MHC I-peptide presentation was more severe when the protein source of peptides was localized in the cytosol than in the ER. This difference was not due to changes in the translation rates of the precursor proteins but to increased stability of the cytosolic protein during ER stress. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that ER stress impairs MHC I-peptide presentation, and that it differentially regulates expression of ER- vs. cytosol-derived peptides. Furthermore, this work illustrates how ER stress, a typical feature of infected and malignant cells, can impinge on cues for adaptive immune recognition.

Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grandjean, Philippe; Landrigan, Philip J

2014-01-01

Neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, and other cognitive impairments, affect millions of children worldwide, and some diagnoses seem to be increasing in frequency. Industrial chemicals that injure the developing brain are among...... the known causes for this rise in prevalence. In 2006, we did a systematic review and identified five industrial chemicals as developmental neurotoxicants: lead, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic, and toluene. Since 2006, epidemiological studies have documented six additional developmental...... chemicals should not be presumed to be safe to brain development, and chemicals in existing use and all new chemicals must therefore be tested for developmental neurotoxicity. To coordinate these efforts and to accelerate translation of science into prevention, we propose the urgent formation of a new...

Developmental exposure of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to 17α-ethinylestradiol affects non-reproductive behavior and fertility as adults, and increases anxiety in unexposed progeny.

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Volkova, Kristina; Reyhanian Caspillo, Nasim; Porseryd, Tove; Hallgren, Stefan; Dinnétz, Patrik; Porsch-Hällström, Inger

2015-07-01

Exposure to estrogenic endocrine disruptors (EDCs) during development affects fertility, reproductive and non-reproductive behavior in mammals and fish. These effects can also be transferred to coming generations. In fish, the effects of developmental EDC exposure on non-reproductive behavior are less well studied. Here, we analyze the effects of 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) on anxiety, shoaling behavior and fertility in zebrafish after developmental treatment and remediation in clean water until adulthood. Zebrafish embryos were exposed from day 1 to day 80 post fertilization to actual concentrations of 1.2 and 1.6ng/L EE2. After remediation for 82days non-reproductive behavior and fertilization success were analyzed in both sexes. Males and females from the 1.2ng/L group, as well as control males and females, were bred, and behavior of the untreated F1 offspring was tested as adults. Developmental treatment with 1.2 and 1.6ng/L EE2 significantly increased anxiety in the novel tank test and increased shoaling intensity in both sexes. Fertilization success was significantly reduced by EE2 in both sexes when mated with untreated fish of opposite sex. Progeny of fish treated with 1.2ng/L EE2 showed increased anxiety in the novel tank test and increased light avoidance in the scototaxis test compared to control offspring. In conclusion, developmental exposure of zebrafish to low doses of EE2 resulted in persistent changes in behavior and fertility. The behavior of unexposed progeny was affected by their parents' exposure, which might suggest transgenerational effects. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Affective stress responses during leisure time: Validity evaluation of a modified version of the Stress-Energy Questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadžibajramović, Emina; Ahlborg, Gunnar; Håkansson, Carita; Lundgren-Nilsson, Åsa; Grimby-Ekman, Anna

2015-12-01

Psychosocial stress at work is one of the most important factors behind increasing sick-leave rates. In addition to work stressors, it is important to account for non-work-related stressors when assessing stress responses. In this study, a modified version of the Stress-Energy Questionnaire (SEQ), the SEQ during leisure time (SEQ-LT) was introduced for assessing the affective stress response during leisure time. The aim of this study was to investigate the internal construct validity of the SEQ-LT. A second aim was to define the cut-off points for the scales, which could indicate high and low levels of leisure-time stress and energy, respectively. Internal construct validity of the SEQ-LT was evaluated using a Rasch analysis. We examined the unidimensionality and other psychometric properties of the scale by the fit to the Rasch model. A criterion-based approach was used for classification into high and low stress/energy levels. The psychometric properties of the stress and energy scales of the SEQ-LT were satisfactory, having accommodated for local dependency. The cut-off point for low stress was proposed to be in the interval between 2.45 and 3.02 on the Rasch metric score; while for high stress, it was between 3.65 and 3.90. The suggested cut-off points for the low and high energy levels were values between 1.73-1.97 and 2.66-3.08, respectively. The stress and energy scale of the SEQ-LT satisfied the measurement criteria defined by the Rasch analysis and it provided a useful tool for non-work-related assessment of stress responses. We provide guidelines on how to interpret the scale values. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

Prenatal stress in pigs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kranendonk, Godelieve

2006-01-01

Studies in many species, including humans, have demonstrated that stress during gestation can have long-term developmental, neuroendocrine, and behavioural effects on the offspring. Because pregnant sows can be subjected to regular stressful situations, it is relevant to study whether prenatal

Early-Life Stress Triggers Juvenile Zebra Finches to Switch Social Learning Strategies.

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Farine, Damien R; Spencer, Karen A; Boogert, Neeltje J

2015-08-17

Stress during early life can cause disease and cognitive impairment in humans and non-humans alike. However, stress and other environmental factors can also program developmental pathways. We investigate whether differential exposure to developmental stress can drive divergent social learning strategies between siblings. In many species, juveniles acquire essential foraging skills by copying others: they can copy peers (horizontal social learning), learn from their parents (vertical social learning), or learn from other adults (oblique social learning). However, whether juveniles' learning strategies are condition dependent largely remains a mystery. We found that juvenile zebra finches living in flocks socially learned novel foraging skills exclusively from adults. By experimentally manipulating developmental stress, we further show that social learning targets are phenotypically plastic. While control juveniles learned foraging skills from their parents, their siblings, exposed as nestlings to experimentally elevated stress hormone levels, learned exclusively from unrelated adults. Thus, early-life conditions triggered individuals to switch strategies from vertical to oblique social learning. This switch could arise from stress-induced differences in developmental rate, cognitive and physical state, or the use of stress as an environmental cue. Acquisition of alternative social learning strategies may impact juveniles' fit to their environment and ultimately change their developmental trajectories. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

[Developmental trauma disorder: towards a rational diagnosis for chronically traumatized children].

Science.gov (United States)

van der Kolk, Bessel A

2009-01-01

Less than eight years after the establishment of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network in 2001 it has become evident that the current diagnostic classification system is inadequate for tens of thousands of traumatized children. While the inclusion of PTSD in the psychiatric classification system in 1980 led to extensive scientific studies of that diagnosis, over the past 25 years there has been a parallel emergence of the field of Developmental Psychopathology, which has documented the effects of interpersonal trauma and disruption of caregiving systems on the development of affect regulation, attention, cognition, perception, and interpersonal relationships. Another significant development has been the increasing documentation of the effects of adverse early life experiences on brain development. The goal of introducing the diagnosis of Developmental Trauma Disorder is to capture the reality of the clinical presentations of children and adolescents exposed to chronic interpersonal trauma. Whether or not they exhibit some symptoms of PTSD, children who have developed in the context of ongoing danger, maltreatment, and inadequate caregiving systems are ill-served by the current diagnostic system, as it frequently leads to multiple unrelated diagnoses, an emphasis on behavioral control without recognition of interpersonal trauma and lack of safety in the etiology of symptoms, and a lack of attention to ameliorating the developmental disruptions that underlie the symptoms.

Psychophysiological effects of yoga on stress in college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Tripathi, Mahesh Narain; Kumari, Sony; Ganpat, Tikhe Sham

2018-01-01

College students are vulnerable to a critical period in developmental maturation, facing rigorous academic work, and learning how to function independently. Physical activities such as running and bicycling have been shown to improve mood and relieve stress. However, college students often have low levels of physical activity. Yoga is an ancient physical and mental activity that affects mood and stress. However, studies examining the psychophysiological effects of yoga are rare in peer-reviewed journals. The aim of this study is to establish preliminary evidence for the psychophysiological effects of yoga on stress in young-adult college students. The present study suggests that yoga has positive effects on a psychophysiological level that leads to decreased levels of stress in college student. Further research is needed to examine the extent to which different types of yogic practices address the needs of different college subpopulations (e.g., overweight, sedentary, and smokers).

Psychophysiological effects of yoga on stress in college students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahesh Narain Tripathi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available College students are vulnerable to a critical period in developmental maturation, facing rigorous academic work, and learning how to function independently. Physical activities such as running and bicycling have been shown to improve mood and relieve stress. However, college students often have low levels of physical activity. Yoga is an ancient physical and mental activity that affects mood and stress. However, studies examining the psychophysiological effects of yoga are rare in peer-reviewed journals. The aim of this study is to establish preliminary evidence for the psychophysiological effects of yoga on stress in young-adult college students. The present study suggests that yoga has positive effects on a psychophysiological level that leads to decreased levels of stress in college student. Further research is needed to examine the extent to which different types of yogic practices address the needs of different college subpopulations (e.g., overweight, sedentary, and smokers.

Exploring moral conflicts in speech : Multidisciplinary analysis of affect and stress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lee, M.; Kim, J.; Truong, K.; de Kort, Y.A.W.; Beute, F.; IJsselsteijn, W.A.

2017-01-01

Our moral conscience as the "inner light" that guides us shines brighter during moments of ethical conflicts, when we notice a tension between our many oughts and/or wants. We present the first analyses on speech related stress and affect in accounts of moral conflicts. For our exploratory study, we

Exploring Moral Conflicts in Speech: Multidisciplinary Analysis of Affect and Stress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lee, Minha; Kim, Jaebok; Truong, Khiet; de Kort, Yvonne; Beute, Femke; IJsselsteijn, Wijnand

2017-01-01

Our moral conscience as the “inner light” that guides us shines brighter during moments of ethical conflicts, when we notice a tension between our many oughts and/or wants. We present the first analyses on speech related stress and affect in accounts of moral conflicts. For our exploratory study, we

Differences in adjustment by child developmental stage among caregivers of children with disorders of sex development

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background The current study sought to compare levels of overprotection and parenting stress reported by caregivers of children with disorders of sex development at four different developmental stages. Methods Caregivers (N = 59) of children with disorders of sex development were recruited from specialty clinics and were asked to complete the Parent Protection Scale and Parenting Stress Index/Short Form as measures of overprotective behaviors and parenting stress, respectively. Results Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were conducted to examine differences between caregiver report of overprotection and parenting stress. Results revealed that caregivers of infants and toddlers exhibited more overprotective behaviors than caregivers of children in the other age groups. Further, caregivers of adolescents experienced significantly more parenting stress than caregivers of school-age children, and this effect was driven by personal distress and problematic parent-child interactions, rather than having a difficult child. Conclusions These results suggest that caregivers of children with disorders of sex development may have different psychosocial needs based upon their child's developmental stage and based upon the disorder-related challenges that are most salient at that developmental stage. PMID:22074416

The effect of physical activity on sleep quality, well-being, and affect in academic stress periods.

Science.gov (United States)

Wunsch, Kathrin; Kasten, Nadine; Fuchs, Reinhard

2017-01-01

The stress-buffering hypothesis postulates that physical activity and exercise can buffer the negative effects of (academic) stress on health. It still remains an open question whether students, who regularly engage in physical activity and exercise within their academic examination period, can successfully diminish these negative effects. Sixty-four subjects participated in this study and completed a total of five surveys, with T1 at the end of the semester break (baseline) and T2-T5 being presented every Friday in the last 4 weeks of the semester (examination period). They were asked to answer questions about their activity level, sleep quality, well-being and affect. Hierarchical linear models showed significant dependencies on time for all dependent measures. The expansion of the model for exercise also showed significant main effects of this predictor on well-being and positive affect (PA) and negative affect. Moreover, significant interactions with time for sleep quality and PA were found. Results suggest that physical activity and exercise in the academic examination period may be able to buffer the negative effects of stress on health-related outcomes. Therefore, activity levels should be maintained in times of high stress to prevent negative effects on sleep, well-being and affect in students.

Drought stress affects plant metabolites and herbivore preference but not host location by its parasitoids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weldegergis, B.T.; Zhu, F.; Poelman, E.H.; Dicke, M.

2015-01-01

One of the main abiotic stresses that strongly affects plant survival and the primary cause of crop loss around the world is drought. Drought stress leads to sequential morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes that can have severe effects on plant growth, development and

The Relationship Between Social Affect and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors Measured on the ADOS-2 and Maternal Stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Schutte, Claire; Richardson, Wendy; Devlin, Morgan; Hill, Jeanna; Ghossainy, Maliki; Hewitson, Laura

2018-03-01

This study investigated categories of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms measured by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition and their association with maternal stress. Social affect and restricted and repetitive behaviors were compared with levels of maternal stress, measured by the Parenting Stress Index, in 102 children with ASD ages 2-12 years of age. Results indicated that social affect and restricted and repetitive behaviors were associated with the mother's stress regarding acceptability of the child's condition. Additionally, restricted and repetitive behaviors were significantly related to stress involving the child's hyperactivity and impulsivity. These findings highlight specific areas of stress experienced by mothers of children with ASD that are related to the child's symptoms, providing information for caregiver support and intervention.

Risk. Impact of having a first-degree relative with affective disorder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinberg, Maj

2016-01-01

-risk twins and 5 low-risk twins) developed a psychiatric disorder during the 7-year follow-up period: 24 developed mood disorder (67%), 7 anxiety disorder (19%) and 5 (14%) substance abuse, schizophrenia or personality disorder. The results showed that familial risk, impaired stress tolerance and discrete......: the high-risk group comprised twins at risk of developing affective disorder (DZ or MZ twin; index co-twin affected); the low risk group (control group) comprised twins at low risk of developing affective disorder (DZ or MZ twin; index co-twin not affected). At baseline 234 participants were divided...... boundaries in order to have an impact on prevention. Furthermore, there is a need to move beyond the notion of ''magic bullets'', instead developing an integrated paradigm encompassing clusters of biomarkers related to behavioural measures of developmental psychopathology. Finally, as most psychiatric...

Work–Family Conflict and Mental Health Among Female Employees: A Sequential Mediation Model via Negative Affect and Perceived Stress

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Shiyi; Da, Shu; Guo, Heng; Zhang, Xichao

2018-01-01

After the implementation of the universal two-child policy in 2016, more and more working women have found themselves caught in the dilemma of whether to raise a baby or be promoted, which exacerbates work–family conflicts among Chinese women. Few studies have examined the mediating effect of negative affect. The present study combined the conservation of resources model and affective events theory to examine the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and perceived stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health. A valid sample of 351 full-time Chinese female employees was recruited in this study, and participants voluntarily answered online questionnaires. Pearson correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between work–family conflict, negative affect, perceived stress, and mental health in full-time female employees. We found that women’s perceptions of both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict were significant negatively related to mental health. Additionally, the results showed that negative affect and perceived stress were negatively correlated with mental health. The 95% confidence intervals indicated the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health was significant, which supported the hypothesized sequential mediation model. The findings suggest that work–family conflicts affected the level of self-reported mental health, and this relationship functioned through the two sequential mediators of negative affect and perceived stress. PMID:29719522

Work-Family Conflict and Mental Health Among Female Employees: A Sequential Mediation Model via Negative Affect and Perceived Stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Shiyi; Da, Shu; Guo, Heng; Zhang, Xichao

2018-01-01

After the implementation of the universal two-child policy in 2016, more and more working women have found themselves caught in the dilemma of whether to raise a baby or be promoted, which exacerbates work-family conflicts among Chinese women. Few studies have examined the mediating effect of negative affect. The present study combined the conservation of resources model and affective events theory to examine the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and perceived stress in the relationship between work-family conflict and mental health. A valid sample of 351 full-time Chinese female employees was recruited in this study, and participants voluntarily answered online questionnaires. Pearson correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between work-family conflict, negative affect, perceived stress, and mental health in full-time female employees. We found that women's perceptions of both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict were significant negatively related to mental health. Additionally, the results showed that negative affect and perceived stress were negatively correlated with mental health. The 95% confidence intervals indicated the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and stress in the relationship between work-family conflict and mental health was significant, which supported the hypothesized sequential mediation model. The findings suggest that work-family conflicts affected the level of self-reported mental health, and this relationship functioned through the two sequential mediators of negative affect and perceived stress.

Work–Family Conflict and Mental Health Among Female Employees: A Sequential Mediation Model via Negative Affect and Perceived Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shiyi Zhou

2018-04-01

Full Text Available After the implementation of the universal two-child policy in 2016, more and more working women have found themselves caught in the dilemma of whether to raise a baby or be promoted, which exacerbates work–family conflicts among Chinese women. Few studies have examined the mediating effect of negative affect. The present study combined the conservation of resources model and affective events theory to examine the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and perceived stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health. A valid sample of 351 full-time Chinese female employees was recruited in this study, and participants voluntarily answered online questionnaires. Pearson correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between work–family conflict, negative affect, perceived stress, and mental health in full-time female employees. We found that women’s perceptions of both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict were significant negatively related to mental health. Additionally, the results showed that negative affect and perceived stress were negatively correlated with mental health. The 95% confidence intervals indicated the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health was significant, which supported the hypothesized sequential mediation model. The findings suggest that work–family conflicts affected the level of self-reported mental health, and this relationship functioned through the two sequential mediators of negative affect and perceived stress.

Basolateral amygdala and stress-induced hyperexcitability affect motivated behaviors and addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, B M

2017-08-08

The amygdala integrates and processes incoming information pertinent to reward and to emotions such as fear and anxiety that promote survival by warning of potential danger. Basolateral amygdala (BLA) communicates bi-directionally with brain regions affecting cognition, motivation and stress responses including prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens and hindbrain regions that trigger norepinephrine-mediated stress responses. Disruption of intrinsic amygdala and BLA regulatory neurocircuits is often caused by dysfunctional neuroplasticity frequently due to molecular alterations in local GABAergic circuits and principal glutamatergic output neurons. Changes in local regulation of BLA excitability underlie behavioral disturbances characteristic of disorders including post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and stress-induced relapse to drug use. In this Review, we discuss molecular mechanisms and neural circuits that regulate physiological and stress-induced dysfunction of BLA/amygdala and its principal output neurons. We consider effects of stress on motivated behaviors that depend on BLA; these include drug taking and drug seeking, with emphasis on nicotine-dependent behaviors. Throughout, we take a translational approach by integrating decades of addiction research on animal models and human trials. We show that changes in BLA function identified in animal addiction models illuminate human brain imaging and behavioral studies by more precisely delineating BLA mechanisms. In summary, BLA is required to promote responding for natural reward and respond to second-order drug-conditioned cues; reinstate cue-dependent drug seeking; express stress-enhanced reacquisition of nicotine intake; and drive anxiety and fear. Converging evidence indicates that chronic stress causes BLA principal output neurons to become hyperexcitable.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction for parents of young children with developmental delays: implications for parental mental health and child behavior problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Neece, Cameron L

2014-03-01

Parents of children with developmental delays (DD) typically report elevated levels of parental stress compared with parents of typically developing children. Children with DD are also at high risk for exhibiting significant behaviour problems. Parental stress has been shown to impact the development of these behaviour problems; however, it is rarely addressed in interventions aimed at reducing child behaviour problems. The current study examined the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for parents of children with DD by investigating whether this intervention is effective in reducing parenting stress and whether decreases in parenting stress lead to reductions in behaviour problems among children with DD. Forty six parents of children with DD were randomly assigned to an immediate treatment or wait list-control group. Participants completed questionnaires assessing parental stress and child behaviour problems at intake and at a second assessment, which took place after only the immediate treatment group had received the MBSR. Parents who participated in MBSR reported significantly less stress and depression as well as greater life satisfaction compared with wait list-control parents. Regarding child outcomes, children whose parents participated in MBSR were reported to have fewer behaviour problems following the intervention, specifically in the areas of attention problems and ADHD symptomatology. Results indicated that MBSR may be an effective intervention for ameliorating parental stress and mental health problems among parents of children with DD. Additionally, these benefits may 'spill over' and improve behaviour challenges among these children. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Stress and Coping with Stress in Adolescence

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Petra Dolenc

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Because of the many developmental changes in adolescence, young people are exposed to greater likelihood of experiencing stress. On the other hand, this period is critical for developing effective and constructive coping strategies. In the contribution, we summarize part of what is known about stress, stress responses and coping. Throughout, we focus on common stressful events among adolescents and emphasize the importance of dealing successfully with stressors in their daily lives. Finally, we highlight the most frequently used instruments to measure coping behaviour in youth and present an overview of the research findings on differences in coping among adolescents according to age and gender.

Are adult life history traits in oriental fruit moth affected by a mild pupal heat stress?

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Zheng, Jincheng; Cheng, Xiongbin; Hoffmann, Ary A; Zhang, Bo; Ma, Chun-Sen

2017-10-01

Thermal stress at one life stage can affect fitness at a later stage in ectotherms with complex life cycles. Most relevant studies have focused on extreme stress levels, but here we also show substantial fitness effects in a moth when pupae are exposed to a relatively mild and sublethal heat stress. We consider the impact of a 35°C heat stress of 2h in three geographically separate populations of the oriental fruit moth (OFM, Grapholita molesta) from northern, middle and southern China. Heat stress negatively affected fecundity but increased adult heat resistance and adult longevity. Fitness effects were mostly consistent across populations but there were also some population differences. In the Shenyang population from northern China, there was a hormetic effect of heat on female longevity not evident in the other populations. Adults from all populations had higher LT 50 s due to heat stress after pupal exposure to the sublethal stress. These results highlight that the pupal stage is a particularly sensitive window for development and they have implications for seasonal adaptation in uncertain environments as well as changes in pest dynamics under climate warming. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal creep and stress-affected precipitation of 20% cold-worked 316 stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puigh, R.J.; Lovell, A.J.; Garner, F.A.

1984-01-01

Measurements of the thermal creep of 20% cold-worked 316 stainless steel have been performed for temperatures from 593 to 760 0 C, stress levels as high as 138 MPa and exposure times as long as 15,000 hours. The creep strains exhibit a complex behavior arising from the combined action of true creep and stress-affected precipitation of intermetallic phases. The latter process is suspected to be altered by neutron irradiation. (orig.)

Developmental immunotoxicity testing of 4-methyl anisole.

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Tonk, Elisa C M; Verhoef, Aart; Gremmer, Eric R; van Loveren, Henk; Piersma, Aldert H

2015-07-01

The developmental immunotoxicity of 4-methyl anisole (4MA) was investigated in the rat. Four study designs were used, with either premating or post-weaning onset of exposure, continued to postnatal day 50, and with or without additional oral gavage of pups from postnatal day 10 onward. Reduced litter size (benchmark dose lower confidence limit (BMDL) 80mg/kg bw/day) was the most sensitive developmental parameter, with pup relative organ weight effects observed at similar BMDLs, in the absence of maternal toxicity. Eosinophil numbers were reduced at lower doses (BMDL 16mg/kg bw/day). KLH challenge resulted in increased IL-13 and TNF-α responses, and variably reduced IgG production (BMDL 27mg/kg bw/day). T4 levels were reduced by 11% at maximum with a BMDL of 73mg/kg bw/day. Differences between exposure cohorts were limited and were considered to be without biological significance. This study shows that 4MA induces developmental immunotoxicity at doses below those inducing developmental and general toxicity. These observations being independent of the study designs applied suggest that the post-weaning period, included in all designs, is the most relevant sensitive period for inducing 4MA mediated developmental immunotoxicity. Moreover, this study stresses the importance of including developmental immunotoxicity testing by default in regulatory toxicology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developmental Trajectory of Number Acuity Reveals a Severe Impairment in Developmental Dyscalculia

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Piazza, Manuela; Facoetti, Andrea; Trussardi, Anna Noemi; Berteletti, Ilaria; Conte, Stefano; Lucangeli, Daniela; Dehaene, Stanisalas; Zorzi, Marco

2010-01-01

Developmental dyscalculia is a learning disability that affects the acquisition of knowledge about numbers and arithmetic. It is widely assumed that numeracy is rooted on the "number sense", a core ability to grasp numerical quantities that humans share with other animals and deploy spontaneously at birth. To probe the links between number sense…

Modulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis by Early Life Stress Exposure

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van Bodegom, Miranda; Homberg, Judith R.; Henckens, Marloes J. A. G.

2017-01-01

Exposure to stress during critical periods in development can have severe long-term consequences, increasing overall risk on psychopathology. One of the key stress response systems mediating these long-term effects of stress is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis; a cascade of central and peripheral events resulting in the release of corticosteroids from the adrenal glands. Activation of the HPA-axis affects brain functioning to ensure a proper behavioral response to the stressor, but stress-induced (mal)adaptation of the HPA-axis' functional maturation may provide a mechanistic basis for the altered stress susceptibility later in life. Development of the HPA-axis and the brain regions involved in its regulation starts prenatally and continues after birth, and is protected by several mechanisms preventing corticosteroid over-exposure to the maturing brain. Nevertheless, early life stress (ELS) exposure has been reported to have numerous consequences on HPA-axis function in adulthood, affecting both its basal and stress-induced activity. According to the match/mismatch theory, encountering ELS prepares an organism for similar (“matching”) adversities during adulthood, while a mismatching environment results in an increased susceptibility to psychopathology, indicating that ELS can exert either beneficial or disadvantageous effects depending on the environmental context. Here, we review studies investigating the mechanistic underpinnings of the ELS-induced alterations in the structural and functional development of the HPA-axis and its key external regulators (amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex). The effects of ELS appear highly dependent on the developmental time window affected, the sex of the offspring, and the developmental stage at which effects are assessed. Albeit by distinct mechanisms, ELS induced by prenatal stressors, maternal separation, or the limited nesting model inducing fragmented maternal care, typically results in HPA

Developmental Programming, a Pathway to Disease

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Cardoso, Rodolfo C.; Puttabyatappa, Muraly

2016-01-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that insults occurring during the perinatal period alter the developmental trajectory of the fetus/offspring leading to long-term detrimental outcomes that often culminate in adult pathologies. These perinatal insults include maternal/fetal disease states, nutritional deficits/excess, stress, lifestyle choices, exposure to environmental chemicals, and medical interventions. In addition to reviewing the various insults that contribute to developmental programming and the benefits of animal models in addressing underlying mechanisms, this review focuses on the commonalities in disease outcomes stemming from various insults, the convergence of mechanistic pathways via which various insults can lead to common outcomes, and identifies the knowledge gaps in the field and future directions. PMID:26859334

An Examination of Factors Affecting Organizational Commitment of Developmental Math Faculty at Florida Community Colleges

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Austin-Hickey, Rachel

2013-01-01

Community colleges play an important role in the accessibility of higher education to the American population and developmental coursework is of vital importance to college degree attainment. The large demand for student remediation in math requires optimal commitment of developmental math faculty members. Increased organizational commitment has…

Prenatal stress alters progestogens to mediate susceptibility to sex-typical, stress-sensitive disorders, such as drug abuse: a review

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Cheryl A Frye

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Maternal-offspring interactions begin prior to birth. Experiences of the mother during gestation play a powerful role in determining the developmental programming of the central nervous system. In particular, stress during gestation alters developmental programming of the offspring resulting in susceptibility to sex-typical and stress-sensitive neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. However, neither these effects, nor the underlying mechanisms, are well understood. Our hypothesis is that allopregnanolone, during gestation, plays a particularly vital role in mitigating effects of stress on the developing fetus and may mediate, in part, alterations apparent throughout the lifespan. Specifically, altered balance between glucocorticoids and progestogens during critical periods of development (stemming from psychological, immunological, and/or endocrinological stressors during gestation may permanently influence behavior, brain morphology, and/or neuroendocrine-sensitive processes. 5α-reduced progestogens are integral in the developmental programming of sex-typical, stress-sensitive, and/or disorder-relevant phenotypes. Prenatal stress may alter these responses and dysregulate allopregnanolone and its normative effects on stress axis function. As an example of a neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric and/or neurodegenerative process, this review focuses on responsiveness to drugs of abuse, which is sensitive to prenatal stress and progestogen milieu. This review explores the notion that allopregnanolone may effect, or be influenced by, prenatal stress, with consequences for neurodevelopmental-, neuropsychiatric- and/or neurodegenerative- relevant processes, such as addiction.

Adolescent Suicidal Behavior and Substance Use: Developmental Mechanisms

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Donald M. Dougherty

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Adolescent suicidal behaviors and substance use are disturbingly common. Research suggests overlap of some of the etiological mechanisms for both adolescent suicidal behavior and substance use, yet clear understanding of the complex relations between these behaviors and their causal underpinnings is lacking. A growing body of evidence and a diathesis model (Mann et al. 1999; Mann, 2003 highlight the importance of impulse control as a proximal risk factor for adolescent suicidal and substance use behaviors. This literature review extends current theory on the relationships between adolescent suicidal behavior and substance use by: (1 examining how, when, and to what extent adolescent development is affected by poor impulse control, stressful life events, substance use behavior, and biological factors; (2 presenting proposed causal mechanisms by which these risk factors interact to increase risk for suicidal behaviors and substance use; and (3 proposing specific new hypotheses to extend the diathesis model to adolescents at risk for suicide and substance use. More specifically, new hypotheses are presented that predict bidirectional relationships between stressful life events and genetic markers of 5-HT dysregulation; substance use behavior and impulsivity; and substance use behavior and suicide attempts. The importance of distinguishing between different developmental trajectories of suicidal and substance use behaviors, and the effects of specific risk and protective mechanisms are discussed. Use of new statistical approaches that provide for the comparison of latent growth curves and latent class models is recommended to identify differences in developmental trajectories of suicidal behavior and substance use. Knowledge gained from these prospective longitudinal methods should lead to greater understanding on the timing, duration, and extent to which specific risk and protective factors influence the outcomes of suicidal behavior and substance

Stress response to cadmium and manganese in Paracentrotus lividus developing embryos is mediated by nitric oxide

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Migliaccio, Oriana; Castellano, Immacolata; Romano, Giovanna; Palumbo, Anna

2014-01-01

Highlights: • NO is produced in sea urchin embryos in response to cadmium and manganese. • Cadmium and manganese affect the expression of specific genes. • NO levels regulate directly or indirectly the expression of some metal-induced genes. • NO is proposed as a sensor of different stress agents in sea urchin embryos. - Abstract: Increasing concentrations of contaminants, often resulting from anthropogenic activities, have been reported to occur in the marine environment and affect marine organisms. Among these, the metal ions cadmium and manganese have been shown to induce developmental delay and abnormalities, mainly reflecting skeleton elongation perturbation, in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, an established model for toxicological studies. Here, we provide evidence that the physiological messenger nitric oxide (NO), formed by L-arginine oxidation by NO synthase (NOS), mediates the stress response induced by cadmium and manganese in sea urchins. When NO levels were lowered by inhibiting NOS, the proportion of abnormal plutei increased. Quantitative expression of a panel of 19 genes involved in stress response, skeletogenesis, detoxification and multidrug efflux processes was followed at different developmental stages and under different conditions: metals alone, metals in the presence of NOS inhibitor, NO donor and NOS inhibitor alone. These data allowed the identification of different classes of genes whose metal-induced transcriptional expression was directly or indirectly mediated by NO. These results open new perspectives on the role of NO as a sensor of different stress agents in sea urchin developing embryos

Stress response to cadmium and manganese in Paracentrotus lividus developing embryos is mediated by nitric oxide

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Migliaccio, Oriana; Castellano, Immacolata [Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples (Italy); Romano, Giovanna [Laboratory of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples (Italy); Palumbo, Anna, E-mail: anna.palumbo@szn.it [Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples (Italy)

2014-11-15

Highlights: • NO is produced in sea urchin embryos in response to cadmium and manganese. • Cadmium and manganese affect the expression of specific genes. • NO levels regulate directly or indirectly the expression of some metal-induced genes. • NO is proposed as a sensor of different stress agents in sea urchin embryos. - Abstract: Increasing concentrations of contaminants, often resulting from anthropogenic activities, have been reported to occur in the marine environment and affect marine organisms. Among these, the metal ions cadmium and manganese have been shown to induce developmental delay and abnormalities, mainly reflecting skeleton elongation perturbation, in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, an established model for toxicological studies. Here, we provide evidence that the physiological messenger nitric oxide (NO), formed by L-arginine oxidation by NO synthase (NOS), mediates the stress response induced by cadmium and manganese in sea urchins. When NO levels were lowered by inhibiting NOS, the proportion of abnormal plutei increased. Quantitative expression of a panel of 19 genes involved in stress response, skeletogenesis, detoxification and multidrug efflux processes was followed at different developmental stages and under different conditions: metals alone, metals in the presence of NOS inhibitor, NO donor and NOS inhibitor alone. These data allowed the identification of different classes of genes whose metal-induced transcriptional expression was directly or indirectly mediated by NO. These results open new perspectives on the role of NO as a sensor of different stress agents in sea urchin developing embryos.

Developmental toxicity of engineered nanomaterials in rodents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ema, Makoto, E-mail: ema-makoto@aist.go.jp; Gamo, Masashi; Honda, Kazumasa

2016-05-15

reported after exposure to ENMs. • Physico-chemical properties of ENMs are determinants of the developmental toxicity. • Oxidative stress/inflammation may be involved in the developmental toxicity of ENMs. • Further developmental toxicity studies of ENMs are needed to fill a data gap.

    Developmental acclimation affects clinal variation in stress resistance traits in Drosophila buzzatii

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sarup, Pernille Merete; Loeschcke, Volker

2010-01-01

  Patterns of clinal genetic variation in Drosophila are often characterized after rearing at constant temperatures. However, clinal patterns might change after acclimation if populations differ in their plastic response to fluctuating environments. We studied longevity, starvation and heat knock...... temperatures, especially in heat knock-down, for which clinal patterns disappeared when flies were reared at constant temperatures. This result emphasises the importance of determining whether populations originating from different environments differ in their plastic responses to stress....

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, STRESSFUL EVENTS AND NEGATIVE AFFECT AT WORK - A MICROANALYTIC APPROACH

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PEETERS, MCW; BUUNK, BP; SCHAUFELI, WB

1995-01-01

In the present study a daily event-recording method, the DIRO (Daily Interaction Record in Organizations), was employed for assessing social interactions, stressful events and negative affect at work. Forty-one secretaries filled out the records during the course of a week. This made it possible to

Developmental Trajectory for Production of Prosody: Lexical Stress Contrastivity in Children Ages 3 to 7 Years and in Adults

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Ballard, Kirrie J.; Djaja, Danica; Arciuli, Joanne; James, Deborah G. H.; van Doorn, Jan

2012-01-01

Purpose: Accurate production of lexical stress within English polysyllabic words is critical for intelligibility and is affected in many speech-language disorders. However, models of speech production remain underspecified with regard to lexical stress. In this study, the authors report a large-scale acoustic investigation of lexical stress…

Relationships of Personality, Affect, Emotional Intelligence and Coping with Student Stress and Academic Success: Different Patterns of Association for Stress and Success

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Saklofske, Donald H.; Austin, Elizabeth J.; Mastoras, Sarah M.; Beaton, Laura; Osborne, Shona E.

2012-01-01

The associations of personality, affect, trait emotional intelligence (EI) and coping style measured at the start of the academic year with later academic performance were examined in a group of undergraduate students at the University of Edinburgh. The associations of the dispositional and affect measures with concurrent stress and life…

Developmental trajectories of brain maturation and behavior: Relevance to major mental illnesses

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Sedona Lockhart

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Adverse events in childhood and adolescence, such as social neglect or drug abuse, are known to lead to behavioral changes in young adulthood. This is particularly true for the subset of people who are intrinsically more vulnerable to stressful conditions. Yet the underlying mechanisms for such developmental trajectory from early life insult to aberrant adult behavior remains elusive. Adolescence is a period of dynamic physiological, psychological, and behavioral changes, encompassing a distinct neurodevelopmental stage called the ‘critical period’. During adolescence, the brain is uniquely susceptible to stress. Stress mediators may lead to disturbances to biological processes that can cause permanent alterations in the adult stage, even as severe as the onset of mental illness when paired with genetic risk and environmental factors. Understanding the molecular factors governing the critical period and how stress can disturb the maturation processes will allow for better treatment and prevention of late adolescent/young adult onset psychiatric disorders. Keywords: Adolescence, Critical period, Developmental trajectory, Brain maturation, Adult behavior

Distinct Trajectories of Cortisol Response to Prolonged Acute Stress Are Linked to Affective Responses and Hippocampal Gray Matter Volume in Healthy Females.

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Admon, Roee; Treadway, Michael T; Valeri, Linda; Mehta, Malavika; Douglas, Samuel; Pizzagalli, Diego A

2017-08-16

The development of robust laboratory procedures for acute stress induction over the last decades has greatly advanced our understanding of stress responses in humans and their underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Nevertheless, attempts to uncover linear relationships among endocrine, neural, and affective responses to stress have generally yielded inconsistent results. Here, 79 healthy females completed a well established laboratory procedure of acute stress induction that was modified to prolong its effect. Endocrinological and subjective affect assessments revealed stress-induced increases in cortisol release and negative affect that persisted 65 and 100 min after stress onset, respectively, confirming a relatively prolonged acute stress induction. Applying latent class linear mixed modeling on individuals' patterns of cortisol responses identified three distinct trajectories of cortisol response: the hyper-response ( n = 10), moderate-response ( n = 21), and mild-response ( n = 48) groups. Notably, whereas all three groups exhibited a significant stress-induced increase in cortisol release and negative affect, the hyper-response and mild-response groups both reported more negative affect relative to the moderate-response group. Structural MRI revealed no group differences in hippocampal and amygdala volumes, yet a continuous measure of cortisol response (area under the curve) showed that high and low levels of stress-induced cortisol release were associated with less hippocampal gray matter volume compared with moderate cortisol release. Together, these results suggest that distinct trajectories of cortisol response to prolonged acute stress among healthy females may not be captured by conventional linear analyses; instead, quadratic relations may better describe links between cortisol response to stress and affective responses, as well as hippocampal structural variability. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Despite substantial research, it is unclear whether and how

Relationship between obesity, negative affect and basal heart rate in predicting heart rate reactivity to psychological stress among adolescents.

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Park, Andres E; Huynh, Pauline; Schell, Anne M; Baker, Laura A

2015-08-01

Reduced cardiovascular responses to psychological stressors have been found to be associated with both obesity and negative affect in adults, but have been less well studied in children and adolescent populations. These findings have most often been interpreted as reflecting reduced sympathetic nervous system response, perhaps associated with heightened baseline sympathetic activation among the obese and those manifesting negative affect. However, obesity and negative affect may themselves be correlated, raising the question of whether they both independently affect cardiovascular reactivity. The present study thus examined the separate effects of obesity and negative affect on both cardiovascular and skin conductance responses to stress (e.g., during a serial subtraction math task) in adolescents, while controlling for baseline levels of autonomic activity during rest. Both obesity and negative affect had independent and negative associations with cardiovascular reactivity, such that reduced stress responses were apparent for obese adolescents and those with high levels of negative affect. In contrast, neither obesity nor negative affect was related to skin conductance responses to stress, implicating specifically noradrenergic mechanisms rather than sympathetic mechanisms generally as being deficient. Moreover, baseline heart rate was unrelated to obesity in this sample, which suggests that heightened baseline of sympathetic activity is not necessary for the reduced cardiovascular reactivity to stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Differences in adjustment by child developmental stage among caregivers of children with disorders of sex development

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Hullmann Stephanie E

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The current study sought to compare levels of overprotection and parenting stress reported by caregivers of children with disorders of sex development at four different developmental stages. Methods Caregivers (N = 59 of children with disorders of sex development were recruited from specialty clinics and were asked to complete the Parent Protection Scale and Parenting Stress Index/Short Form as measures of overprotective behaviors and parenting stress, respectively. Results Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs were conducted to examine differences between caregiver report of overprotection and parenting stress. Results revealed that caregivers of infants and toddlers exhibited more overprotective behaviors than caregivers of children in the other age groups. Further, caregivers of adolescents experienced significantly more parenting stress than caregivers of school-age children, and this effect was driven by personal distress and problematic parent-child interactions, rather than having a difficult child. Conclusions These results suggest that caregivers of children with disorders of sex development may have different psychosocial needs based upon their child's developmental stage and based upon the disorder-related challenges that are most salient at that developmental stage.

Dispositional Affect Moderates the Stress-Buffering Effect of Social Support on Risk for Developing the Common Cold.

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Janicki Deverts, Denise; Cohen, Sheldon; Doyle, William J

2017-10-01

The aim was to examine whether trait positive and negative affect (PA, NA) moderate the stress-buffering effect of perceived social support on risk for developing a cold subsequent to being exposed to a virus that causes mild upper respiratory illness. Analyses were based on archival data from 694 healthy adults (M age  = 31.0 years, SD = 10.7 years; 49.0% female; 64.6% Caucasian). Perceived social support and perceived stress were assessed by self-report questionnaire and trait affect by aggregating responses to daily mood items administered by telephone interview across several days. Subsequently, participants were exposed to a virus that causes the common cold and monitored for 5 days for clinical illness (infection + objective signs of illness). Two 3-way interactions emerged-Support × Stress × PA and Support × Stress × NA. The nature of these effects was such that among persons with high trait PA or low trait NA, greater social support attenuated the risk of developing a cold when under high but not low perceived stress; this stress-buffering effect did not emerge among persons with low trait PA or high trait NA. Dispositional affect might be used to identify individuals who may be most responsive to social support and support-based interventions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Protein turnover and cellular stress in mildly and severely affected muscles from patients with limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I.

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Simon Hauerslev

Full Text Available Patients with Limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I (LGMD2I are characterized by progressive muscle weakness and wasting primarily in the proximal muscles, while distal muscles often are spared. Our aim was to investigate if wasting could be caused by impaired regeneration in the proximal compared to distal muscles. Biopsies were simultaneously obtained from proximal and distal muscles of the same patients with LGMD2I (n = 4 and healthy subjects (n = 4. The level of past muscle regeneration was evaluated by counting internally nucleated fibers and determining actively regenerating fibers by using the developmental markers embryonic myosin heavy chain (eMHC and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM and also assessing satellite cell activation status by myogenin positivity. Severe muscle histopathology was occasionally observed in the proximal muscles of patients with LGMD2I whereas distal muscles were always relatively spared. No difference was found in the regeneration markers internally nucleated fibers, actively regenerating fibers or activation status of satellite cells between proximal and distal muscles. Protein turnover, both synthesis and breakdown, as well as cellular stress were highly increased in severely affected muscles compared to mildly affected muscles. Our results indicate that alterations in the protein turnover and myostatin levels could progressively impair the muscle mass maintenance and/or regeneration resulting in gradual muscular atrophy.

Changes in gravitational force affect gene expression in developing organ systems at different developmental times

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Moorman Stephen J

2005-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about the affect of microgravity on gene expression, particularly in vivo during embryonic development. Using transgenic zebrafish that express the gfp gene under the influence of a β-actin promoter, we examined the affect of simulated-microgravity on GFP expression in the heart, notochord, eye, somites, and rohon beard neurons. We exposed transgenic zebrafish to simulated-microgravity for different durations at a variety of developmental times in an attempt to determine periods of susceptibility for the different developing organ systems. Results The developing heart had a period of maximum susceptibility between 32 and 56 hours after fertilization when there was an approximately 30% increase in gene expression. The notochord, eye, somites, and rohon beard neurons all showed periods of susceptibility occurring between 24 and 72 hours after fertilization. In addition, the notochord showed a second period of susceptibility between 8 and 32 hours after fertilization. Interestingly, all organs appeared to be recovering by 80 hours after fertilization despite continued exposure to simulated-microgravity. Conclusion These results support the idea that exposure to microgravity can cause changes in gene expression in a variety of developing organ systems in live embryos and that there are periods of maximum susceptibility to the effects.

Negative affect mediates effects of psychological stress on disordered eating in young Chinese women.

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Chen, Jue; Wang, Zhen; Guo, Boliang; Arcelus, Jon; Zhang, Haiyin; Jia, Xiuzhen; Xu, Yong; Qiu, Jianyin; Xiao, Zeping; Yang, Min

2012-01-01

The bi-relationships between psychological stress, negative affect and disordered eating has been well studied in western culture, while tri-relationship among them, i.e. how some of those factors influence these bi-relationships, has rarely been studied. However, there has been little related study in the different Chinese culture. This study was conducted to investigate the bi-relationships and tri-relationship between psychological stress, negative affect, and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in young Chinese women. A total of 245 young Chinese policewomen employed to carry out health and safety checks at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo were recruited in this study. The Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Beck Depression Inventory Revised (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) were administered to all participants. The total scores of PSS-10, BDI-II and BAI were all highly correlated with that of EAT-26. The PSS-10 score significantly correlated with both BDI-II and BAI scores. There was no statistically significant direct effect from perceived stress to disordered eating (-0.012, 95%CI: -.038~0.006, p=0.357), however, the indirect effects from PSS-10 via affect factors were statistically significant, e.g. the estimated mediation effects from PSS to EAT-26 via depression and anxiety were 0.036 (95%CI: 0.022~0.044, peffective interventions and preventative programmes for disordered eating should pay more attention to depression and anxiety among the young Chinese female population.

Consequences of inbreeding and reduced genetic variation on tolerance to cadmium stress in the midge Chironomus riparius

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowak, Carsten; Jost, Daniel; Vogt, Christian; Oetken, Matthias; Schwenk, Klaus; Oehlmann, Joerg

2007-01-01

Inbreeding and loss of genetic variation are considered to be major threats to small and endangered populations. The reduction of fitness due to inbreeding is believed to be more severe under stressful environmental conditions. We generated nine strains of the ecotoxicological model organism Chironomus riparius of different inbreeding levels in order to test the hypothesis that the inbreeding level and thus the degree of genome-wide homozygosity influences the life-history under cadmium exposure. Therefore, midge populations were exposed to a gradient of sediment-bound cadmium. The level of genetic variation in the used strains was assessed using microsatellite markers. In the life-cycle tests, inbreeding reduced fitness within C. riparius populations both under control and stressed conditions. However, differences between genetically diverse and impoverished strains were greatest at high cadmium exposure. Overall, inbreeding effects were not only dependent on cadmium concentrations in the sediment, but also on the life-history trait investigated. While some parameters where only affected by inbreeding, others were altered by both, inbreeding and cadmium. For the larval developmental time, a significant interaction was found between inbreeding and cadmium stress. While all strains showed a similar developmental time under control conditions, high rates of inbreeding led to a significantly delayed emergence time under high cadmium concentrations, resulting in longer generation periods and reduced population growth rates as population-relevant effects. The results show, that bioassays with C. riparius are affected by the level of inbreeding within Chironomus test strains. Pollution stress is therefore likely to affect the survival of rare and endangered populations more severe than that of large and genetically diverse ones

MATERNAL TRAUMA AFFECTS PRENATAL MENTAL HEALTH AND INFANT STRESS REGULATION AMONG PALESTINIAN DYADS.

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Isosävi, Sanna; Diab, Safwat Y; Kangaslampi, Samuli; Qouta, Samir; Kankaanpää, Saija; Puura, Kaija; Punamäki, Raija-Leena

2017-09-01

We examined how diverse and cumulated traumatic experiences predicted maternal prenatal mental health and infant stress regulation in war conditions and whether maternal mental health mediated the association between trauma and infant stress regulation. Participants were 511 Palestinian mothers from the Gaza Strip who reported exposure to current war trauma (WT), past childhood emotional (CEA) and physical abuse, socioeconomic status (SES), prenatal mental health problems (posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms), and perceived stress during their secondtrimester of pregnancy as well as infant stress regulation at 4 months. While all trauma types were associated with high levels of prenatal symptoms, CEA had the most wide-ranging effects and was uniquely associated with depression symptoms. Concerning infant stress regulation, mothers' CEA predicted negative affectivity, but only among mothers with low WT. Against hypothesis, the effects of maternal trauma on infant stress regulation were not mediated by mental health symptoms. Mothers' higher SES was associated with better infant stress regulation whereas infant prematurity and male sex predisposed for difficulties. Our findings suggest that maternal childhood abuse, especially CEA, should be a central treatment target among war-exposed families. Cumulated psychosocial stressors might increase the risk for transgenerational problems. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Recent Developments in the Study of Social Relationships, Stress Responses, and Physical Health

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Hostinar, Camelia E.

2015-01-01

This selective review aims to highlight some of the most recent empirical or theoretical advancements in the study of social relationships as buffers against stress and as protective factors against risk for disease, focusing on articles published between 2013 and 2015. The review summarizes novel findings showing that social relationships can protect individuals against negative health outcomes associated with chronic adversity and can be associated with reduced cumulative physiological damage (allostatic load). There is also evidence that some relationships can be a source of stress. Additionally, recent findings concerning the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of action for social support, the developmental patterning of social stress-buffering and recent experimental studies attempting to change relationships to affect health are also reviewed. PMID:26366429

A NAC transcription factor gene of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum), CarNAC3, is involved in drought stress response and various developmental processes.

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Peng, Hui; Cheng, Hui-Ying; Chen, Chen; Yu, Xin-Wang; Yang, Jia-Ni; Gao, Wen-Rui; Shi, Qing-Hua; Zhang, Hua; Li, Jian-Gui; Ma, Hao

2009-11-15

NAC transcription factors have been found to play important roles in plant development and responses to environmental stresses. Based on two cDNA libraries constructed from the PEG-treated and -nontreated seedling leaves of chickpea, a NAC gene, CarNAC3, was isolated and characterized. The results indicated that CarNAC3 contained 285 amino acids and had a conserved NAC domain. It was localized in the nucleus and possessed trans-activation activity in the C-terminus. Phylogenetic analysis showed that CarNAC3 belonged to the NAP (NAC-like, activated by APETALA3/PISTILLATA) subgroup of the NAC protein family. CarNAC3 exhibited organ-specific expression and its induction was strongly dependent on leaf age. CarNAC3 showed differential expression patterns during seed development and germination, and could be significantly induced by drought stress, abscisic acid (ABA), ethephon (Et) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), but was inhibited by N-6-benzyl-adenine (6-BA). Our data suggest that CarNAC3 may be a transcriptional activator involved in drought stress response and various developmental processes.

Developmental biology in marine invertebrate symbioses.

Science.gov (United States)

McFall-Ngai, M J; Ruby, E G

2000-12-01

Associations between marine invertebrates and their cooperative bacterial symbionts offer access to an understanding of the roots of host-microbe interaction; for example, several symbioses like the squid-vibrio light organ association serve as models for investigating how each partner affects the developmental biology of the other. Previous results have identified a program of specific developmental events that unfolds as the association is initiated. In the past year, published studies have focused primarily on describing the mechanisms underlying the signaling processes that occur between the juvenile squid and the luminous bacteria that colonize it.

Developmental perspectives on personality: implications for ecological and evolutionary studies of individual differences.

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Stamps, Judy A; Groothuis, Ton G G

2010-12-27

Developmental processes can have major impacts on the correlations in behaviour across contexts (contextual generality) and across time (temporal consistency) that are the hallmarks of animal personality. Personality can and does change: at any given age or life stage it is contingent upon a wide range of experiential factors that occurred earlier in life, from prior to conception through adulthood. We show how developmental reaction norms that describe the effects of prior experience on a given behaviour can be used to determine whether the effects of a given experience at a given age will affect contextual generality at a later age, and to illustrate how variation within individuals in developmental plasticity leads to variation in contextual generality across individuals as a function of experience. We also show why niche-picking and niche-construction, behavioural processes which allow individuals to affect their own developmental environment, can affect the contextual generality and the temporal consistency of personality. We conclude by discussing how an appreciation of developmental processes can alert behavioural ecologists studying animal personality to critical, untested assumptions that underlie their own research programmes, and outline situations in which a developmental perspective can improve studies of the functional significance and evolution of animal personality.

Do the emotional states of pregnant women affect neonatal behaviour?

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández-Martínez, Carmen; Arija, Victoria; Balaguer, Albert; Cavallé, Pere; Canals, Josefa

2008-11-01

The emotional states of pregnant women affect the course of their pregnancies, their deliveries and the behaviour and development of their infants. The aim of this study is to analyse the influence of positive and negative maternal emotional states on neonatal behaviour at 2-3 days after birth. A sample of 163 healthy full-term newborns was evaluated using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. Maternal anxiety, perceived stress, and emotional stability during pregnancy were evaluated in the immediate postpartum period with the State Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Perceived Stress Scale. Moderate levels of anxiety during pregnancy alter infant orientation and self-regulation. These aspects of infant behaviour could lead to later attachment, behavioural and developmental problems. Maternal emotional stability during pregnancy improves infant self-regulation and several aspects of infant behaviour that may predispose them to better interactions with their parents.

Adolescent social defeat induced alterations in anxious behavior and cognitive flexibility in adult mice: effects of developmental stage and social condition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Zhang

2016-07-01

affected by the developmental stage and social condition. EA may comprise a particularly sensitive developmental period in which social defeat may produce a delayed impairment in cognitive flexibility during adulthood, and the social condition following stress appears to play an important intermediary role in the development of these cognitive deficits.

Protein and carbohydrate composition of larval food affects tolerance tothermal stress and desiccation in adult Drosophila melanogaster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Laila H; Kristensen, Torsten N; Loeschcke, Volker

2010-01-01

stress compared to males. Egg production was highest in females that had developed on the protein-enriched medium. However, there was a sex-specific effect of nutrition on egg-to-adult viability, with higher viability for males developing on the sucrose-enriched medium, while female survival was highest......Larval nutrition may affect a range of different life history traits as well as responses to environmental stress in adult insects. Here we test whether raising larvae of fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, on two different nutritional regimes affects resistance to cold, heat and desiccation....... In contrast, flies developed on the carbohydrate-enriched growth medium recovered faster from chill coma stress compared to flies developed on a protein-enriched medium. We also found gender differences in stress tolerance, with female flies being more tolerant to chill coma, heat knockdown and desiccation...

The Relationship between Social Affect and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors Measured on the ADOS-2 and Maternal Stress

Science.gov (United States)

Schutte, Claire; Richardson, Wendy; Devlin, Morgan; Hill, Jeanna; Ghossainy, Maliki; Hewitson, Laura

2018-01-01

This study investigated categories of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms measured by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition and their association with maternal stress. Social affect and restricted and repetitive behaviors were compared with levels of maternal stress, measured by the Parenting Stress Index, in 102 children…

Developmental Transition of Motherhood: Treating Postpartum Depression Using a Feminist Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Davis-Gage, Darcie; Kettmann, Julie Jenks; Moel, Joy

2010-01-01

During the developmental lifeline for women, some individuals are affected by postpartum depression. This article describes the treatment of a Latina woman experiencing postpartum depression. The authors illustrate the feminist approach using counseling interventions that incorporate the client's developmental level, cultural background, and…

Specific microRNAs Regulate Heat Stress Responses in Caenorhabditis elegans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nehammer, Camilla; Podolska, Agnieszka; Mackowiak, Sebastian D

2015-01-01

have identified additional functions for already known players (mir-71 and mir-239) as well as identifying mir-80 and the mir-229 mir-64-66 cluster as important regulators of the heat stress response in C. elegans. These findings uncover an additional layer of complexity to the regulation of stress...... to heat stress in Caenorhabditis elegans and show that a discrete subset of miRNAs is thermoregulated. Using in-depth phenotypic analyses of miRNA deletion mutant strains we reveal multiple developmental and post-developmental survival and behavioral functions for specific miRNAs during heat stress. We...

Planning for School Transition: An Ecological-Developmental Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Diamond, Karen E.; And Others

1988-01-01

The paper describes an ecological-developmental model for planning a child's transition from a preschool special education program to a public school classroom. The model stresses interactions between the various environments in which the child functions. A description of a preschool transition program based on the model is also included.…

Developmental toxicity and oxidative stress induced by gamma irradiation in zebrafish embryos.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Miao; Hu, Nan; Ding, Dexin; Zhao, Weichao; Feng, Yongfu; Zhang, Hui; Li, Guangyue; Wang, Yongdong

2016-11-01

This study aimed to evaluate the biological effects of gamma irradiation on zebrafish embryos. Different doses of gamma rays (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 Gy) were used to irradiate zebrafish embryos at three developmental stages (stage 1, 6 h post-fertilization (hpf); stage 2, 12 hpf; stage three, 24 hpf), respectively. The survival, malformation and hatching rates of the zebrafish embryos were measured at the morphological endpoint of 96 hpf. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were assayed. Morphology analysis showed that gamma irradiation inhibited hatching and induced developmental toxicity in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, after irradiation the malformation rate changed not only in a dose-dependent manner but also in a developmental stage-dependent manner, indicating that the zebrafish embryos at stage 1 were more sensitive to gamma rays than those at other stages. Biochemical analysis showed that gamma irradiation modulated the activities of antioxidant enzymes in a dose-dependent manner. A linear relationship was found between GPx activity and irradiation dose in 0.1-1 Gy group, and GPx was a suitable biomarker for gamma irradiation in the dose range from 0.1 to 1 Gy. Furthermore, the activities of SOD, CAT, GR and GPx of the zebrafish embryos at stage 3 were found to be much higher than those at other stages, indicating that the zebrafish embryos at stage 3 had a greater ability to protect against gamma rays than those at other stages, and thus the activities of antioxidant enzymes changed in a developmental stage-dependent manner.

Developmental toxicity and oxidative stress induced by gamma irradiation in zebrafish embryos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Miao; Hu, Nan; Ding, Dexin; Zhao, Weichao; Feng, Yongfu; Zhang, Hui; Li, Guangyue; Wang, Yongdong

2016-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate the biological effects of gamma irradiation on zebrafish embryos. Different doses of gamma rays (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 Gy) were used to irradiate zebrafish embryos at three developmental stages (stage 1, 6 h post-fertilization (hpf); stage 2, 12 hpf; stage three, 24 hpf), respectively. The survival, malformation and hatching rates of the zebrafish embryos were measured at the morphological endpoint of 96 hpf. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were assayed. Morphology analysis showed that gamma irradiation inhibited hatching and induced developmental toxicity in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, after irradiation the malformation rate changed not only in a dose-dependent manner but also in a developmental stage-dependent manner, indicating that the zebrafish embryos at stage 1 were more sensitive to gamma rays than those at other stages. Biochemical analysis showed that gamma irradiation modulated the activities of antioxidant enzymes in a dose-dependent manner. A linear relationship was found between GPx activity and irradiation dose in 0.1-1 Gy group, and GPx was a suitable biomarker for gamma irradiation in the dose range from 0.1 to 1 Gy. Furthermore, the activities of SOD, CAT, GR and GPx of the zebrafish embryos at stage 3 were found to be much higher than those at other stages, indicating that the zebrafish embryos at stage 3 had a greater ability to protect against gamma rays than those at other stages, and thus the activities of antioxidant enzymes changed in a developmental stage-dependent manner. (orig.)

Developmental toxicity and oxidative stress induced by gamma irradiation in zebrafish embryos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Miao; Hu, Nan; Ding, Dexin; Zhao, Weichao; Feng, Yongfu; Zhang, Hui; Li, Guangyue; Wang, Yongdong [University of South China, Key Discipline Laboratory for National Defense for Biotechnology in Uranium Mining and Hydrometallurgy, Hengyang, Hunan Province (China)

2016-11-15

This study aimed to evaluate the biological effects of gamma irradiation on zebrafish embryos. Different doses of gamma rays (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 Gy) were used to irradiate zebrafish embryos at three developmental stages (stage 1, 6 h post-fertilization (hpf); stage 2, 12 hpf; stage three, 24 hpf), respectively. The survival, malformation and hatching rates of the zebrafish embryos were measured at the morphological endpoint of 96 hpf. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were assayed. Morphology analysis showed that gamma irradiation inhibited hatching and induced developmental toxicity in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, after irradiation the malformation rate changed not only in a dose-dependent manner but also in a developmental stage-dependent manner, indicating that the zebrafish embryos at stage 1 were more sensitive to gamma rays than those at other stages. Biochemical analysis showed that gamma irradiation modulated the activities of antioxidant enzymes in a dose-dependent manner. A linear relationship was found between GPx activity and irradiation dose in 0.1-1 Gy group, and GPx was a suitable biomarker for gamma irradiation in the dose range from 0.1 to 1 Gy. Furthermore, the activities of SOD, CAT, GR and GPx of the zebrafish embryos at stage 3 were found to be much higher than those at other stages, indicating that the zebrafish embryos at stage 3 had a greater ability to protect against gamma rays than those at other stages, and thus the activities of antioxidant enzymes changed in a developmental stage-dependent manner. (orig.)

How does context affect intimate relationships? linking external stress and cognitive processes within marriage.

Science.gov (United States)

Neff, Lisa A; Karney, Benjamin R

2004-02-01

Stressors external to the marriage frequently affect the way spouses evaluate their marital quality. To date, however, understanding of the interplay between external stress and internal relationship processes has been limited in two ways. First, research has generally examined only the short-term consequences of stress. Second, the mechanisms through which external stressors influence relationship outcomes are unclear. This study addressed both limitations by examining relationship cognitions that may mediate the effects of external stress throughout 4 years of marriage. Analyses confirmed that stressful experiences were associated with the trajectory of marital quality overtime. Furthermore, both the content and the organization of spouses' specific relationship cognitions mediated this effect. That is, stress negatively influenced the nature of spouses' marital perceptions as well as the way spouses interpreted and processed those perceptions. These findings draw attention to ways that the context of relationships shapes and constrains relationship processes.

DEVELOPMENTAL STABILITY AND CYTOGENETIC HOMEOSTASIS OF FISH FAUNA OF THE SLUCH RIVER IN CURRENT CONDITIONS OF ANTHROPOGENIC STRESS

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O. Bedunkova

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To assess the developmental stability and cytogenetic homeostasis of fish populations in the Sluch River in the watercourse areas subjected to anthropogenic stress of different intensities. Methodology. Studies of fish populations in the Sluch River were carried out within Berezne district of Rivne region. The condition of individual fish in the populations were evaluated integrally using morphological (evaluation of the stability of development based on the level of fluctuating asymmetry (FA and cytogenetic (micronucleus (MN test of peripheral blood erythrocytes of fish methods. The methods used allowed identifying the destabilization level of organism development, even in the cases when there is no direct disturbance of population homeostasis. Findings. The found FA levels reflect minor (initial deviations from the normal developmental processes of fish populations in in the studied watercourse areas. Especially significantly this is reflected in a high proportion of individuals with FA in the samples of roach (Rutilus rutilus, bleak (Alburnus alburnus, bream (Abramis brama and perch (Perca fluviatilis. An excess in the frequency of MN erythrocyte cells in roach and pike (Esox lucius blood relatively the level of spontaneous mutagenesis was observed in the cross section №2, which is exposed to sewage waters. The observed manifestation of degenerative processes in fish organisms at this stage can be evaluated as an increased reactivity of sensitive species to the presence of mutagenic agents in the composition of river pollution. The functioning of spawning populations gives reason to believe that the current level of human impact is not critical for the hydroecosystem. Originality. For the first time we obtained data on the stability of development and cytogenetic homeostasis of fish populations in the hydroecosystem of Rivne region in current conditions of anthropogenic stress. Practical value. The obtained results can be used for

Residual Stress Distribution In Heat Affected Zone Of Welded Steel By Means Of Neutron Diffraction Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fajar, Andika; Prasuad; Gunawan; Muslich, M. Rifai

1996-01-01

Three dimensional residual stress distribution in the heat affected zone of 10 mm thick welded steel by means of neutron diffraction technique has been measured. The results showed that the residual stress was distributed near the welded metal, namely within about 46,25 mm. The major tensile stresses occurred in the X-direction, and they attained a level greater than 2000 MPa through the position far away fram the weld. The tensile stresses in the Y and Z- directions lied between 500 and 1500 MPa, The results also suggest that the stress in the surface was greater than that in the middle of the sample

Developmental programming: the concept, large animal models, and the key role of uteroplacental vascular development.

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, L P; Borowicz, P P; Caton, J S; Vonnahme, K A; Luther, J S; Hammer, C J; Maddock Carlin, K R; Grazul-Bilska, A T; Redmer, D A

2010-04-01

Developmental programming refers to the programming of various bodily systems and processes by a stressor of the maternal system during pregnancy or during the neonatal period. Such stressors include nutritional stress, multiple pregnancy (i.e., increased numbers of fetuses in the gravid uterus), environmental stress (e.g., high environmental temperature, high altitude, prenatal steroid exposure), gynecological immaturity, and maternal or fetal genotype. Programming refers to impaired function of numerous bodily systems or processes, leading to poor growth, altered body composition, metabolic dysfunction, and poor productivity (e.g., poor growth, reproductive dysfunction) of the offspring throughout their lifespan and even across generations. A key component of developmental programming seems to be placental dysfunction, leading to altered fetal growth and development. We discuss various large animal models of developmental programming and how they have and will continue to contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying altered placental function and developmental programming, and, further, how large animal models also will be critical to the identification and application of therapeutic strategies that will alleviate the negative consequences of developmental programming to improve offspring performance in livestock production and human medicine.

Is stress affecting our ability to tune into others? Evidence for gender differences in the effects of stress on self-other distinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomova, L; von Dawans, B; Heinrichs, M; Silani, G; Lamm, C

2014-05-01

Stress is a ubiquitous challenge in society as we consistently interact with others under the influence of stress. Distinguishing self- from other-related mental representations plays an important role for social interactions, and is a prerequisite for crucial social skills such as action understanding, empathy, and mentalizing. Little is known, however, about the effects of stress on self-other distinction. We assessed how acute stress impacts self-other distinction in the perceptual-motor, the affective, and the cognitive domain, in a male and female sample. In all domains, the results show opposing effects of stress on the two genders: while women showed increases in self-other distinction, men showed decreases. Our findings suggest that women flexibly disambiguate self and other under stress, enabling accurate social responses, while men respond with increased egocentricity and less adaptive regulation. This has crucial implications for explaining gender differences in social skills such as empathy and prosociality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The combined effects of developmental lead and ethanol exposure on hippocampus dependent spatial learning and memory in rats: Role of oxidative stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Soleimani, Elham; Goudarzi, Iran; Abrari, Kataneh; Lashkarbolouki, Taghi

2016-10-01

Either developmental lead or ethanol exposure can impair learning and memory via induction of oxidative stress, which results in neuronal damage. we examined the effect of combined exposure with lead and ethanol on spatial learning and memory in offspring and oxidative stress in hippocampus. Rats were exposed to lead (0.2% in drinking water) or ethanol (4 g/kg) either individually or in combination in 5th day gestation through weaning. On postnatal days (PD) 30, rats were trained with six trials per day for 6 consecutive days in the water maze. On day 37, a probe test was done. Also, oxidative stress markers in the hippocampus were also evaluated. Results demonstrated that lead + ethanol co-exposed rats exhibited higher escape latency during training trials and reduced time spent in target quadrant, higher escape location latency and average proximity in probe trial test. There was significant decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in hippocampus of animals co-exposed to lead and ethanol compared with their individual exposures. We suggest that maternal consumption of ethanol during lead exposure has pronounced detrimental effects on memory, which may be mediated by oxidative stress. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Trisomy 21 and facial developmental instability.

Science.gov (United States)

Starbuck, John M; Cole, Theodore M; Reeves, Roger H; Richtsmeier, Joan T

2013-05-01

The most common live-born human aneuploidy is trisomy 21, which causes Down syndrome (DS). Dosage imbalance of genes on chromosome 21 (Hsa21) affects complex gene-regulatory interactions and alters development to produce a wide range of phenotypes, including characteristic facial dysmorphology. Little is known about how trisomy 21 alters craniofacial morphogenesis to create this characteristic appearance. Proponents of the "amplified developmental instability" hypothesis argue that trisomy 21 causes a generalized genetic imbalance that disrupts evolutionarily conserved developmental pathways by decreasing developmental homeostasis and precision throughout development. Based on this model, we test the hypothesis that DS faces exhibit increased developmental instability relative to euploid individuals. Developmental instability was assessed by a statistical analysis of fluctuating asymmetry. We compared the magnitude and patterns of fluctuating asymmetry among siblings using three-dimensional coordinate locations of 20 anatomic landmarks collected from facial surface reconstructions in four age-matched samples ranging from 4 to 12 years: (1) DS individuals (n = 55); (2) biological siblings of DS individuals (n = 55); 3) and 4) two samples of typically developing individuals (n = 55 for each sample), who are euploid siblings and age-matched to the DS individuals and their euploid siblings (samples 1 and 2). Identification in the DS sample of facial prominences exhibiting increased fluctuating asymmetry during facial morphogenesis provides evidence for increased developmental instability in DS faces. We found the highest developmental instability in facial structures derived from the mandibular prominence and lowest in facial regions derived from the frontal prominence. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Stress and Burnout among Health-Care Staff Working with People Affected by HIV.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, David

1995-01-01

The nature, causes, consequences, and symptoms of stress and burnout among health-care staff working with people affected by HIV are identified. The extent to which these characteristics are specific to HIV/AIDS workers is discussed. Some options for prevention and management of burnout are presented. (Author)

Enduring effects of severe developmental adversity, including nutritional deprivation, on cortisol metabolism in aging Holocaust survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Yehuda, Rachel; Bierer, Linda M; Andrew, Ruth; Schmeidler, James; Seckl, Jonathan R

2009-06-01

In animal models, early life exposure to major environmental challenges such as malnutrition and stress results in persisting cardiometabolic, neuroendocrine and affective effects. While such effects have been associated with pathogenesis, the widespread occurrence of 'developmental programming' suggests it has adaptive function. Glucocorticoids may mediate 'programming' and their metabolism is known to be affected by early life events in rodents. To examine these relationships in humans, cortisol metabolism and cardiometabolic disease manifestations were examined in Holocaust survivors in relation to age at exposure and affective dysfunction, notably lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fifty-one Holocaust survivors and 22 controls without Axis I disorder collected 24-h urine samples and were evaluated for psychiatric disorders and cardiometabolic diagnoses. Corticosteroids and their metabolites were assayed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS); cortisol was also measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Holocaust survivors showed reduced cortisol by RIA, and decreased levels of 5alpha-tetrahydrocortisol (5alpha-THF) and total glucocorticoid production by GC-MS. The latter was associated with lower cortisol metabolism by 5alpha-reductase and 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11beta-HSD) type-2. The greatest decrements were associated with earliest age of Holocaust exposure and less severe PTSD symptomatology. Cardiometabolic manifestations were associated with decreased 11beta-HSD-2 activity. In controls, 5alpha-reductase was positively associated with trauma-related symptoms (i.e., to traumatic exposures unrelated to the Holocaust). Extreme malnutrition and related stress during development is associated with long-lived alterations in specific pathways of glucocorticoid metabolism. These effects may be adaptive and link with lower risks of cardiometabolic and stress-related disorders in later life.

Stress within a Restricted Time Window Selectively Affects the Persistence of Long-Term Memory

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Qin; Chai, Ning; Zhao, Li-Yan; Xue, Yan-Xue; Luo, Yi-Xiao; Jian, Min; Han, Ying; Shi, Hai-Shui; Lu, Lin; Wu, Ping; Wang, Ji-Shi

2013-01-01

The effects of stress on emotional memory are distinct and depend on the stages of memory. Memory undergoes consolidation and reconsolidation after acquisition and retrieval, respectively. Stress facilitates the consolidation but disrupts the reconsolidation of emotional memory. Previous research on the effects of stress on memory have focused on long-term memory (LTM) formation (tested 24 h later), but the effects of stress on the persistence of LTM (tested at least 1 week later) are unclear. Recent findings indicated that the persistence of LTM requires late-phase protein synthesis in the dorsal hippocampus. The present study investigated the effect of stress (i.e., cold water stress) during the late phase after the acquisition and retrieval of contextual fear memory in rats. We found that stress and corticosterone administration during the late phase (12 h) after acquisition, referred to as late consolidation, selectively enhanced the persistence of LTM, whereas stress during the late phase (12 h) after retrieval, referred to as late reconsolidation, selectively disrupted the restabilized persistence of LTM. Moreover, the effects of stress on the persistence of LTM were blocked by the corticosterone synthesis inhibitor metyrapone, which was administered before stress, suggesting that the glucocorticoid system is involved in the effects of stress on the persistence of LTM. We conclude that stress within a restricted time window after acquisition or retrieval selectively affects the persistence of LTM and depends on the glucocorticoid system. PMID:23544051

Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy-Associated Mutant Forms of Lamin A Recruit the Stress Responsive Protein Ankrd2 into the Nucleus, Affecting the Cellular Response to Oxidative Stress

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Silvia Angori

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Ankrd2 is a stress responsive protein mainly expressed in muscle cells. Upon the application of oxidative stress, Ankrd2 translocates into the nucleus where it regulates the activity of genes involved in cellular response to stress. Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy 2 (EDMD2 is a muscular disorder caused by mutations of the gene encoding lamin A, LMNA. As well as many phenotypic abnormalities, EDMD2 muscle cells also feature a permanent basal stress state, the underlying molecular mechanisms of which are currently unclear. Methods: Experiments were performed in EDMD2-lamin A overexpressing cell lines and EDMD2-affected human myotubes. Oxidative stress was produced by H2O2 treatment. Co-immunoprecipitation, cellular subfractionation and immunofluorescence analysis were used to validate the relation between Ankrd2 and forms of lamin A; cellular sensibility to stress was monitored by the analysis of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS release and cell viability. Results: Our data demonstrate that oxidative stress induces the formation of a complex between Ankrd2 and lamin A. However, EDMD2-lamin A mutants were able to bind and mislocalize Ankrd2 in the nucleus even under basal conditions. Nonetheless, cells co-expressing Ankrd2 and EDMD2-lamin A mutants were more sensitive to oxidative stress than the Ankrd2-wild type lamin A counterpart. Conclusions: For the first time, we present evidence that in muscle fibers from patients affected by EDMD2, Ankrd2 has an unusual nuclear localization. By introducing a plausible mechanism ruling this accumulation, our data hint at a novel function of Ankrd2 in the pathogenesis of EDMD2-affected cells.

Physiological Responses to Thermal Stress and Exercise

Science.gov (United States)

Iyota, Hiroyuki; Ohya, Akira; Yamagata, Junko; Suzuki, Takashi; Miyagawa, Toshiaki; Kawabata, Takashi

The simple and noninvasive measuring methods of bioinstrumentation in humans is required for optimization of air conditioning and management of thermal environments, taking into consideration the individual specificity of the human body as well as the stress conditions affecting each. Changes in human blood circulation were induced with environmental factors such as heat, cold, exercise, mental stress, and so on. In this study, the physiological responses of human body to heat stress and exercise were investigated in the initial phase of the developmental research. We measured the body core and skin temperatures, skin blood flow, and pulse wave as the indices of the adaptation of the cardiovascular system. A laser Doppler skin blood flowmetry using an optical-sensor with a small portable data logger was employed for the measurement. These results reveal the heat-stress and exercise-induced circulatory responses, which are under the control of the sympathetic nerve system. Furthermore, it was suggested that the activity of the sympathetic nervous system could be evaluated from the signals of the pulse wave included in the signals derived from skin blood flow by means of heart rate variability assessments and detecting peak heights of velocity-plethysmogram.

Developmental rates and morphological properties of fibres in two ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It was found, however, that dry sites, where trees are experiencing comparatively high levels of environmental stress, can be expected to experience greater extremes in developmental processes between seasons, or over relatively short periods, generally, than wetter sites. These sorts of fluctuations will also translate into ...

Family Life and Developmental Idealism in Yazd, Iran

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Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi

2012-03-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND This paper is motivated by the theory that developmental idealism has been disseminated globally and has become an international force for family and demographic change. Developmental idealism is a set of cultural beliefs and values about development and how development relates to family and demographic behavior. It holds that modern societies are causal forces producing modern families, that modern families help to produce modern societies, and that modern family change is to be expected. OBJECTIVE We examine the extent to which developmental idealism has been disseminated in Iran. We also investigate predictors of the dissemination of developmental idealism. METHODS We use survey data collected in 2007 from a sample of women in Yazd, a city in Iran. We examine the distribution of developmental idealism in the sample and the multivariate predictors of developmental idealism. RESULTS We find considerable support for the expectation that many elements of developmental idealism have been widely disseminated. Statistically significant majorities associate development with particular family attributes, believe that development causes change in families, believe that fertility reductions and age-at-marriage increases help foster development, and perceive family trends in Iran headed toward modernity. As predicted, parental education, respondent education, and income affect adherence to developmental idealism. CONCLUSIONS Developmental idealism has been widely disseminated in Yazd, Iran and is related to social and demographic factors in predicted ways. COMMENTS Although our data come from only one city, we expect that developmental idealism has been widely distributed in Iran, with important implications for family and demographic behavior.

Assay for the developmental toxicity of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L. to zebrafish embryos/larvae

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Qing Xia

2017-01-01

Conclusion: Safflower exhibits developmental toxicity for zebrafish embryos/larvae. The developing heart was speculated as the target organ of toxicity. Oxidative stress and increased apoptosis have roles in the developmental toxicity of safflower. This article provides a novel method to research the teratogenicity and possible mechanisms of toxicity of traditional Chinese medicines that are prohibited or contraindicated in pregnant women.

Resources predicting positive and negative affect during the experience of stress: a study of older Asian Indian immigrants in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Diwan, Sadhna; Jonnalagadda, Satya S; Balaswamy, Shantha

2004-10-01

Using the life stress model of psychological well-being, in this study we examined risks and resources predicting the occurrence of both positive and negative affect among older Asian Indian immigrants who experienced stressful life events. We collected data through a telephone survey of 226 respondents (aged 50 years and older) in the Southeastern United States. We used hierarchical, negative binomial regression analyses to examine correlates of positive and negative affect. Different coping resources influenced positive and negative affect when stressful life events were controlled for. Being female was a common risk factor for poorer positive and increased negative affect. Satisfaction with friendships and a cultural or ethnic identity that is either bicultural or more American were predictive of greater positive affect. Greater religiosity and increased mastery were resources predicting less negative affect. Cognitive and structural interventions that increase opportunities for social integration, increasing mastery, and addressing spiritual concerns are discussed as ways of coping with stress to improve the well-being of individuals in this immigrant community.

Can decision-making skills affect responses to psychological stress in healthy women?

Science.gov (United States)

Santos-Ruiz, Ana; Garcia-Rios, M Carmen; Fernandez-Sanchez, José Carlos; Perez-Garcia, Miguel; Muñoz-García, Miguel Angel; Peralta-Ramirez, Maria Isabel

2012-12-01

In recent studies showing how stress can affect an individual's decision-making process, the cognitive component of decision-making could also be considered a coping resource available to individuals when faced with a stressful situation. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) constitutes the standard test for the assessment of decision-making skills under conditions of uncertainty. Responses of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to psychosocial stress, in turn, have been estimated by means of cortisol measurements. Our main objective in this study was to test if good and bad IGT performers show distinct HPA axis responses, when challenged in a classic psychosocial stress test. Because women have been shown to outperform men on the IGT under the influence of psychosocial stress, we chose a sample of 40 women to take the IGT before they were exposed to a public speaking task in a virtual environment. The activation of the HPA axis, involved in the stress response, was assessed by examining the levels of cortisol in the subjects' saliva at the following four stages: before the challenge, after the challenge, and 10 and 20 min after the task. Participants were divided into two groups according to their level of performance, good or poor, on the IGT. Results showed statistically significant differences between the groups for pre-exposure cortisol levels and for cortisol levels 20 min after exposure. Overall cortisol levels were significantly higher in the group with poor performance on the IGT. It appears that good decision-making, which may be an important resource for coping with stress, is associated with a lower HPA axis response to a psychosocial stressor. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plant Water Stress Affects Interactions Between an Invasive and a Naturalized Aphid Species on Cereal Crops.

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Foote, N E; Davis, T S; Crowder, D W; Bosque-Pérez, N A; Eigenbrode, S D

2017-06-01

In cereal cropping systems of the Pacific Northwestern United States (PNW), climate change is projected to increase the frequency of drought during summer months, which could increase water stress for crop plants. Yet, it remains uncertain how interactions between herbivore species are affected by drought stress. Here, interactions between two cereal aphids present in PNW cereal systems, Metopolophium festucae (Theobald) subsp. cerealium (a newly invasive species) and Rhopalosiphum padi L. (a naturalized species), were tested relative to wheat water stress. When aphids were confined in leaf cages on wheat, asymmetrical facilitation occurred; per capita fecundity of R. padi was increased by 46% when M. festucae cerealium was also present, compared to when only R. padi was present. Imposed water stress did not influence this interaction. When aphids were confined on whole wheat plants, asymmetrical competition occurred; cocolonization inhibited M. festucae cerealium population growth but did not affect R. padi population growth. Under conditions of plant water stress, however, the inhibitory effect of R. padi on M. festucae cerealium was not observed. We conclude that beneficial effects of cocolonization on R. padi are due to a localized plant response to M. festucae cerealium feeding, and that cocolonization of plants is likely to suppress M. festucae cerealium populations under ample water conditions, but not when plants are water stressed. This suggests that plant responses to water stress alter the outcome of competition between herbivore species, with implications for the structure of pest communities on wheat during periods of drought. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

Relation Between Mathematical Performance, Math Anxiety, and Affective Priming in Children With and Without Developmental Dyscalculia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kucian, Karin; Zuber, Isabelle; Kohn, Juliane; Poltz, Nadine; Wyschkon, Anne; Esser, Günter; von Aster, Michael

2018-01-01

Many children show negative emotions related to mathematics and some even develop mathematics anxiety. The present study focused on the relation between negative emotions and arithmetical performance in children with and without developmental dyscalculia (DD) using an affective priming task. Previous findings suggested that arithmetic performance is influenced if an affective prime precedes the presentation of an arithmetic problem. In children with DD specifically, responses to arithmetic operations are supposed to be facilitated by both negative and mathematics-related primes (= negative math priming effect ).We investigated mathematical performance, math anxiety, and the domain-general abilities of 172 primary school children (76 with DD and 96 controls). All participants also underwent an affective priming task which consisted of the decision whether a simple arithmetic operation (addition or subtraction) that was preceded by a prime (positive/negative/neutral or mathematics-related) was true or false. Our findings did not reveal a negative math priming effect in children with DD. Furthermore, when considering accuracy levels, gender, or math anxiety, the negative math priming effect could not be replicated. However, children with DD showed more math anxiety when explicitly assessed by a specific math anxiety interview and showed lower mathematical performance compared to controls. Moreover, math anxiety was equally present in boys and girls, even in the earliest stages of schooling, and interfered negatively with performance. In conclusion, mathematics is often associated with negative emotions that can be manifested in specific math anxiety, particularly in children with DD. Importantly, present findings suggest that in the assessed age group, it is more reliable to judge math anxiety and investigate its effects on mathematical performance explicitly by adequate questionnaires than by an affective math priming task.

Relation Between Mathematical Performance, Math Anxiety, and Affective Priming in Children With and Without Developmental Dyscalculia

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Karin Kucian

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Many children show negative emotions related to mathematics and some even develop mathematics anxiety. The present study focused on the relation between negative emotions and arithmetical performance in children with and without developmental dyscalculia (DD using an affective priming task. Previous findings suggested that arithmetic performance is influenced if an affective prime precedes the presentation of an arithmetic problem. In children with DD specifically, responses to arithmetic operations are supposed to be facilitated by both negative and mathematics-related primes (=negative math priming effect.We investigated mathematical performance, math anxiety, and the domain-general abilities of 172 primary school children (76 with DD and 96 controls. All participants also underwent an affective priming task which consisted of the decision whether a simple arithmetic operation (addition or subtraction that was preceded by a prime (positive/negative/neutral or mathematics-related was true or false. Our findings did not reveal a negative math priming effect in children with DD. Furthermore, when considering accuracy levels, gender, or math anxiety, the negative math priming effect could not be replicated. However, children with DD showed more math anxiety when explicitly assessed by a specific math anxiety interview and showed lower mathematical performance compared to controls. Moreover, math anxiety was equally present in boys and girls, even in the earliest stages of schooling, and interfered negatively with performance. In conclusion, mathematics is often associated with negative emotions that can be manifested in specific math anxiety, particularly in children with DD. Importantly, present findings suggest that in the assessed age group, it is more reliable to judge math anxiety and investigate its effects on mathematical performance explicitly by adequate questionnaires than by an affective math priming task.

Relation Between Mathematical Performance, Math Anxiety, and Affective Priming in Children With and Without Developmental Dyscalculia

Science.gov (United States)

Kucian, Karin; Zuber, Isabelle; Kohn, Juliane; Poltz, Nadine; Wyschkon, Anne; Esser, Günter; von Aster, Michael

2018-01-01

Many children show negative emotions related to mathematics and some even develop mathematics anxiety. The present study focused on the relation between negative emotions and arithmetical performance in children with and without developmental dyscalculia (DD) using an affective priming task. Previous findings suggested that arithmetic performance is influenced if an affective prime precedes the presentation of an arithmetic problem. In children with DD specifically, responses to arithmetic operations are supposed to be facilitated by both negative and mathematics-related primes (=negative math priming effect).We investigated mathematical performance, math anxiety, and the domain-general abilities of 172 primary school children (76 with DD and 96 controls). All participants also underwent an affective priming task which consisted of the decision whether a simple arithmetic operation (addition or subtraction) that was preceded by a prime (positive/negative/neutral or mathematics-related) was true or false. Our findings did not reveal a negative math priming effect in children with DD. Furthermore, when considering accuracy levels, gender, or math anxiety, the negative math priming effect could not be replicated. However, children with DD showed more math anxiety when explicitly assessed by a specific math anxiety interview and showed lower mathematical performance compared to controls. Moreover, math anxiety was equally present in boys and girls, even in the earliest stages of schooling, and interfered negatively with performance. In conclusion, mathematics is often associated with negative emotions that can be manifested in specific math anxiety, particularly in children with DD. Importantly, present findings suggest that in the assessed age group, it is more reliable to judge math anxiety and investigate its effects on mathematical performance explicitly by adequate questionnaires than by an affective math priming task.

NIDCAP and developmental care

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Dominique Haumont

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Perinatal mortality in very low birth weight infants has dramatically decreased during the last decades. However, 15-25% of these infants will show neurodevelopmental impairment later on. The aim of implementing early developmental care (EDC, emerged as a new field in neonatology, is to create an intervention program designed to provide support for optimal neurobehavioral development during this highly vulnerable period of brain growth. The theoretical framework, which underlies the approach, is supported by research in different scientific fields, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine and nursing. EDC utilizes a range of medical and nursing interventions that aim to decrease the stress of preterm neonates in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs. The Neonatal Individualized Developmental Care Assessment Program (NIDCAP is an integrated and holistic form of family-centered developmental care. Changing the traditional NICU towards an EDC-NICU includes training nursing and medical staff, investing in their quality and most importantly keeping parents in proximity to the infants. The new challenge of modern neonatology is to restore the mother-infant dyad applying “couplet care” starting at birth until discharge. Most of the European NICUs apply some elements of EDC, but it is more consistent in northern Europe. The development of NIDCAP training centers in Europe demonstrates the evolution of care. It is likely that future research and intervention programs will optimize our practices. Developmental care could prove to be an important recent step in improving outcome in extremely preterm neonates. Proceedings of the 10th International Workshop on Neonatology · Cagliari (Italy · October 22nd-25th, 2014 · The last ten years, the next ten years in Neonatology Guest Editors: Vassilios Fanos, Michele Mussap, Gavino Faa, Apostolos Papageorgiou

Stress-induced variation in evolution: from behavioural plasticity to genetic assimilation.

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Badyaev, Alexander V

2005-05-07

Extreme environments are closely associated with phenotypic evolution, yet the mechanisms behind this relationship are poorly understood. Several themes and approaches in recent studies significantly further our understanding of the importance that stress-induced variation plays in evolution. First, stressful environments modify (and often reduce) the integration of neuroendocrinological, morphological and behavioural regulatory systems. Second, such reduced integration and subsequent accommodation of stress-induced variation by developmental systems enables organismal 'memory' of a stressful event as well as phenotypic and genetic assimilation of the response to a stressor. Third, in complex functional systems, a stress-induced increase in phenotypic and genetic variance is often directional, channelled by existing ontogenetic pathways. This accounts for similarity among individuals in stress-induced changes and thus significantly facilitates the rate of adaptive evolution. Fourth, accumulation of phenotypically neutral genetic variation might be a common property of locally adapted and complex organismal systems, and extreme environments facilitate the phenotypic expression of this variance. Finally, stress-induced effects and stress-resistance strategies often persist for several generations through maternal, ecological and cultural inheritance. These transgenerational effects, along with both the complexity of developmental systems and stressor recurrence, might facilitate genetic assimilation of stress-induced effects. Accumulation of phenotypically neutral genetic variance by developmental systems and phenotypic accommodation of stress-induced effects, together with the inheritance of stress-induced modifications, ensure the evolutionary persistence of stress-response strategies and provide a link between individual adaptability and evolutionary adaptation.

Exogenous testosterone enhances cortisol and affective responses to social-evaluative stress in dominant men.

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Knight, Erik L; Christian, Colton B; Morales, Pablo J; Harbaugh, William T; Mayr, Ulrich; Mehta, Pranjal H

2017-11-01

Stress often precedes the onset of mental health disorders and is linked to negative impacts on physical health as well. Prior research indicates that testosterone levels are related to reduced stress reactivity in some cases but correlate with increased stress responses in other cases. To resolve these inconsistencies, we tested the causal influence of testosterone on stress reactivity to a social-evaluative stressor. Further, prior work has failed to consider status-relevant individual differences such as trait dominance that may modulate the influence of testosterone on responses to stressors. Participants (n=120 males) were randomly assigned to receive exogenous testosterone or placebo (n=60 testosterone treatment group) via topical gel prior to a well-validated social-evaluative stressor. Compared to placebo, testosterone significantly increased cortisol and negative affect in response to the stressor, especially for men high in trait dominance (95% confidence intervals did not contain zero). The findings suggest that the combination of high testosterone and exposure to status-relevant social stress may confer increased risk for stress-mediated disorders, particularly for individuals high in trait dominance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The "where" and "what" in developmental dyscalculia.

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Henik, Avishai; Rubinsten, Orly; Ashkenazi, Sarit

2011-08-01

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a congenital deficit that affects the ability to acquire arithmetical skills. Individuals with DD have problems learning standard number facts and procedures. Estimates of the prevalence rate of DD are similar to those of developmental dyslexia. Recent reports and discussions suggest that those with DD suffer from specific deficits (e.g., subitizing, comparative judgment). Accordingly, DD has been described as a domain-specific disorder that involves particular brain areas (e.g., intra-parietal sulcus). However, we and others have found that DD is characterized by additional deficiencies and may be affected by domain-general (e.g., attention) factors. Hence "pure DD" might be rather rare and not as pure as one would think. We suggest that the heterogeneity of symptoms that commonly characterize learning disabilities needs to be taken into account in future research and treatment.

The role of oxidative stress in female infertility and in vitro fertilization

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Joanna Wojsiat

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Infertility problem involves many couples of reproductive age. It has been estimated that in Poland 0.7-1.0 million pairs require treatment, while for more than half of them assisted reproduction is the only recommended and effective method. Infertility affects 13 to 15% of the world’s population. A major concern is the age-related decline in female fertility even more that often a decision about pregnancy is taken at later age. Recent studies show that increased production of reactive oxygen species is an important factor in etiopathogenesis of pregnancy and affects female reproduction. It was found that oxidative stress may damage the oocytes and may impair their fertilization capacity. Oxidative stress may also lead to embryo fragmentation and formation of numerous developmental abnormalities, and is regarded to be one of the important reasons of spontaneous and recurrent miscarriage. Moreover, overproduction of reactive oxygen species has a significant impact on the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF.

The mediating role of interpersonal conflict at work in the relationship between negative affectivity and biomarkers of stress.

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Girardi, Damiano; Falco, Alessandra; De Carlo, Alessandro; Benevene, Paula; Comar, Manola; Tongiorgi, Enrico; Bartolucci, Giovanni Battista

2015-12-01

This study examined the association between interpersonal conflict at work (ICW) and serum levels of three possible biomarkers of stress, namely the pro-inflammatory cytokines Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), Interleukin 12 (IL-12), and Interleukin 17 (IL-17). Additionally, this study investigated the role of negative affectivity (NA) in the relationship between ICW and the pro-inflammatory cytokines. Data from 121 employees in an Italian healthcare organization were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that ICW was positively associated with IL-1β, IL-12, and IL-17, after controlling for the effect of gender. Moreover, ICW completely mediated the relationship between NA and the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-12, and IL-17. This mediating effect was significant after controlling for the effect of gender. Overall, this study suggests that work-related stress may be associated with biomarkers of inflammation, and that negative affectivity may influence the stress process affecting the exposure to psychosocial stressors.

Applying Evolutionary Genetics to Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment

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Leung, Maxwell C. K.; Procter, Andrew C.; Goldstone, Jared V.; Foox, Jonathan; DeSalle, Robert; Mattingly, Carolyn J.; Siddall, Mark E.; Timme-Laragy, Alicia R.

2018-01-01

Evolutionary thinking continues to challenge our views on health and disease. Yet, there is a communication gap between evolutionary biologists and toxicologists in recognizing the connections among developmental pathways, high-throughput screening, and birth defects in humans. To increase our capability in identifying potential developmental toxicants in humans, we propose to apply evolutionary genetics to improve the experimental design and data interpretation with various in vitro and whole-organism models. We review five molecular systems of stress response and update 18 consensual cell-cell signaling pathways that are the hallmark for early development, organogenesis, and differentiation; and revisit the principles of teratology in light of recent advances in high-throughput screening, big data techniques, and systems toxicology. Multiscale systems modeling plays an integral role in the evolutionary approach to cross-species extrapolation. Phylogenetic analysis and comparative bioinformatics are both valuable tools in identifying and validating the molecular initiating events that account for adverse developmental outcomes in humans. The discordance of susceptibility between test species and humans (ontogeny) reflects their differences in evolutionary history (phylogeny). This synthesis not only can lead to novel applications in developmental toxicity and risk assessment, but also can pave the way for applying an evo-devo perspective to the study of developmental origins of health and disease. PMID:28267574

Numerical study of how creep and progressive stiffening affect the growth stress formation in trees

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ormarsson, Sigurdur; Dahlblom, O.; Johansson, M.

2010-01-01

It is not fully understood how much growth stresses affect the final quality of solid timber products in terms of e.g. shape stability. It is for example difficult to predict the internal growth stress field within the tree stem. Growth stresses are progressively generated during the tree growth...... and they are highly influenced by climate, biologic and material related factors. To increase the knowledge of the stress formation a finite element model was created to study how the growth stresses develop during the tree growth. The model is an axisymmetric general plane strain model where material for all new...... annual rings is progressively added to the tree during the analysis. The material model used is based on the theory of small strains (where strains refer to the undeformed configuration which is good approximation for strains less than 4%) where so-called biological maturation strains (growth...

Path Analysis Association between Domestic Violence, Anxiety, Depression and Perceived Stress in Mothers and Children's Development.

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Vameghi, Roshanak; Amir Ali Akbari, Sedigheh; Sajedi, Firoozeh; Sajjadi, Homeira; Alavi Majd, Hamid

2016-01-01

Given that several factors involved in the incidence or exacerbation of developmental disorders in children, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between some of the risk factors affecting mothers' health and development in children using path analysis. The present cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 750 mothers and their children in health centers in Tehran, Iran in 2014 enrolled through multi-stage random sampling. Data were collected using a demographic and personal information questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, Beck's depression Inventory, Spielberger' anxiety inventory, the WHO domestic violence questionnaire and an ages & stages questionnaire for assessing children's development. Data were analyzed using SPSS.19 (Chicago, IL, USA) and Lisrel 8.8. Developmental delay was observed in 12.1% of the children. The mean stress score was 23.94±8.62 in the mothers, 50.7% of whom showed mild to severe depression, 84.2% moderate to severe anxiety and 35.3% had been subjected to domestic violence. The path analysis showed that children's development was affected directly by perceived stress (β=-0.09) and depression (β=-0.17) and indirectly by domestic violence (β=-0.05278) and anxiety (β=-0.0357). Of all the variables examined, depression had the biggest influence on development in the children (β=-0.17). The proposed model showed a good fit (GFI=1, RMSEA=0.034). Children's development was influenced indirectly by domestic violence and anxiety and directly by perceived stress and depression in mothers. It is thus suggested that more concern and attention be paid to women's mental health and the domestic violence they experience.

Language cannot be reduced to biology: perspectives from neuro-developmental disorders affecting language learning.

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Vasanta, D

2005-02-01

The study of language knowledge guided by a purely biological perspective prioritizes the study of syntax. The essential process of syntax is recursion--the ability to generate an infinite array of expressions from a limited set of elements. Researchers working within the biological perspective argue that this ability is possible only because of an innately specified genetic makeup that is specific to human beings. Such a view of language knowledge may be fully justified in discussions on biolinguistics, and in evolutionary biology. However, it is grossly inadequate in understanding language-learning problems, particularly those experienced by children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as developmental dyslexia, Williams syndrome, specific language impairment and autism spectrum disorders. Specifically, syntax-centered definitions of language knowledge completely ignore certain crucial aspects of language learning and use, namely, that language is embedded in a social context; that the role of envrironmental triggering as a learning mechanism is grossly underestimated; that a considerable extent of visuo-spatial information accompanies speech in day-to-day communication; that the developmental process itself lies at the heart of knowledge acquisition; and that there is a tremendous variation in the orthographic systems associated with different languages. All these (socio-cultural) factors can influence the rate and quality of spoken and written language acquisition resulting in much variation in phenotypes associated with disorders known to have a genetic component. Delineation of such phenotypic variability requires inputs from varied disciplines such as neurobiology, neuropsychology, linguistics and communication disorders. In this paper, I discuss published research that questions cognitive modularity and emphasises the role of the environment for understanding linguistic capabilities of children with neuro-developmental disorders. The discussion pertains

Learning To Breathe: Developmental Phase Transitions in Oxygen Status.

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Considine, Michael J; Diaz-Vivancos, Pedro; Kerchev, Pavel; Signorelli, Santiago; Agudelo-Romero, Patricia; Gibbs, Daniel J; Foyer, Christine H

2017-02-01

Plants are developmentally disposed to significant changes in oxygen availability, but our understanding of the importance of hypoxia is almost entirely limited to stress biology. Differential patterns of the abundance of oxygen, nitric oxide ( • NO), and reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as of redox potential, occur in organs and meristems, and examples are emerging in the literature of mechanistic relationships of these to development. We describe here the convergence of these cues in meristematic and reproductive tissues, and discuss the evidence for regulated hypoxic niches within which oxygen-, ROS-, • NO-, and redox-dependent signalling curate developmental transitions in plants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT SOCIAL WORKERS’ JOB SATISFACTION, STRESS AND BURNOUT

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Calitz, Taetske

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Social work was classified as a scare skill and the retention of social workers is an important aspect that needs urgent attention. The research goal of this study was to determine what degree of work engagement and job satisfaction South African social workers experience in their current positions and how this influences job turnover, burnout and the intention to leave the profession. The purpose was to determine the needs social workers experience that will affect turnover in the profession. The needs/problems social workers experienced were stress, burnout, lower job satisfaction and work engagement.

A neurocognitive perspective on developmental disregard in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Houwink, A.; Aarts, P.B.M.; Geurts, A.C.H.; Steenbergen, B.

2011-01-01

A common problem in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) is the asymmetrical development of arm and hand capacity caused by the lack of use of the affected upper limb, or developmental disregard. In this paper, we provide a neuropsychological model that relates developmental disregard to

True or false? Memory is differentially affected by stress-induced cortisol elevations and sympathetic activity at consolidation and retrieval.

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Smeets, Tom; Otgaar, Henry; Candel, Ingrid; Wolf, Oliver T

2008-11-01

Adrenal stress hormones released in response to acute stress may yield memory-enhancing effects when released post-learning and impairing effects at memory retrieval, especially for emotional memory material. However, so far these differential effects of stress hormones on the various memory phases for neutral and emotional memory material have not been demonstrated within one experiment. This study investigated whether, in line with their effects on true memory, stress and stress-induced adrenal stress hormones affect the encoding, consolidation, and retrieval of emotional and neutral false memories. Participants (N=90) were exposed to a stressor before encoding, during consolidation, before retrieval, or were not stressed and then were subjected to neutral and emotional versions of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott word list learning paradigm. Twenty-four hours later, recall of presented words (true recall) and non-presented critical lure words (false recall) was assessed. Results show that stress exposure resulted in superior true memory performance in the consolidation stress group and reduced true memory performance in the retrieval stress group compared to the other groups, predominantly for emotional words. These memory-enhancing and memory-impairing effects were strongly related to stress-induced cortisol and sympathetic activity measured via salivary alpha-amylase levels. Neutral and emotional false recall, on the other hand, was neither affected by stress exposure, nor related to cortisol and sympathetic activity following stress. These results demonstrate the importance of stress-induced hormone-related activity in enhancing memory consolidation and in impairing memory retrieval, in particular for emotional memory material.

The search for evolutionary developmental origins of aging in zebrafish: a novel intersection of developmental and senescence biology in the zebrafish model system.

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Kishi, Shuji

2011-09-01

Senescence may be considered the antithesis of early development, but yet there may be factors and mechanisms in common between these two phenomena during the process of aging. We investigated whether any relationship exists between the regulatory mechanisms that function in early development and in senescence using the zebrafish (Danio rerio), a small freshwater fish and a useful model animal for genetic studies. We conducted experiments to isolate zebrafish mutants expressing an apparent senescence phenotype during embryogenesis (embryonic senescence). Some of the genes we thereby identified had already been associated with cellular senescence and chronological aging in other organisms, but many had not yet been linked to these processes. Complete loss-of-function of developmentally essential genes induce embryonic (or larval) lethality, whereas it seems like their partial loss-of-function (i.e., decrease-of-function by heterozygote or hypomorphic mutations) still remains sufficient to go through the early developmental process because of its adaptive plasticity or rather heterozygote advantage. However, in some cases, such partial loss-of-function of genes compromise normal homeostasis due to haploinsufficiency later in adult life having many environmental stress challenges. By contrast, any heterozygote-advantageous genes might gain a certain benefit(s) (much more fitness) by such partial loss-of-function later in life. Physiological senescence may evolutionarily arise from both genetic and epigenetic drifts as well as from losing adaptive developmental plasticity in face of stress signals from the external environment that interacts with functions of multiple genes rather than effects of only a single gene mutation or defect. Previously uncharacterized developmental genes may thus mediate the aging process and play a pivotal role in senescence. Moreover, unexpected senescence-related genes might also be involved in the early developmental process and

Effects of a Kundalini Yoga Program on Elementary and Middle School Students' Stress, Affect, and Resilience.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarkissian, Meliné; Trent, Natalie L; Huchting, Karen; Singh Khalsa, Sat Bir

2018-04-01

The Your Own Greatness Affirmed (YOGA) for Youth program delivers yoga to urban inner-city schools with the goal of providing practical benefits that support underserved children at high risk of behavioral and emotional problems. A 10-week YOGA for Youth program delivered 1 to 2 times per week was implemented in 3 schools in urban neighborhoods to examine the effect of the program on student stress, affect, and resilience. Thirty children were administered the Perceived Stress Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Resilience Scale before and after the yoga program. After the program, informal qualitative interviews were conducted with school teachers, yoga teachers, and students to determine the overall impact of the yoga program. The quantitative results of this study indicated that the yoga program significantly improved students stress (p < 0.05), positive affect (p < 0.05), and resilience (p < 0.001). The qualitative results indicated that students, school teachers, and yoga teachers all found the program to be beneficial for students' well-being. Taken together, these data suggest that the YOGA for Youth program may provide students in low-income urban schools with behavioral skills that will protect against risk factors associated with the development of behavioral and emotional problems.

Ciona intestinalis as a Marine Model System to Study Some Key Developmental Genes Targeted by the Diatom-Derived Aldehyde Decadienal

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Anna Lettieri

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The anti-proliferative effects of diatoms, described for the first time in copepods, have also been demonstrated in benthic invertebrates such as polychaetes, sea urchins and tunicates. In these organisms PUAs (polyunsaturated aldehydes induce the disruption of gametogenesis, gamete functionality, fertilization, embryonic mitosis, and larval fitness and competence. These inhibitory effects are due to the PUAs, produced by diatoms in response to physical damage as occurs during copepod grazing. The cell targets of these compounds remain largely unknown. Here we identify some of the genes targeted by the diatom PUA 2-trans-4-trans-decadienal (DD using the tunicate Ciona intestinalis. The tools, techniques and genomic resources available for Ciona, as well as the suitability of Ciona embryos for medium-to high-throughput strategies, are key to their employment as model organisms in different fields, including the investigation of toxic agents that could interfere with developmental processes. We demonstrate that DD can induce developmental aberrations in Ciona larvae in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, through a preliminary analysis, DD is shown to affect the expression level of genes involved in stress response and developmental processes.

Chronic stress from adolescence to aging in the prefrontal cortex: A neuroimmune perspective.

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Macht, Victoria A; Reagan, Lawrence P

2018-04-01

The development of the organism is a critical variable which influences the magnitude, duration, and reversibility of the effects of chronic stress. Such factors are relevant to the prefrontal cortex (PFC), as this brain region is the last to mature, the first to decline, and is highly stress-sensitive. Therefore, this review will examine the intersection between the nervous system and immune system at glutamatergic synapses in the PFC across three developmental periods: adolescence, adulthood, and aging. Glutamatergic synapses are tightly juxtaposed with microglia and astrocytes, and each of these cell types exhibits their own developmental trajectory. Not only does chronic stress differentially impact each of these cell types across development, but chronic stress also alters intercellular communication within this quad-partite synapse. These observations suggest that developmental shifts in both neural and immune function across neurons, microglia, and astrocytes mediate shifting effects of chronic stress on glutamatergic transmission. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Acculturative Stress and Risky Sexual Behavior: The Roles of Sexual Compulsivity and Negative Affect.

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Jardin, Charles; Garey, Lorra; Sharp, Carla; Zvolensky, Michael J

2016-01-01

Recent syndemic models of sexual health disparities affecting racial/ethnic minorities have highlighted the role of discrimination. Yet no previous work has examined how acculturative stress (distress at the transition from one's original culture toward a new culture) associates with sexual HIV-risk behavior (SHRB). Work among other minority populations suggests sexual compulsivity (SC) may contribute to syndemic sexual health disparities as a means of coping with distress. With this in mind, the present study examined whether SC explained the relation between acculturative stress and SHRB. Separate analyses were conducted for males and females within a sample of 758 sexually initiated racial/ethnic minority college students. Among males and females, acculturative stress had an indirect effect on SHRB via SC. As the first study to examine SHRB in relation to acculturative stress, findings provide preliminary evidence that targeting SC among racial/ethnic minorities may help reduce sexual health disparities. © The Author(s) 2015.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms and tobacco abstinence effects in a non-clinical sample: evaluating the mediating role of negative affect reduction smoking expectancies.

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Langdon, Kirsten J; Leventhal, Adam M

2014-11-01

The relation between posttraumatic stress symptoms and smoking is well documented but poorly understood. The present investigation sought to evaluate the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms on subjective and behavioral tobacco abstinence effects both directly and indirectly through negative affect reduction smoking outcome expectancies. Participants included 275 (68.7% male; Mage =43.9, 10+ cig/day) adult non-treatment seeking smokers, who attended two counterbalanced laboratory sessions (16 h of smoking deprivation vs ad libitum smoking), during which they completed self-report measures of withdrawal symptoms and mood followed by a smoking lapse task in which they could earn money for delaying smoking and purchase cigarettes to smoke. Results supported a mediational pathway whereby higher baseline symptoms of posttraumatic stress predicted greater endorsement of expectancies that smoking will effectively reduce negative affect, which in turn predicted greater abstinence-provoked exacerbations in nicotine withdrawal symptoms and negative affect. Posttraumatic stress symptoms also predicted number of cigarettes purchased independent of negative affect reduction expectancies, but did not predict delaying smoking for money. Findings highlight tobacco abstinence effects as a putative mechanism underlying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-smoking comorbidity, indicate an important mediating role of beliefs for smoking-induced negative affect reduction, and shed light on integrated treatment approaches for these two conditions. © The Author(s) 2014.

Optimism and positive and negative feelings in parents of young children with developmental delay.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurtz-Nelson, E; McIntyre, L L

2017-07-01

Parents' positive and negative feelings about their young children influence both parenting behaviour and child problem behaviour. Research has not previously examined factors that contribute to positive and negative feelings in parents of young children with developmental delay (DD). The present study sought to examine whether optimism, a known protective factor for parents of children with DD, was predictive of positive and negative feelings for these parents. Data were collected from 119 parents of preschool-aged children with developmental delay. Two separate hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to determine if optimism significantly predicted positive feelings and negative feelings and whether optimism moderated relations between parenting stress and parent feelings. Increased optimism was found to predict increased positive feelings and decreased negative feelings after controlling for child problem behaviour and parenting stress. In addition, optimism was found to moderate the relation between parenting stress and positive feelings. Results suggest that optimism may impact how parents perceive their children with DD. Future research should examine how positive and negative feelings impact positive parenting behaviour and the trajectory of problem behaviour specifically for children with DD. © 2017 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Perfectionism in Relation to Stress and Cardiovascular Disease among Gifted Individuals and the Need for Affective Interventions

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Corson, Ansley T.; Loveless, James P.; Mochrie, Kirk D.; Whited, Matthew C.

2018-01-01

Maladaptive perfectionism has the potential to put gifted individuals at an increased risk for cardiac events via the reduced heart rate variability that results from chronic negative affect and physiological stress reactions. As a result, implementing affective interventions into gifted programs may play a critical role in teaching gifted…

The impact of acute stress on hormones and cytokines, and how their recovery is affected by music-evoked positive mood.

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Koelsch, Stefan; Boehlig, Albrecht; Hohenadel, Maximilian; Nitsche, Ines; Bauer, Katrin; Sack, Ulrich

2016-03-29

Stress and recovery from stress significantly affect interactions between the central nervous system, endocrine pathways, and the immune system. However, the influence of acute stress on circulating immune-endocrine mediators in humans is not well known. Using a double-blind, randomized study design, we administered a CO2 stress test to n = 143 participants to identify the effects of acute stress, and recovery from stress, on serum levels of several mediators with immune function (IL-6, TNF-α, leptin, and somatostatin), as well as on noradrenaline, and two hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hormones (ACTH and cortisol). Moreover, during a 1 h-recovery period, we repeatedly measured these serum parameters, and administered an auditory mood-induction protocol with positive music and a neutral control stimulus. The acute stress elicited increases in noradrenaline, ACTH, cortisol, IL-6, and leptin levels. Noradrenaline and ACTH exhibited the fastest and strongest stress responses, followed by cortisol, IL-6 and leptin. The music intervention was associated with more positive mood, and stronger cortisol responses to the acute stressor in the music group. Our data show that acute (CO2) stress affects endocrine, immune and metabolic functions in humans, and they show that mood plays a causal role in the modulation of responses to acute stress.

Chronic stress exacerbates neuropathic pain via the integration of stress-affect-related information with nociceptive information in the central nucleus of the amygdala.

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Li, Ming-Jia; Liu, Ling-Yu; Chen, Lin; Cai, Jie; Wan, You; Xing, Guo-Gang

2017-04-01

Exacerbation of pain by chronic stress and comorbidity of pain with stress-related psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression, represent significant clinical challenges. However, the underlying mechanisms still remain unclear. Here, we investigated whether chronic forced swim stress (CFSS)-induced exacerbation of neuropathic pain is mediated by the integration of stress-affect-related information with nociceptive information in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). We first demonstrated that CFSS indeed produces both depressive-like behaviors and exacerbation of spared nerve injury (SNI)-induced mechanical allodynia in rats. Moreover, we revealed that CFSS induces both sensitization of basolateral amygdala (BLA) neurons and augmentation of long-term potentiation (LTP) at the BLA-CeA synapse and meanwhile, exaggerates both SNI-induced sensitization of CeA neurons and LTP at the parabrachial (PB)-CeA synapse. In addition, we discovered that CFSS elevates SNI-induced functional up-regulation of GluN2B-containing NMDA (GluN2B-NMDA) receptors in the CeA, which is proved to be necessary for CFSS-induced augmentation of LTP at the PB-CeA synapse and exacerbation of pain hypersensitivity in SNI rats. Suppression of CFSS-elicited depressive-like behaviors by antidepressants imipramine or ifenprodil inhibits the CFSS-induced exacerbation of neuropathic pain. Collectively, our findings suggest that CFSS potentiates synaptic efficiency of the BLA-CeA pathway, leading to the activation of GluN2B-NMDA receptors and sensitization of CeA neurons, which subsequently facilitate pain-related synaptic plasticity of the PB-CeA pathway, thereby exacerbating SNI-induced neuropathic pain. We conclude that chronic stress exacerbates neuropathic pain via the integration of stress-affect-related information with nociceptive information in the CeA.

Constructivist developmental theory is needed in developmental neuroscience

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Arsalidou, Marie; Pascual-Leone, Juan

2016-12-01

Neuroscience techniques provide an open window previously unavailable to the origin of thoughts and actions in children. Developmental cognitive neuroscience is booming, and knowledge from human brain mapping is finding its way into education and pediatric practice. Promises of application in developmental cognitive neuroscience rests however on better theory-guided data interpretation. Massive amounts of neuroimaging data from children are being processed, yet published studies often do not frame their work within developmental models—in detriment, we believe, to progress in this field. Here we describe some core challenges in interpreting the data from developmental cognitive neuroscience, and advocate the use of constructivist developmental theories of human cognition with a neuroscience interpretation.

Evaluating the developmental instability of Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus, 1766 from Lower Agusan River Basin, Butuan City, Philippines using fluctuating asymmetry

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J.H. Jumawan

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA is the most frequently used tool for measuring developmental instability. It is used as a measure of ecological stress and a sign of developmental stability of organisms. The study evaluatedthe use of FA in assessing the condition of Scatophagus argus in lower Agusan river basin. High FA values would indicate exposure to polluted aquatic environment. The study selected S. argus because of its observed susceptibility to aquatic pollution in the area. There were a total of 60 samples collected (30 males and 30 females. Using Thin-Plate Spline (TPS series, landmark analyzes were obtained and subjected to Symmetry and Asymmetry in Geometric Data (SAGE software. Procrustes ANOVA showed high significant differences (P<0.0001 to the three measured factors (individuals, sides and interaction of individuals and sides. Similar findings were observed to both male and females samples suggesting high FA values. The principal component analysis was implemented to determine the affected landmarks. More landmarks were affected in males (11 landmarks than in females (5 landmarks. Deformation grids and histograms were used to display the ordination of affected landmarks. The data would be important to environmental planners in the management of lower Agusan river basin. Scores display a high percentage FA of female (70.94% and male (78.67%. In the female samples, PC 1 (33.26% and PC2 (13.53% were found to have significant variations affecting the rostral tip of premaxilla, posterior extremities, and the lateral profile. In the male samples, PC 1 (35.63% and PC 2 (14.24% have the same affected landmarks as in females but have greater variations. Significant levels of FA in the fish morphology are the result of its adaptive mechanism to cope up with the stressed environment. The dorsal cephalic region and the pectoral fin were the most affected landmarks and may be used to determine the effect of stressors to the fish since these areas

Metabolic and functional characterization of effects of developmental temperature in Drosophila melanogaster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schou, Mads Fristrup; Kristensen, Torsten Nygaard; Pedersen, Anders

2017-01-01

, and in particular, how physiological stress at extreme temperatures may counteract beneficial acclimation responses at benign temperatures. We exposed Drosophila melanogaster to ten developmental temperatures covering their entire permissible temperature range. We obtained metabolic profiles and reaction norms...... for several functional traits: egg-to-adult viability, developmental time, and heat and cold tolerance. Females were more heat tolerant than males, whereas no sexual dimorphism was found in cold tolerance. A group of metabolites, mainly free amino acids, had linear reaction norms. Several energy carrying...

Developmental constraints on behavioural flexibility.

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Holekamp, Kay E; Swanson, Eli M; Van Meter, Page E

2013-05-19

We suggest that variation in mammalian behavioural flexibility not accounted for by current socioecological models may be explained in part by developmental constraints. From our own work, we provide examples of constraints affecting variation in behavioural flexibility, not only among individuals, but also among species and higher taxonomic units. We first implicate organizational maternal effects of androgens in shaping individual differences in aggressive behaviour emitted by female spotted hyaenas throughout the lifespan. We then compare carnivores and primates with respect to their locomotor and craniofacial adaptations. We inquire whether antagonistic selection pressures on the skull might impose differential functional constraints on evolvability of skulls and brains in these two orders, thus ultimately affecting behavioural flexibility in each group. We suggest that, even when carnivores and primates would theoretically benefit from the same adaptations with respect to behavioural flexibility, carnivores may nevertheless exhibit less behavioural flexibility than primates because of constraints imposed by past adaptations in the morphology of the limbs and skull. Phylogenetic analysis consistent with this idea suggests greater evolutionary lability in relative brain size within families of primates than carnivores. Thus, consideration of developmental constraints may help elucidate variation in mammalian behavioural flexibility.

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid DHA during IVM affected oocyte developmental competence in cattle.

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Oseikria, Mouhamad; Elis, Sébastien; Maillard, Virginie; Corbin, Emilie; Uzbekova, Svetlana

2016-06-01

The positive effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (FAs) on fertility in ruminants seems to be partly mediated through direct effects on the oocyte developmental potential. We aimed to investigate whether supplementation with physiological levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6 n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) during IVM has an effect on oocyte maturation and in vitro embryo development in cattle. We reported that DHA (0, 1, 10, or 100 μM) had no effect on oocyte viability or maturation rate after 22-hour IVM. Incubation of oocyte-cumulus complexes with 1-μM DHA during IVM significantly increased (P DHA during IVM also induced a significant increase in the blastocyst rate at Day 7 after IVF as compared with control (30.6% vs. 17.6%, respectively) and tended to increase the number of cells in the blastocysts (97.1 ± 4.9 vs. 81.2 ± 5.3, respectively; P = 0.08). On the contrary, 10-μM DHA had no effects, whereas 100-μM DHA significantly decreased the cleavage rate compared with control (69.5% vs.78.8%, respectively) and the greater than 4-cell embryo rate at Day 2 after parthenogenetic activation (19.5% vs. 29.7%). As was shown by real-time polymerase chain reaction, negative effects of 100-μM DHA were associated with significant increase of progesterone synthesis by oocyte-cumulus complexes, a three-fold increase in expression level of FA transporter CD36 and a two-fold decrease of FA synthase FASN genes in cumulus cells (CCs) of corresponding oocytes. Docosahexaenoic acid at 1 and 10 μM had no effect on expression of those and other key lipid metabolism-related genes in CC. In conclusion, administration of a low physiological dose of DHA (1 μM) during IVM may have beneficial effects on oocyte developmental competence in vitro without affecting lipid metabolism gene expression in surrounding CCs, contrarily to 100 μM DHA which diminished oocyte quality associated with perturbation of lipid and steroid metabolism in CC. Copyright © 2016

A Neurocognitive Perspective on Developmental Disregard in Children with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy

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Houwink, Annemieke; Aarts, Pauline B. M.; Geurts, Alexander C. H.; Steenbergen, Bert

2011-01-01

A common problem in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) is the asymmetrical development of arm and hand capacity caused by the lack of use of the affected upper limb, or developmental disregard. In this paper, we provide a neuropsychological model that relates developmental disregard to attentional processes and motor learning. From this…

CHLORPYRIFOS DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROTOXICITY: INTERACTION WITH GLUCOCORTICOIDS IN PC12 CELLS

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Slotkin, Theodore A.; Card, Jennifer; Seidler, Frederic J.

2012-01-01

Prenatal coexposures to glucocorticoids and organophosphate pesticides are widespread. Glucocorticoids are elevated by maternal stress and are commonly given in preterm labor; organophosphate exposures are virtually ubiquitous. We used PC12 cells undergoing neurodifferentiation in order to assess whether dexamethasone enhances the developmental neurotoxicity of chlorpyrifos, focusing on concentrations relevant to human exposures. By themselves, each agent reduced the number of cells and the combined exposure elicited a correspondingly greater effect than with either agent alone. There was no general cytotoxicity, as cell growth was actually enhanced, and again, the combined treatment evoked greater cellular hypertrophy than with the individual compounds. The effects on neurodifferentiation were more complex. Chlorpyrifos alone had a promotional effect on neuri to genesis whereas dexamethasone impaired it; combined treatment showed an overall impairment greater than that seen with dexamethasone alone. The effect of chlorpyrifos on differentiation into specific neurotransmitter phenotypes was shifted by dexamethasone. Either agent alone promoted differentiation into the dopaminergic phenotype at the expense of the cholinergic phenotype. However, in dexamethasone-primed cells, chlorpyrifos actually enhanced cholinergic neurodifferentiation instead of suppressing this phenotype. Our results indicate that developmental exposure to glucocorticoids, either in the context of stress or the therapy of preterm labor, could enhance the developmental neurotoxicity of organophosphates and potentially of other neurotoxicants, as well as producing neurobehavioral outcomes distinct from those seen with either individual agent. PMID:22796634

Ecological momentary analysis of the relations among stressful events, affective reactivity, and smoking among smokers with high versus low depressive symptoms during a quit attempt.

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Minami, Haruka; Frank, Brandon E; Bold, Krysten W; McCarthy, Danielle E

2018-02-01

To assess whether individuals trying to quit smoking who have high depressive symptoms (HD), compared with low depressive symptoms (LD): (1) report more frequent stressful events (SEs), (2) are more likely to smoke after SEs, (3) experience greater acute or persistent changes in affect after an SE, and (4) are at greater risk of smoking following affective changes. Smoking cessation data were analyzed using multi-level path modeling to examine the moderating effects of depressive symptoms on relations among SEs, subsequent affect, and smoking. An academic research center in Central New Jersey, USA. Seventy-one adult treatment-seeking daily smokers recruited from 2010 to 2012. Baseline depressive symptoms [HD: Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) ≥ 16 versus LD: CES-D affect, and smoking assessed during 21 days post-quit. Multi-level models indicated that HD smokers were more likely than LD smokers to report stressful events [odds ratio (OR) = 2.323, P = 0.009], but had similar post-stress acute affective changes (negative affect: b = -0.117, P = 0.137, positive affect: b = 0.020, P = 0.805). Only HD smokers reported increased negative affect (NA) (b = 0.199, P = 0.030) and decreased positive affect (PA) up to 12 hours later (b = -0.217, P = 0.021), and greater lapse risk up to 24 hours after an SE (OR = 3.213, P = 0.017). The persistence of elevated NA and suppressed PA was partially explained by increased odds of subsequent SEs among HD smokers. However, the heightened stress-lapse association over 24 hours found in HD smokers was not fully explained by sustained aversive affect or subsequent SEs. Depressed and non-depressed smokers trying to quit appear to experience similar acute affective changes following stress: however, depressed smokers experience higher rates of exposure to stress, longer-lasting post-stress affective disturbance and greater risk of smoking lapse 12-24 hours after a stressful event

Neuromodulation and developmental contextual influences on neural and cognitive plasticity across the lifespan.

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Li, Shu-Chen

2013-11-01

Behavioral, cognitive, and motivational development entails co-constructive interactions between the environmental and social influences from the developmental context, on the one hand, and the individual's neurobiological inheritance, on the other hand. Key brain networks underlying cognition, emotion, and motivation are innervated by major transmitter systems (e.g., the catecholamines and acetylcholine). Thus, the maturation and senescence of neurotransmitter systems have direct implications for lifespan development. In addition to reviewing evidence on life age differences in dopaminergic modulation and cognitive development, this brief review selectively highlights recent findings on how important influences from the developmental context, such as reward-mediated motivational processes, transgenerational stress transmission, psychosocial stress, and cognitive interventions, may, in part, exert their effects on brain and behavioral development through their effects on neuromodulatory mechanisms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neuroepigenetics of stress.

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Griffiths, B B; Hunter, R G

2014-09-05

Stress, a common if unpredictable life event, can have pronounced effects on physiology and behavior. Individuals show wide variation in stress susceptibility and resilience, which are only partially explained by variations in coding genes. Developmental programing of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress axis provides part of the explanation for this variance. Epigenetic approaches have successfully helped fill the explanatory gaps between the influences of gene and environment on stress responsiveness, and differences in the sequelae of stress across individuals and generations. Stress and the stress axis interacts bi-directionally with epigenetic marks within the brain. It is now clear that exposure to stress, particularly in early life, has both acute and lasting effects on these marks. They in turn influence cognitive function and behavior, as well as the risk for suicide and psychiatric disorders across the lifespan and, in some cases, unto future generations. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stress during puberty boosts metabolic activation associated with fear-extinction learning in hippocampus, basal amygdala and cingulate cortex.

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Toledo-Rodriguez, Maria; Pitiot, Alain; Paus, Tomáš; Sandi, Carmen

2012-07-01

Adolescence is characterized by major developmental changes that may render the individual vulnerable to stress and the development of psychopathologies in a sex-specific manner. Earlier we reported lower anxiety-like behavior and higher risk-taking and novelty seeking in rats previously exposed to peri-pubertal stress. Here we studied whether peri-pubertal stress affected the acquisition and extinction of fear memories and/or the associated functional engagement of various brain regions, as assessed with 2-deoxyglucose. We showed that while peri-pubertal stress reduced freezing during the acquisition of fear memories (training) in both sexes, it had a sex-specific effect on extinction of these memories. Moreover hippocampus, basal amygdala and cingulate and motor cortices showed higher metabolic rates during extinction in rats exposed to peri-pubertal stress. Interestingly, activation of the infralimbic cortex was negatively correlated with freezing during extinction only in control males, while only males stressed during puberty showed a significant correlation between behavior during extinction and metabolic activation of hippocampus, amygdala and paraventricular nucleus. No correlations between brain activation and behavior during extinction were observed in females (control or stress). These results indicate that exposure to peri-pubertal stress affects behavior and brain metabolism when the individual is exposed to an additional stressful challenge. Some of these effects are sex-specific. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Relationship between the Severity of Eating Problems and Intellectual Developmental Deficit Level

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Gal, Eynat; Hardal-Nasser, Reem; Engel-Yeger, Batya

2011-01-01

Nutrition, essential in the daily living functions promoting life quality of persons with intellectual developmental deficits (IDD), is adversely affected by the highly prevalent eating problems in these persons. The current study explores the characteristics of eating problems in population of children with intellectual developmental disorders.…

Inconsistent effects of developmental temperatureacclimation on low-temperature performance andmetabolism in Drosophila melanogaster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Torsten Nygaard; Overgaard, Johannes; Hoffmann, Ary A

2012-01-01

Question: Does acclimation to developmental temperature consistently affect metabolismand low-temperature performance when measured in different laboratory and field assays? Hypothesis: Developmental acclimation reflecting naturally fluctuating thermal conditionsconsistently increases different...... conditions in the field, while constant cool rearingconditions led to high cold resistance. The fluctuating- and low-temperature rearing conditionsresulted in a similar metabolic profile, while the 24C rearing profile was distinct and showeda lack of plasticity. The effects of developmental acclimation...

Density Stress has Minimal Impacts on the Barley or Maize Seedling Transcriptome

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Summer St. Pierre

2011-03-01

Full Text Available High planting density affects the morphology and productivity of many crop species. Our objectives were to examine the phenotypic and transcriptomic changes that occur during plant density stress in barley ( L. and maize ( L. seedlings. In maize and barley seedlings, density stress impacted several morphological traits. Gene expression profiles were examined in four barley and five maize genotypes grown at low and high plant densities. Only 221 barley and 35 maize genes exhibited differential expression in response to plant density stress. The majority of the gene expression changes were observed in a subset of the genotypes and reflected minor changes in the level of expression, indicating that the plant density stress imposed in this study did not result in major changes in gene expression. Also, little overlap was observed within barley or maize genotypes in gene expression during density stress, indicating that genotypic differences play a major role in the response to density stress. While it is clear that gene expression differences are involved in morphological changes induced by high plant densities, it is likely that many of these gene expression differences are subtle and restricted to particular tissues and developmental time.

Fetal Programming of Body Composition, Obesity, and Metabolic Function: The Role of Intrauterine Stress and Stress Biology

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Sonja Entringer

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Epidemiological, clinical, physiological, cellular, and molecular evidence suggests that the origins of obesity and metabolic dysfunction can be traced back to intrauterine life and supports an important role for maternal nutrition prior to and during gestation in fetal programming. The elucidation of underlying mechanisms is an area of interest and intense investigation. In this perspectives paper we propose that in addition to maternal nutrition-related processes it may be important to concurrently consider the potential role of intrauterine stress and stress biology. We frame our arguments in the larger context of an evolutionary-developmental perspective that supports roles for both nutrition and stress as key environmental conditions driving natural selection and developmental plasticity. We suggest that intrauterine stress exposure may interact with the nutritional milieu, and that stress biology may represent an underlying mechanism mediating the effects of diverse intrauterine perturbations, including but not limited to maternal nutritional insults (undernutrition and overnutrition, on brain and peripheral targets of programming of body composition, energy balance homeostasis, and metabolic function. We discuss putative maternal-placental-fetal endocrine and immune/inflammatory candidate mechanisms that may underlie the long-term effects of intrauterine stress. We conclude with a commentary of the implications for future research and clinical practice.

Low-Temperature Stress during Capped Brood Stage Increases Pupal Mortality, Misorientation and Adult Mortality in Honey Bees

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Wang, Qing; Xu, Xinjian; Zhu, Xiangjie; Chen, Lin; Zhou, Shujing; Huang, Zachary Y.; Zhou, Bingfeng

2016-01-01

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are key pollinators, playing a vital role in ecosystem maintenance and stability of crop yields. Recently, reduced honey bee survival has attracted intensive attention. Among all other honey bee stresses, temperature is a fundamental ecological factor that has been shown to affect honey bee survival. Yet, the impact of low temperature stress during capped brood on brood mortality has not been systematically investigated. In addition, little was known about how low temperature exposure during capped brood affects subsequent adult longevity. In this study, capped worker broods at 12 different developmental stages were exposed to 20°C for 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84 and 96 hours, followed by incubation at 35°C until emergence. We found that longer durations of low temperature during capped brood led to higher mortality, higher incidences of misorientation inside cells and shorter worker longevity. Capped brood as prepupae and near emergence were more sensitive to low-temperature exposure, while capped larvae and mid-pupal stages showed the highest resistance to low-temperature stress. Our results suggest that prepupae and pupae prior to eclosion are the most sensitive stages to low temperature stress, as they are to other stresses, presumably due to many physiological changes related to metamorphosis happening during these two stages. Understanding how low-temperature stress affects honey bee physiology and longevity can improve honey bee management strategies. PMID:27149383

Global life satisfaction predicts ambulatory affect, stress, and cortisol in daily life in working adults.

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Smyth, Joshua M; Zawadzki, Matthew J; Juth, Vanessa; Sciamanna, Christopher N

2017-04-01

Global life satisfaction has been linked with long-term health advantages, yet how life satisfaction impacts the trajectory of long-term health is unclear. This paper examines one such possible mechanism-that greater life satisfaction confers momentary benefits in daily life that accumulate over time. A community sample of working adults (n = 115) completed a measure of life satisfaction and then three subsequent days of ecological momentary assessment surveys (6 times/day) measuring affect (i.e., emotional valence, arousal), and perceived stress, and also provided salivary cortisol samples. Multilevel models indicated that people with higher (vs. lower) levels of life satisfaction reported better momentary affect, less stress, marginally lower momentary levels and significantly altered diurnal slopes of cortisol. Findings suggest individuals with high global life satisfaction have advantageous daily experiences, providing initial evidence for potential mechanisms through which global life satisfaction may help explain long-term health benefits.

Longitudinal and Integrative Tests of Family Stress Model Effects on Mexican-Origin Adolescents

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White, Rebecca M. B.; Liu, Yu; Nair, Rajni L.; Tein, Jenn-Yun

2015-01-01

The family stress model represents a common framework through which to examine the effects of environmental stressors on adolescent adjustment. The model suggests that economic and neighborhood stressors influence youth adjustment via disruptions to parenting. Incorporating integrative developmental theory, we examined the degree to which parents’ cultural value orientations mitigated the effects of stressors on parenting disruptions and the degree to which environmental adversity qualified the effect of parenting on adolescent adjustment. We tested the hypothesized Integrative Family Stress Model longitudinally in a sample of mother-youth dyads (N = 749) and father-youth dyads (N = 467) from Mexican origin families, across three times points spanning early to middle adolescence. Providing the first longitudinal evidence of family stress mediated effects, mothers’ perceptions of economic pressure were associated with increases in adolescent externalizing symptoms five years later via intermediate increases in harsh parenting. The remaining findings supported the notion that integrative developmental theory can inform family stress model hypothesis testing that is culturally and contextually relevant for wide range of diverse families and youth. For example, fathers’ perceptions of economic pressure and neighborhood danger had important implications for adolescent internalizing, via reductions in paternal warmth, but only at certain levels of neighborhood adversity. Mothers’ familism value orientations mitigated the effects of economic pressure on maternal warmth, protecting their adolescents from experiencing developmental costs associated with environmental stressors. Results are discussed in terms of identifying how integrative developmental theory intersects with the family stress model to set diverse youth on different developmental pathways. PMID:25751100

Cheating by exploitation of developmental prestalk patterning in Dictyostelium discoideum.

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Anupama Khare

2010-02-01

Full Text Available The cooperative developmental system of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is susceptible to exploitation by cheaters-strains that make more than their fair share of spores in chimerae. Laboratory screens in Dictyostelium have shown that the genetic potential for facultative cheating is high, and field surveys have shown that cheaters are abundant in nature, but the cheating mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we describe cheater C (chtC, a strong facultative cheater mutant that cheats by affecting prestalk differentiation. The chtC gene is developmentally regulated and its mRNA becomes stalk-enriched at the end of development. chtC mutants are defective in maintaining the prestalk cell fate as some of their prestalk cells transdifferentiate into prespore cells, but that defect does not affect gross developmental morphology or sporulation efficiency. In chimerae between wild-type and chtC mutant cells, the wild-type cells preferentially give rise to prestalk cells, and the chtC mutants increase their representation in the spore mass. Mixing chtC mutants with other cell-type proportioning mutants revealed that the cheating is directly related to the prestalk-differentiation propensity of the victim. These findings illustrate that a cheater can victimize cooperative strains by exploiting an established developmental pathway.

Cheating by Exploitation of Developmental Prestalk Patterning in Dictyostelium discoideum

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Khare, Anupama; Shaulsky, Gad

2010-01-01

The cooperative developmental system of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is susceptible to exploitation by cheaters—strains that make more than their fair share of spores in chimerae. Laboratory screens in Dictyostelium have shown that the genetic potential for facultative cheating is high, and field surveys have shown that cheaters are abundant in nature, but the cheating mechanisms are largely unknown. Here we describe cheater C (chtC), a strong facultative cheater mutant that cheats by affecting prestalk differentiation. The chtC gene is developmentally regulated and its mRNA becomes stalk-enriched at the end of development. chtC mutants are defective in maintaining the prestalk cell fate as some of their prestalk cells transdifferentiate into prespore cells, but that defect does not affect gross developmental morphology or sporulation efficiency. In chimerae between wild-type and chtC mutant cells, the wild-type cells preferentially give rise to prestalk cells, and the chtC mutants increase their representation in the spore mass. Mixing chtC mutants with other cell-type proportioning mutants revealed that the cheating is directly related to the prestalk-differentiation propensity of the victim. These findings illustrate that a cheater can victimize cooperative strains by exploiting an established developmental pathway. PMID:20195510

Cortical and subcortical innervation of band heterotopia after developmental thyroid hormone insufficiency

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The characteristic laminated cytoarchitecture of the neocortex emerges from the orderly proliferation and migration of neurons during corticogenesis. Not surprisingly, developmental disorders affecting the laminar positioning of cortical neurons can have dramatic affects on cogni...

Exogenous abscisic acid significantly affects proteome in tea plant (Camellia sinensis) exposed to drought stress

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Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] is an important economic crop, and drought is the most important abiotic stress affecting yield and quality. Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important phytohormone responsible for activating drought resistance. Increased understanding of ABA effects on tea plant unde...

Daytime soybean transcriptome fluctuations during water deficit stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Fabiana Aparecida; Fuganti-Pagliarini, Renata; Marcolino-Gomes, Juliana; Nakayama, Thiago Jonas; Molinari, Hugo Bruno Correa; Lobo, Francisco Pereira; Harmon, Frank G; Nepomuceno, Alexandre Lima

2015-07-07

under normal developmental conditions and genes whose expression oscillates under conditions of water deficit. These results suggest that time of day, as well as light and temperature oscillations that occur considerably affect the regulation of water deficit stress response in soybean plants.

Child Maltreatment and Children's Developmental Trajectories in Early- to Middle-Childhood

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Font, Sarah A.; Berger, Lawrence M.

2014-01-01

Associations between experiencing child maltreatment and adverse developmental outcomes are widely studied, yet conclusions regarding the extent to which effects are bidirectional, and whether they are likely causal, remain elusive. This study uses the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being study, a birth cohort of 4,898 children followed from birth through age 9. Hierarchical linear modeling and structural equation modeling are employed to estimate associations of maltreatment with cognitive and social-emotional well-being. Results suggest that effects of early childhood maltreatment emerge immediately, though developmental outcomes are also affected by newly occurring maltreatment over time. Additionally, findings indicate that children's early developmental scores predict their subsequent probability of experiencing maltreatment, though to a lesser extent than early maltreatment predicts subsequent developmental outcomes. PMID:25521556

Social Buffering of Stress in Development: A Career Perspective

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Gunnar, Megan R.

2016-01-01

This review provides a broad overview of my research group's work on social buffering in human development in the context of the field. Much of the focus is on social buffering of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system, one of the two major arms of the mammalian stress system. This focus reflects the centrality of the HPA system in research on social buffering in the fields of developmental psychobiology and developmental science. However, buffering of the cardiovascular and autonomic nervous system is also discussed. The central developmental question in this area derives from attachment theory which argues that the infant's experience of stress and arousal regulation in the context of her early attachment relationships is not an immature form of social buffering experienced in adulthood, but rather the foundation out of which individual differences in the capacity to gain stress relief from social partners emerge. The emergence of social buffering in infancy, changes in social buffering throughout childhood and adolescence, the influence of early experience on later individual differences in social buffering, and critical gaps in our knowledge are described. PMID:28544861

Neurobiological Programming of Early Life Stress: Functional Development of Amygdala-Prefrontal Circuitry and Vulnerability for Stress-Related Psychopathology.

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VanTieghem, Michelle R; Tottenham, Nim

2017-04-25

Early adverse experiences are associated with heighted vulnerability for stress-related psychopathology across the lifespan. While extensive work has investigated the effects of early adversity on neurobiology in adulthood, developmental approaches can provide further insight on the neurobiological mechanisms that link early experiences and long-term mental health outcomes. In the current review, we discuss the role of emotion regulation circuitry implicated in stress-related psychopathology from a developmental and transdiagnostic perspective. We highlight converging evidence suggesting that multiple forms of early adverse experiences impact the functional development of amygdala-prefrontal circuitry. Next, we discuss how adversity-induced alterations in amygdala-prefrontal development are associated with symptoms of emotion dysregulation and psychopathology. Additionally, we discuss potential mechanisms through which protective factors may buffer the effects of early adversity on amygdala-prefrontal development to confer more adaptive long-term outcomes. Finally, we consider limitations of the existing literature and make suggestions for future longitudinal and translational research that can better elucidate the mechanisms linking early adversity, neurobiology, and emotional phenotypes. Together, these findings may provide further insight into the neuro-developmental mechanisms underlying the emergence of adversity-related emotional disorders and facilitate the development of targeted interventions that can ameliorate risk for psychopathology in youth exposed to early life stress.

Does leisure time moderate or mediate the effect of daily stress on positive affect? An examination using eight-day diary data

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Qian, Xinyi Lisa; Yarnal, Careen M.; Almeida, David M.

2013-01-01

This study tested the applicability of moderation and mediation models to leisure time as a stress coping resource. Analyzing eight-day diary data (N=2,022), we examined the within-person process of using leisure time to cope with daily stressors. We found that relatively high daily stress frequency, while reducing positive affect, prompted an individual to allocate more time to leisure than usual, which then increased positive affect, thus partially remedying the damage by high daily stress frequency. This within-person process, however, is significantly stronger among those with less leisure time on average than leisure-rich individuals. The findings support a partial counteractive mediation model, demonstrate between-person difference in the within-person coping process, and reveal the importance of positive affect as a coping outcome. PMID:25221350

Does leisure time moderate or mediate the effect of daily stress on positive affect? An examination using eight-day diary data.

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Xinyi Lisa; Yarnal, Careen M; Almeida, David M

2014-01-01

This study tested the applicability of moderation and mediation models to leisure time as a stress coping resource. Analyzing eight-day diary data (N=2,022), we examined the within -person process of using leisure time to cope with daily stressors. We found that relatively high daily stress frequency, while reducing positive affect, prompted an individual to allocate more time to leisure than usual, which then increased positive affect, thus partially remedying the damage by high daily stress frequency. This within-person process, however, is significantly stronger among those with less leisure time on average than leisure-rich individuals. The findings support a partial counteractive mediation model, demonstrate between-person difference in the within-person coping process, and reveal the importance of positive affect as a coping outcome.

The Stress Acceleration Hypothesis of Nightmares

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Tore Nielsen

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Adverse childhood experiences can deleteriously affect future physical and mental health, increasing risk for many illnesses, including psychiatric problems, sleep disorders, and, according to the present hypothesis, idiopathic nightmares. Much like post-traumatic nightmares, which are triggered by trauma and lead to recurrent emotional dreaming about the trauma, idiopathic nightmares are hypothesized to originate in early adverse experiences that lead in later life to the expression of early memories and emotions in dream content. Accordingly, the objectives of this paper are to (1 review existing literature on sleep, dreaming and nightmares in relation to early adverse experiences, drawing upon both empirical studies of dreaming and nightmares and books and chapters by recognized nightmare experts and (2 propose a new approach to explaining nightmares that is based upon the Stress Acceleration Hypothesis of mental illness. The latter stipulates that susceptibility to mental illness is increased by adversity occurring during a developmentally sensitive window for emotional maturation—the infantile amnesia period—that ends around age 3½. Early adversity accelerates the neural and behavioral maturation of emotional systems governing the expression, learning, and extinction of fear memories and may afford short-term adaptive value. But it also engenders long-term dysfunctional consequences including an increased risk for nightmares. Two mechanisms are proposed: (1 disruption of infantile amnesia allows normally forgotten early childhood memories to influence later emotions, cognitions and behavior, including the common expression of threats in nightmares; (2 alterations of normal emotion regulation processes of both waking and sleep lead to increased fear sensitivity and less effective fear extinction. These changes influence an affect network previously hypothesized to regulate fear extinction during REM sleep, disruption of which leads to

Eco-Evo-Devo: developmental symbiosis and developmental plasticity as evolutionary agents.

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Gilbert, Scott F; Bosch, Thomas C G; Ledón-Rettig, Cristina

2015-10-01

The integration of research from developmental biology and ecology into evolutionary theory has given rise to a relatively new field, ecological evolutionary developmental biology (Eco-Evo-Devo). This field integrates and organizes concepts such as developmental symbiosis, developmental plasticity, genetic accommodation, extragenic inheritance and niche construction. This Review highlights the roles that developmental symbiosis and developmental plasticity have in evolution. Developmental symbiosis can generate particular organs, can produce selectable genetic variation for the entire animal, can provide mechanisms for reproductive isolation, and may have facilitated evolutionary transitions. Developmental plasticity is crucial for generating novel phenotypes, facilitating evolutionary transitions and altered ecosystem dynamics, and promoting adaptive variation through genetic accommodation and niche construction. In emphasizing such non-genomic mechanisms of selectable and heritable variation, Eco-Evo-Devo presents a new layer of evolutionary synthesis.

Maternal stress in pregnancy affects myelination and neurosteroid regulatory pathways in the guinea pig cerebellum.

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Bennett, Greer A; Palliser, Hannah K; Shaw, Julia C; Palazzi, Kerrin L; Walker, David W; Hirst, Jonathan J

2017-11-01

Prenatal stress predisposes offspring to behavioral pathologies. These may be attributed to effects on cerebellar neurosteroids and GABAergic inhibitory signaling, which can be linked to hyperactivity disorders. The aims were to determine the effect of prenatal stress on markers of cerebellar development, a key enzyme in neurosteroid synthesis and the expression of GABA A receptor (GABA A R) subunits involved in neurosteroid signaling. We used a model of prenatal stress (strobe light exposure, 2 h on gestational day 50, 55, 60 and 65) in guinea pigs, in which we have characterized anxiety and neophobic behavioral outcomes. The cerebellum and plasma were collected from control and prenatally stressed offspring at term (control fetus: n = 9 male, n = 7 female; stressed fetus: n = 7 male, n = 8 female) and postnatal day (PND) 21 (control: n = 8 male, n = 8 female; stressed: n = 9 male, n = 6 female). We found that term female offspring exposed to prenatal stress showed decreased expression of mature oligodendrocytes (∼40% reduction) and these deficits improved to control levels by PND21. Reactive astrocyte expression was lower (∼40% reduction) following prenatal stress. GABA A R subunit (δ and α6) expression and circulating allopregnanolone concentrations were not affected by prenatal stress. Prenatal stress increased expression (∼150-250% increase) of 5α-reductase type-1 mRNA in the cerebellum, which may be a neuroprotective response to promote GABAergic inhibition and aid in repair. These observations indicate that prenatal stress exposure has marked effects on the development of the cerebellum. These findings suggest cerebellar changes after prenatal stress may contribute to adverse behavioral outcomes after exposure to these stresses.

Integration of developmental and environmental signals via a polyadenylation factor in Arabidopsis.

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Man Liu

Full Text Available The ability to integrate environmental and developmental signals with physiological responses is critical for plant survival. How this integration is done, particularly through posttranscriptional control of gene expression, is poorly understood. Previously, it was found that the 30 kD subunit of Arabidopsis cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (AtCPSF30 is a calmodulin-regulated RNA-binding protein. Here we demonstrated that mutant plants (oxt6 deficient in AtCPSF30 possess a novel range of phenotypes--reduced fertility, reduced lateral root formation, and altered sensitivities to oxidative stress and a number of plant hormones (auxin, cytokinin, gibberellic acid, and ACC. While the wild-type AtCPSF30 (C30G was able to restore normal growth and responses, a mutant AtCPSF30 protein incapable of interacting with calmodulin (C30GM could only restore wild-type fertility and responses to oxidative stress and ACC. Thus, the interaction with calmodulin is important for part of AtCPSF30 functions in the plant. Global poly(A site analysis showed that the C30G and C30GM proteins can restore wild-type poly(A site choice to the oxt6 mutant. Genes associated with hormone metabolism and auxin responses are also affected by the oxt6 mutation. Moreover, 19 genes that are linked with calmodulin-dependent CPSF30 functions, were identified through genome-wide expression analysis. These data, in conjunction with previous results from the analysis of the oxt6 mutant, indicate that the polyadenylation factor AtCPSF30 is a regulatory hub where different signaling cues are transduced, presumably via differential mRNA 3' end formation or alternative polyadenylation, into specified phenotypic outcomes. Our results suggest a novel function of a polyadenylation factor in environmental and developmental signal integration.

Thyroid Allostasis–Adaptive Responses of Thyrotropic Feedback Control to Conditions of Strain, Stress, and Developmental Programming

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Chatzitomaris, Apostolos; Hoermann, Rudolf; Midgley, John E.; Hering, Steffen; Urban, Aline; Dietrich, Barbara; Abood, Assjana; Klein, Harald H.; Dietrich, Johannes W.

2017-01-01

The hypothalamus–pituitary–thyroid feedback control is a dynamic, adaptive system. In situations of illness and deprivation of energy representing type 1 allostasis, the stress response operates to alter both its set point and peripheral transfer parameters. In contrast, type 2 allostatic load, typically effective in psychosocial stress, pregnancy, metabolic syndrome, and adaptation to cold, produces a nearly opposite phenotype of predictive plasticity. The non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS) or thyroid allostasis in critical illness, tumors, uremia, and starvation (TACITUS), commonly observed in hospitalized patients, displays a historically well-studied pattern of allostatic thyroid response. This is characterized by decreased total and free thyroid hormone concentrations and varying levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) ranging from decreased (in severe cases) to normal or even elevated (mainly in the recovery phase) TSH concentrations. An acute versus chronic stage (wasting syndrome) of TACITUS can be discerned. The two types differ in molecular mechanisms and prognosis. The acute adaptation of thyroid hormone metabolism to critical illness may prove beneficial to the organism, whereas the far more complex molecular alterations associated with chronic illness frequently lead to allostatic overload. The latter is associated with poor outcome, independently of the underlying disease. Adaptive responses of thyroid homeostasis extend to alterations in thyroid hormone concentrations during fetal life, periods of weight gain or loss, thermoregulation, physical exercise, and psychiatric diseases. The various forms of thyroid allostasis pose serious problems in differential diagnosis of thyroid disease. This review article provides an overview of physiological mechanisms as well as major diagnostic and therapeutic implications of thyroid allostasis under a variety of developmental and straining conditions. PMID:28775711

Thyroid Allostasis–Adaptive Responses of Thyrotropic Feedback Control to Conditions of Strain, Stress, and Developmental Programming

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Apostolos Chatzitomaris

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The hypothalamus–pituitary–thyroid feedback control is a dynamic, adaptive system. In situations of illness and deprivation of energy representing type 1 allostasis, the stress response operates to alter both its set point and peripheral transfer parameters. In contrast, type 2 allostatic load, typically effective in psychosocial stress, pregnancy, metabolic syndrome, and adaptation to cold, produces a nearly opposite phenotype of predictive plasticity. The non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS or thyroid allostasis in critical illness, tumors, uremia, and starvation (TACITUS, commonly observed in hospitalized patients, displays a historically well-studied pattern of allostatic thyroid response. This is characterized by decreased total and free thyroid hormone concentrations and varying levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH ranging from decreased (in severe cases to normal or even elevated (mainly in the recovery phase TSH concentrations. An acute versus chronic stage (wasting syndrome of TACITUS can be discerned. The two types differ in molecular mechanisms and prognosis. The acute adaptation of thyroid hormone metabolism to critical illness may prove beneficial to the organism, whereas the far more complex molecular alterations associated with chronic illness frequently lead to allostatic overload. The latter is associated with poor outcome, independently of the underlying disease. Adaptive responses of thyroid homeostasis extend to alterations in thyroid hormone concentrations during fetal life, periods of weight gain or loss, thermoregulation, physical exercise, and psychiatric diseases. The various forms of thyroid allostasis pose serious problems in differential diagnosis of thyroid disease. This review article provides an overview of physiological mechanisms as well as major diagnostic and therapeutic implications of thyroid allostasis under a variety of developmental and straining conditions.

Acute stress does not affect the impairing effect of chronic stress on memory retrieval

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Ozbaki, Jamile; Goudarzi, Iran; Salmani, Mahmoud Elahdadi; Rashidy-Pour, Ali

2016-01-01

Objective(s): Due to the prevalence and pervasiveness of stress in modern life and exposure to both chronic and acute stresses, it is not clear whether prior exposure to chronic stress can influence the impairing effects of acute stress on memory retrieval. This issue was tested in this study. Materials and Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to the following groups: control, acute, chronic, and chronic + acute stress groups. The rats were trained with six trials per day for 6 consecutive days in the water maze. Following training, the rats were either kept in control conditions or exposed to chronic stress in a restrainer 6 hr/day for 21 days. On day 22, a probe test was done to measure memory retention. Time spent in target and opposite areas, platform location latency, and proximity were used as indices of memory retention. To induce acute stress, 30 min before the probe test, animals received a mild footshock. Results: Stressed animals spent significantly less time in the target quadrant and more time in the opposite quadrant than control animals. Moreover, the stressed animals showed significantly increased platform location latency and proximity as compared with control animals. No significant differences were found in these measures among stress exposure groups. Finally, both chronic and acute stress significantly increased corticosterone levels. Conclusion: Our results indicate that both chronic and acute stress impair memory retrieval similarly. Additionally, the impairing effects of chronic stress on memory retrieval were not influenced by acute stress. PMID:27635201

Nicotinamidase modulation of NAD+ biosynthesis and nicotinamide levels separately affect reproductive development and cell survival in C. elegans.

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Vrablik, Tracy L; Huang, Li; Lange, Stephanie E; Hanna-Rose, Wendy

2009-11-01

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) is a central molecule in cellular metabolism and an obligate co-substrate for NAD(+)-consuming enzymes, which regulate key biological processes such as longevity and stress responses. Although NAD(+) biosynthesis has been intensely studied, little analysis has been done in developmental models. We have uncovered novel developmental roles for a nicotinamidase (PNC), the first enzyme in the NAD(+) salvage pathway of invertebrates. Mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans nicotinamidase PNC-1 cause developmental and functional defects in the reproductive system; the development of the gonad is delayed, four uterine cells die by necrosis and the mutant animals are egg-laying defective. The temporal delay in gonad development results from depletion of the salvage pathway product NAD(+), whereas the uv1 cell necrosis and egg-laying defects result from accumulation of the substrate nicotinamide. Thus, regulation of both substrate and product level is key to the biological activity of PNC-1. We also find that diet probably affects the levels of these metabolites, as it affects phenotypes. Finally, we identified a secreted isoform of PNC-1 and confirmed its extracellular localization and functional activity in vivo. We demonstrate that nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt), the equivalent enzyme in nicotinamide recycling to NAD(+) in vertebrates, can functionally substitute for PNC-1. As Nampt is also secreted, we postulate an evolutionarily conserved extracellular role for NAD(+) biosynthetic enzymes during development and physiology.

College Students' Experiences of Childhood Developmental Traumatic Stress: Resilience, First-Year Academic Performance, and Substance Use

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Arnekrans, Allison K.; Calmes, Stephanie A.; Laux, John M.; Roseman, Christopher P.; Piazza, Nick J.; Reynolds, Jennifer L.; Harmening, Debra; Scott, Holly L.

2018-01-01

Developmental trauma--distressing childhood experiences that include mistreatment, interpersonal violence, abuse, assault, and neglect--is associated with substance use and poor academic performance. The authors investigated the links between developmental trauma, grade point average, substance use, and resilience among first-year college students…

Differential entrainment of neuroelectric delta oscillations in developmental dyslexia.

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Fruzsina Soltész

Full Text Available Oscillatory entrainment to the speech signal is important for language processing, but has not yet been studied in developmental disorders of language. Developmental dyslexia, a difficulty in acquiring efficient reading skills linked to difficulties with phonology (the sound structure of language, has been associated with behavioural entrainment deficits. It has been proposed that the phonological 'deficit' that characterises dyslexia across languages is related to impaired auditory entrainment to speech at lower frequencies via neuroelectric oscillations (<10 Hz, 'temporal sampling theory'. Impaired entrainment to temporal modulations at lower frequencies would affect the recovery of the prosodic and syllabic structure of speech. Here we investigated event-related oscillatory EEG activity and contingent negative variation (CNV to auditory rhythmic tone streams delivered at frequencies within the delta band (2 Hz, 1.5 Hz, relevant to sampling stressed syllables in speech. Given prior behavioural entrainment findings at these rates, we predicted functionally atypical entrainment of delta oscillations in dyslexia. Participants performed a rhythmic expectancy task, detecting occasional white noise targets interspersed with tones occurring regularly at rates of 2 Hz or 1.5 Hz. Both groups showed significant entrainment of delta oscillations to the rhythmic stimulus stream, however the strength of inter-trial delta phase coherence (ITC, 'phase locking' and the CNV were both significantly weaker in dyslexics, suggestive of weaker entrainment and less preparatory brain activity. Both ITC strength and CNV amplitude were significantly related to individual differences in language processing and reading. Additionally, the instantaneous phase of prestimulus delta oscillation predicted behavioural responding (response time for control participants only.

Acute Stress Affects the Expression of Hippocampal Mu Oscillations in an Age-Dependent Manner

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Samir Takillah

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Anxiolytic drugs are widely used in the elderly, a population particularly sensitive to stress. Stress, aging and anxiolytics all affect low-frequency oscillations in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC independently, but the interactions between these factors remain unclear. Here, we compared the effects of stress (elevated platform, EP and anxiolytics (diazepam, DZP on extracellular field potentials (EFP in the PFC, parietal cortex and hippocampus (dorsal and ventral parts of adult (8 months and aged (18 months Wistar rats. A potential source of confusion in the experimental studies in rodents comes from locomotion-related theta (6–12 Hz oscillations, which may overshadow the direct effects of anxiety on low-frequency and especially on the high-amplitude oscillations in the Mu range (7–12 Hz, related to arousal. Animals were restrained to avoid any confound and isolate the direct effects of stress from theta oscillations related to stress-induced locomotion. We identified transient, high-amplitude oscillations in the 7–12 Hz range (“Mu-bursts” in the PFC, parietal cortex and only in the dorsal part of hippocampus. At rest, aged rats displayed more Mu-bursts than adults. Stress acted differently on Mu-bursts depending on age: it increases vs. decreases burst, in adult and aged animals, respectively. In contrast DZP (1 mg/kg acted the same way in stressed adult and age animal: it decreased the occurrence of Mu-bursts, as well as their co-occurrence. This is consistent with DZP acting as a positive allosteric modulator of GABAA receptors, which globally potentiates inhibition and has anxiolytic effects. Overall, the effect of benzodiazepines on stressed animals was to restore Mu burst activity in adults but to strongly diminish them in aged rats. This work suggests Mu-bursts as a neural marker to study the impact of stress and DZP on age.

Acute Stress Affects the Expression of Hippocampal Mu Oscillations in an Age-Dependent Manner.

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Takillah, Samir; Naudé, Jérémie; Didienne, Steve; Sebban, Claude; Decros, Brigitte; Schenker, Esther; Spedding, Michael; Mourot, Alexandre; Mariani, Jean; Faure, Philippe

2017-01-01

Anxiolytic drugs are widely used in the elderly, a population particularly sensitive to stress. Stress, aging and anxiolytics all affect low-frequency oscillations in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) independently, but the interactions between these factors remain unclear. Here, we compared the effects of stress (elevated platform, EP) and anxiolytics (diazepam, DZP) on extracellular field potentials (EFP) in the PFC, parietal cortex and hippocampus (dorsal and ventral parts) of adult (8 months) and aged (18 months) Wistar rats. A potential source of confusion in the experimental studies in rodents comes from locomotion-related theta (6-12 Hz) oscillations, which may overshadow the direct effects of anxiety on low-frequency and especially on the high-amplitude oscillations in the Mu range (7-12 Hz), related to arousal. Animals were restrained to avoid any confound and isolate the direct effects of stress from theta oscillations related to stress-induced locomotion. We identified transient, high-amplitude oscillations in the 7-12 Hz range ("Mu-bursts") in the PFC, parietal cortex and only in the dorsal part of hippocampus. At rest, aged rats displayed more Mu-bursts than adults. Stress acted differently on Mu-bursts depending on age: it increases vs. decreases burst, in adult and aged animals, respectively. In contrast DZP (1 mg/kg) acted the same way in stressed adult and age animal: it decreased the occurrence of Mu-bursts, as well as their co-occurrence. This is consistent with DZP acting as a positive allosteric modulator of GABA A receptors, which globally potentiates inhibition and has anxiolytic effects. Overall, the effect of benzodiazepines on stressed animals was to restore Mu burst activity in adults but to strongly diminish them in aged rats. This work suggests Mu-bursts as a neural marker to study the impact of stress and DZP on age.

Incomplete inversion of the hippocampus - a common developmental anomaly

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Bajic, Dragan; Wang, Chen; Raininko, Raili [Uppsala University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Uppsala (Sweden); Kumlien, Eva; Mattsson, Peter [Uppsala University Hospital, Department of Neurology, Uppsala (Sweden); Lundberg, Staffan; Eeg-Olofsson, Orvar [Uppsala University Hospital, Department of Child Neurology, Uppsala (Sweden)

2008-01-15

Incomplete inversion of the hippocampus, an imperfect fetal development, has been described in patients with epilepsy or severe midline malformations. We studied this condition in a nonepileptic population without obvious developmental anomalies. We analyzed the coronal MR images of 50 women and 50 men who did not have epilepsy. Twenty of them were healthy volunteers and 80 were patients without obvious intracranial developmental anomalies, intracranial masses, hydrocephalus or any condition affecting the temporal lobes. If the entire hippocampus (the head could not be evaluated) were affected, the incomplete inversion was classified as total, otherwise as partial. Incomplete inversion of the hippocampus was found in 19/100 subjects (9 women, 10 men). It was unilateral, always on the left side, in 13 subjects (4 women, 9 men): 9 were of the total type, 4 were partial. It was bilateral in six subjects (five women, one man): four subjects had total types bilaterally, two had a combination of total and partial types. The collateral sulcus was vertically oriented in all subjects with a deviating hippocampal shape. We conclude that incomplete inversion of the hippocampus is not an unusual morphologic variety in a nonepileptic population without other obvious intracranial developmental anomalies. (orig.)

DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE - EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES FOR THE 1990S AND BEYOND

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JACKSON, S; BOSMA, HA

1992-01-01

Present-day approaches to adolescent research are no longer characterized by the notion that adolescence is a period of 'storm and stress' but emphasize instead the processes of change and adjustment which take place in response to developmental transitions. This article considers these and other

A-to-I RNA editing in the rat brain is age-dependent, region-specific and sensitive to environmental stress across generations.

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Zaidan, Hiba; Ramaswami, Gokul; Golumbic, Yaela N; Sher, Noa; Malik, Assaf; Barak, Michal; Galiani, Dalia; Dekel, Nava; Li, Jin B; Gaisler-Salomon, Inna

2018-01-08

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is an epigenetic modification catalyzed by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs), and is especially prevalent in the brain. We used the highly accurate microfluidics-based multiplex PCR sequencing (mmPCR-seq) technique to assess the effects of development and environmental stress on A-to-I editing at 146 pre-selected, conserved sites in the rat prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Furthermore, we asked whether changes in editing can be observed in offspring of stress-exposed rats. In parallel, we assessed changes in ADARs expression levels. In agreement with previous studies, we found editing to be generally higher in adult compared to neonatal rat brain. At birth, editing was generally lower in prefrontal cortex than in amygdala. Stress affected editing at the serotonin receptor 2c (Htr2c), and editing at this site was significantly altered in offspring of rats exposed to prereproductive stress across two generations. Stress-induced changes in Htr2c editing measured with mmPCR-seq were comparable to changes measured with Sanger and Illumina sequencing. Developmental and stress-induced changes in Adar and Adarb1 mRNA expression were observed but did not correlate with editing changes. Our findings indicate that mmPCR-seq can accurately detect A-to-I RNA editing in rat brain samples, and confirm previous accounts of a developmental increase in RNA editing rates. Our findings also point to stress in adolescence as an environmental factor that alters RNA editing patterns several generations forward, joining a growing body of literature describing the transgenerational effects of stress.

Applying a Lifespan Developmental Perspective to Chronic Pain: Pediatrics to Geriatrics.

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Walco, Gary A; Krane, Elliot J; Schmader, Kenneth E; Weiner, Debra K

2016-09-01

An ideal taxonomy of chronic pain would be applicable to people of all ages. Developmental sciences focus on lifespan developmental approaches, and view the trajectory of processes in the life course from birth to death. In this article we provide a review of lifespan developmental models, describe normal developmental processes that affect pain processing, and identify deviations from those processes that lead to stable individual differences of clinical interest, specifically the development of chronic pain syndromes. The goals of this review were 1) to unify what are currently separate purviews of "pediatric pain," "adult pain," and "geriatric pain," and 2) to generate models so that specific elements of the chronic pain taxonomy might include important developmental considerations. A lifespan developmental model is applied to the forthcoming Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks-American Pain Society Pain Taxonomy to ascertain the degree to which general "adult" descriptions apply to pediatric and geriatric populations, or if age- or development-related considerations need to be invoked. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Rational Choice and Developmental Influences on Recidivism Among Adolescent Felony Offenders

OpenAIRE

Fagan, Jeffrey; Piquero, Alex R.

2007-01-01

Recent case law and social science both have claimed that the developmental limitations of adolescents affect their capacity for control and decision making with respect to crime, diminishing their culpability and reducing their exposure to punishment. Social science has focused on two concurrent adolescent developmental influences: the internalization of legal rules and norms that regulate social and antisocial behaviors, and the development of rationality to frame behavioral choices and dec...

Mechanistic Investigations Into the Developmental Toxicity of Nitrated and Heterocyclic PAHs

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Chlebowski, Anna C.; Garcia, Gloria R.; La Du, Jane K.; Bisson, William H.; Truong, Lisa; Massey Simonich, Staci L.

2017-01-01

Abstract Nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) and heterocyclic PAHs (HPAHs) are recognized environmental pollutants. However, the health risks of NPAHs and HPAHs to humans and environmental systems are not well-studied. The developmental zebrafish (Danio rerio) model was used to evaluate the toxicity of a structurally diverse set of 27 NPAHs and 10 HPAHs. The individual activity of each compound towards the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), including the role of the AHR in observed toxicity, and genetic markers of oxidative stress and cardiac toxicity were evaluated. Zebrafish embryos were exposed from 6 to 120 hours post fertilization (hpf), to a broad concentration range of individual compounds, and evaluated for 22 developmental endpoints. The potential role of AHR was determined using the transgenic Tg(cyp1a:nls-egfp) reporter zebrafish line. All compounds were screened computationally through molecular docking using a previously developed AHR models of zebrafish isoforms 1A, 1B, and 2. Some compounds did not induce observable developmental toxic responses, whereas others produced statistically significant concentration-dependent toxicity. The tested compounds also exhibited a range of predicted AHR binding and cyp1a/GFP induction patterns, including cyp1a expression in the liver, vasculature, skin, and yolk, which we determined to be due to distinct isoforms of the AHR, using morpholino oligonucleotide knockdown. Furthermore, we investigated mRNA expression of oxidative and cardiac stress genes at 48 and 120 hpf, which indicated several potential mechanisms-of-action for NPAHs. Overall, we observed a range of developmental toxicities, cyp1a/GFP expression patterns, and gene expression profiles, suggestive of several potential mechanisms of action. PMID:28186253

The ties that bind: perceived social support, stress, and IBS in severely affected patients.

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Lackner, J M; Brasel, A M; Quigley, B M; Keefer, L; Krasner, S S; Powell, C; Katz, L A; Sitrin, M D

2010-08-01

This study assessed the association between social support and the severity of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms in a sample of severely affected IBS patients recruited to an NIH-funded clinical trial. In addition, we examined if the effects of social support on IBS pain are mediated through the effects on stress. Subjects were 105 Rome II diagnosed IBS patients (F = 85%) who completed seven questionnaires which were collected as part of a pretreatment baseline assessment. Partial correlations were conducted to clarify the relationships between social support and clinically relevant variables with baseline levels of psychopathology, holding constant number of comorbid medical diseases, age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, and education. Analyses indicated that social support was inversely related to IBS symptom severity. Social support was positively related with less severe pain. A similar pattern of data was found for perceived stress but not quality of life impairment. Regression analyses examined if the effects of social support on pain are mediated by stress. The effects of social support on bodily pain were mediated by stress such that the greater the social support the less stress and the less pain. This effect did not hold for symptom severity, quality of life, or psychological distress. This study links the perceived adequacy of social support to the global severity of symptoms of IBS and its cardinal symptom (pain). It also suggests that the mechanism by which social support alleviates pain is through a reduction in stress levels.

The partial pressure of oxygen affects biomarkers of oxidative stress in cultured rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytes.

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Finne, E F; Olsvik, P A; Berntssen, M H G; Hylland, K; Tollefsen, K E

2008-09-01

Oxidative stress, the imbalance between production of reactive oxygen species and the cellular detoxification of these reactive compounds, is believed to be involved in the pathology of various diseases. Several biomarkers for oxidative stress have been proposed to serve as tools in toxicological and ecotoxicological research. Not only may exposure to various pro-oxidants create conditions of cellular oxidative stress, but hyperoxic conditions may also increase the production of reactive oxygen species. The objective of the current study was to determine the extent to which differences in oxygen partial pressure would affect biomarkers of oxidative stress in a primary culture of hepatocytes from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Membrane integrity, metabolic activity, levels of total and oxidized glutathione (tGSH/GSSG) was determined, as well as mRNA expression levels of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GSSG-R), gamma-glutamyl-cystein synthetase (GCS) and thioredoxin (TRX). The results show that different biomarkers of oxidative stress are affected when the cell culture is exposed to atmospheric oxygen, and that changes such as increased GSSG content and induction of GSSG-R and GSH-Px can be reduced by culturing the cells under lower oxygen tension. Oxygen tension may thus influence results of in vitro based cell research and is particularly important when assessing parameters in the antioxidant defence system. Further research is needed to establish the magnitude of this effect in different cellular systems.

RNAi Screen in Drosophila melanogastor Identifies Regulators of Steroidogenesis and Developmental Maturation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danielsen, Erik Thomas

and duration required for juvenile-adult transition. This PhD project demonstrates the power of Drosophila genetics by taking an in vivo genome-wide RNAi screening approach to uncover genes required for the function of steroid producing tissue and developmental maturation. In total, 1909 genes were found...... to be required for the prothoracic gland function and affected the developmental timing for the juvenile-adult transition. Among the screen hits, we focused on an uncharacterized gene, sit (CG5278), which is highly expressed in the gland and is required for ecdysone production. Sit is a homolog of mammalian very...... flux of cholesterol uptake in the gland cells and affected the endosomal trafficking. Therefore this gene was suggested to be named stuck in traffic (sit). Sit’s role in cholesterol uptake was also supported by the observation that the developmental delayed phenotype from loss of sit expression...

Postlearning stress differentially affects memory for emotional gist and detail in naturally cycling women and women on hormonal contraceptives.

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Shawn E; Ahmed, Imran; Cahill, Larry

2014-08-01

Sex differences in emotional memory have received increasing interest over the past decade. However, to date, no work has explored how a postlearning stressor might modulate the influence of sex hormone status on memory for gist and peripheral detail in an emotional versus neutral context. Here, we tested 3 predictions. First, compared with naturally cycling (NC) women in the luteal phase, women on hormonal contraception (HC) would have significantly blunted hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal reactivity to physical stress. Second, postlearning stress would enhance detail and gist memory from an emotional story in NC women, and finally, postlearning stress would not affect emotional memory for details or gist in HC women. Healthy NC and HC women viewed a brief, narrated story containing neutral or emotionally arousing elements. Immediately after, cold pressor stress (CPS) or a control procedure was administered. One week later, participants received a surprise free recall test for story elements. NC women exhibited significantly greater cortisol increases to CPS compared with HC women. NC women who viewed the emotional story and were administered CPS recalled the most peripheral details overall and more gist from the emotional compared with the neutral story. In HC women, however, the postlearning cortisol release did not affect memory for gist or peripheral details from the emotional or neutral story in any way. Additionally, NC and HC women performed similarly on measures of attention and arousal. These findings suggest that in women, postlearning stress differentially affects memory for emotional information depending on their hormonal contraceptive status.

The long-term impact of developmental stress. Evidence from later medieval and post-medieval London (AD1117-1853).

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, Rebecca

2015-12-01

Episodes of ill-health in childhood can predispose affected individuals to further periods of illness and early adult mortality. This study uses nonspecific indicators of stress to examine how growth disruptions during infancy/early childhood, and late childhood/early adolescence affected adult longevity in later medieval and post-medieval London. Hazards analysis was used to evaluate the effect of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) and the size of the anteroposterior (AP) and transverse (TR) diameters of the vertebral neural canal (VNC) on adult age-at-death. This was applied to skeletal samples from later medieval (n = 461) and post-medieval (n = 480) London. Growth disruptions during infancy/early childhood (LEH and AP VNC diameters) were not associated with longevity, or with impaired growth at later stages of development (TR VNC diameters). Growth disruptions during late childhood/early adolescence (TR VNC diameters) were associated with a significantly increased risk of adult mortality. Macroscopic hypoplasia represent short periods of stress during infancy/early childhood which did not disrupt future investments in growth or cause long-term damage to health. Small TR diameters represent chronic stress during late childhood/early adolescence which resulted in greater susceptibility to infections and increased risk of mortality. These interactions were influenced by sex and socioeconomic status, suggesting that socioeconomic circumstances in both childhood and adult life could influence exposure and resistance to stressors. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Combined effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and maternal restraint stress on hypothalamus adrenal axis (HPA) function in the offspring of mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribes, Diana; Fuentes, Silvia; Torrente, Margarita; Colomina, M. Teresa; Domingo, Jose L.

2010-01-01

Although it is known that prenatal exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) can cause developmental adverse effects in mammals, the disruptive effects of this compound on hormonal systems are still controversial. Information concerning the effects of PFOS on hypothalamus adrenal (HPA) axis response to stress and corticosterone levels is not currently available. On the other hand, it is well established that stress can enhance the developmental toxicity of some chemicals. In the present study, we assessed the combined effects of maternal restraint stress and PFOS on HPA axis function in the offspring of mice. Twenty plug-positive female mice were divided in two groups. Animals were given by gavage 0 and 6 mg PFOS/kg/day on gestation days 12-18. One half of the animals in each group were also subjected to restraint stress (30 min/session, 3 sessions/day) during the same period. Five plug-positive females were also included as non-manipulated controls. At 3 months of age, activity in an open-field and the stress response were evaluated in male and female mice by exposing them to 30 min of restraint stress. Male and female offspring were subsequently sacrificed and blood samples were collected to measure changes in corticosterone levels at four different moments related to stress exposure conditions: before stress exposure, immediately after 30 min of stress exposure, and recuperation levels at 60 and 90 min after stress exposure. Results indicate corticosterone levels were lower in mice prenatally exposed to restraint. In general terms, PFOS exposure decreased corticosterone levels, although this effect was only significant in females. The recuperation pattern of corticosterone was mainly affected by prenatal stress. Interactive effects between PFOS and maternal stress were sex dependent. The current results suggest that prenatal PFOS exposure induced long-lasting effects in mice.

Early developmental and temporal characteristics of stress-induced secretion of pituitary-adrenal hormones in prenatally stressed rat pups.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, L K; Kalin, N H

1991-08-30

Previous experiments revealed that 14-day-old prenatally stressed rats have significantly elevated concentrations of plasma adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone suggesting these animals have an overactive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system. In these studies, however, stress-induced hormone levels were determined only immediately after exposure to an acute stressor. Therefore, in the current study, we examined in postnatal days 7, 14 and 21 prenatally stressed rats the stress-induced time course of this pituitary-adrenal hormone elevation. Plasma ACTH and corticosterone were measured in the basal state and at 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 h after a 10-min exposure period to foot shocks administered in the context of social isolation. Results indicated that at all 3 ages, plasma ACTH in prenatally stressed rats was significantly elevated. Corticosterone concentrations were also significantly higher in prenatally stressed than in control rats, especially in day 14 rats. Analysis of stress-induced hormone fluctuations over time indicated that by 14 days of age, both prenatally stressed than in control and control rats had significant increases in plasma ACTH and corticosterone after exposure to stress. Furthermore, although prenatally stressed rats had significantly higher pituitary-adrenal hormone concentrations than control animals, the post-stress temporal patterns of decline in ACTH and corticosterone levels were similar between groups. Results suggest that throughout the preweaning period, prenatal stress produces an HPA system that functions in a manner similar to that of controls but at an increased level.

Negative Affect Instability among Individuals with Comorbid Borderline Personality Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

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Scheiderer, Emily M.; Wang, Ting; Tomko, Rachel L.; Wood, Phillip K.; Trull, Timothy J.

2015-01-01

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA; Stone & Shiffman, 1994) was utilized to examine affective instability (AI) in the daily lives of outpatients with borderline personality disorder (BPD; n=78) with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A psychiatric control group (n=50) composed of outpatients with major depressive disorder/dysthymia (MDD/DYS) was employed to compare across subgroups: BPD-only, BPD+PTSD, MDD/DYS-only, and MDD/DYS+PTSD. Compared to the BPD-only group, the BPD+PTSD group had significantly greater instability of fear and sadness, but did not significantly differ in instability of hostility or aggregate negative affect. This pattern of elevated instability of fear and sadness was not present—and, in fact, was reversed—in the MDD/DYS group. Results emphasize the importance of examining AI within the context of specific comorbidities and affect types. Treatment and research addressing AI in the context of BPD-PTSD comorbidity may benefit from a focus on fear and sadness as separate from hostility or general negative affect. PMID:26904388

Internet search term affects the quality and accuracy of online information about developmental hip dysplasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Fabricant, Peter D; Dy, Christopher J; Patel, Ronak M; Blanco, John S; Doyle, Shevaun M

2013-06-01

The recent emphasis on shared decision-making has increased the role of the Internet as a readily accessible medical reference source for patients and families. However, the lack of professional review creates concern over the quality, accuracy, and readability of medical information available to patients on the Internet. Three Internet search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) were evaluated prospectively using 3 difference search terms of varying sophistication ("congenital hip dislocation," "developmental dysplasia of the hip," and "hip dysplasia in children"). Sixty-three unique Web sites were evaluated by each of 3 surgeons (2 fellowship-trained pediatric orthopaedic attendings and 1 orthopaedic chief resident) for quality and accuracy using a set of scoring criteria based on the AAOS/POSNA patient education Web site. The readability (literacy grade level) of each Web site was assessed using the Fleisch-Kincaid score. There were significant differences noted in quality, accuracy, and readability of information depending on the search term used. The search term "developmental dysplasia of the hip" provided higher quality and accuracy compared with the search term "congenital hip dislocation." Of the 63 total Web sites, 1 (1.6%) was below the sixth grade reading level recommended by the NIH for health education materials and 8 (12.7%) Web sites were below the average American reading level (eighth grade). The quality and accuracy of information available on the Internet regarding developmental hip dysplasia significantly varied with the search term used. Patients seeking information about DDH on the Internet may not understand the materials found because nearly all of the Web sites are written at a level above that recommended for publically distributed health information. Physicians should advise their patients to search for information using the term "developmental dysplasia of the hip" or, better yet, should refer patients to Web sites that they have

The Vascular Pathogen Verticillium longisporum Does Not Affect Water Relations and Plant Responses to Drought Stress of Its Host, Brassica napus.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopisso, Daniel Teshome; Knüfer, Jessica; Koopmann, Birger; von Tiedemann, Andreas

2017-04-01

Verticillium longisporum is a host-specific vascular pathogen of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) that causes economic crop losses by impairing plant growth and inducing premature senescence. This study investigates whether plant damage through Verticillium stem striping is due to impaired plant water relations, whether V. longisporum affects responses of a susceptible B. napus variety to drought stress, and whether drought stress, in turn, affects plant responses to V. longisporum. Two-factorial experiments on a susceptible cultivar of B. napus infected or noninfected with V. longisporum and exposed to three watering levels (30, 60, and 100% field capacity) revealed that drought stress and V. longisporum impaired plant growth by entirely different mechanisms. Although both stresses similarly affected plant growth parameters (plant height, hypocotyl diameter, and shoot and root dry matter), infection of B. napus with V. longisporum did not affect any drought-related physiological or molecular genetic plant parameters, including transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis rate, water use efficiency, relative leaf water content, leaf proline content, or the expression of drought-responsive genes. Thus, this study provides comprehensive physiological and molecular genetic evidence explaining the lack of wilt symptoms in B. napus infected with V. longisporum. Likewise, drought tolerance of B. napus was unaffected by V. longisporum, as was the level of disease by drought conditions, thus excluding a concerted action of both stresses in the field. Although it is evident that drought and vascular infection with V. longisporum impair plant growth by different mechanisms, it remains to be determined by which other factors V. longisporum causes crop loss.

Improving cognitive control in adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Science.gov (United States)

Schweizer, Susanne; Samimi, Zobair; Hasani, Jafar; Moradi, Alireza; Mirdoraghi, Fatemeh; Khaleghi, Mohammad

2017-06-01

The adverse impact of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the developing mind in adolescence can extend well into adulthood. The developmental malleability of cognitive control capacity in this age group, however, may hold particular promise for cognitive training interventions. The present study investigated the effects of affective working memory (aWMT) compared to placebo-training on cognitive and affective functioning in adolescents with PTSD. 30 treatment-seeking adolescents trained for 20 days on either an affective dual n-back task (aWMT; n = 15) or a feature match task (placebo; n = 15). The aWMT group showed greater pre-to post-training increases in cognitive control as measured by the GoNogo task as well as improvements in symptoms of PTSD and increased use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies. These preliminary findings are promising given the potential for free and easy dissemination of the aWMT in schools and online. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Pediatric neurofibromatosis 1 and parental stress: a multicenter study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esposito M

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Maria Esposito,1 Rosa Marotta,2 Michele Roccella,3 Beatrice Gallai,4 Lucia Parisi,3 Serena Marianna Lavano,2 Marco Carotenuto1 1Clinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Department of Mental Health, Physical and Preventive Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy; 2Department of Psychiatry, "Magna Graecia" University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy; 3Child Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 4Unit of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy Background: Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1 is a complex and multifaceted neurocutaneous syndrome with many and varied comorbidities. The literature about the prevalence and degree of maternal stress and the impact of NF1 in the parent–child interaction is still scant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of maternal stress in a large pediatric sample of individuals affected by NF1. Methods: Thirty-seven children (19 boys, 18 girls of mean age 7.86±2.94 (range 5–11 years affected by typical NF1 and a control group comprising 405 typically developing children (207 boys, 198 girls; mean age 8.54±2.47 years were included in this study. To assess parental stress, the mothers of all individuals (NF1 and comparisons filled out the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form test. Results: The two study groups were comparable for age (P=0.116, gender (P=0.886, and body mass index adjusted for age (P=0.305. Mothers of children affected by NF1 reported higher mean Parenting Stress Index-Short Form scores on the Parental Distress domain (P<0.001, Difficult Child domain (P<0.001, and Total Stress domain than the mothers of typically developing children (controls (P<0.001. No significant differences between the two groups were found for the Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction domain (P=0.566 or Defensive Responding domain scores (P=0.160. Conclusion: NF1 is considered a multisystemic and complex disease, with many

Encopresis, Soiling and Constipation in Children and Adults with Developmental Disability

Science.gov (United States)

Matson, Johnny L.; LoVullo, Santino V.

2009-01-01

Children and adults with developmental disabilities are more likely to evince encopresis, soiling and constipation than the general population. This set of related behaviors can produce a great deal of stress and can be a major restriction in independent living. This paper provides a review of the current state of knowledge on the prevalence,…

Child maltreatment and children's developmental trajectories in early to middle childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Font, Sarah A; Berger, Lawrence M

2015-01-01

Associations between experiencing child maltreatment and adverse developmental outcomes are widely studied, yet conclusions regarding the extent to which effects are bidirectional, and whether they are likely causal, remain elusive. This study uses the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth cohort of 4,898 children followed from birth through age 9. Hierarchical linear modeling and structural equation modeling are employed to estimate associations of maltreatment with cognitive and social-emotional well-being. Results suggest that effects of early childhood maltreatment emerge immediately, though developmental outcomes are also affected by newly occurring maltreatment over time. Additionally, findings indicate that children's early developmental scores predict their subsequent probability of experiencing maltreatment, though to a lesser extent than early maltreatment predicts subsequent developmental outcomes. © 2014 The Authors. Child Development © 2014 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Neuronal responses to physiological stress

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kagias, Konstantinos; Nehammer, Camilla; Pocock, Roger David John

2012-01-01

damage during aging that results in decline and eventual death. Studies have shown that the nervous system plays a pivotal role in responding to stress. Neurons not only receive and process information from the environment but also actively respond to various stresses to promote survival. These responses......Physiological stress can be defined as any external or internal condition that challenges the homeostasis of a cell or an organism. It can be divided into three different aspects: environmental stress, intrinsic developmental stress, and aging. Throughout life all living organisms are challenged...... by changes in the environment. Fluctuations in oxygen levels, temperature, and redox state for example, trigger molecular events that enable an organism to adapt, survive, and reproduce. In addition to external stressors, organisms experience stress associated with morphogenesis and changes in inner...

Trans-generational effects of mild heat stress on the life history traits of an aphid parasitoid.

Science.gov (United States)

Ismaeil, Ibrahim; Doury, Géraldine; Desouhant, Emmanuel; Dubois, Françoise; Prevost, Geneviève; Couty, Aude

2013-01-01

Temperature changes are common in nature and insects are particularly exposed and sensitive to such variations which can be potential stresses, ultimately affecting life history traits and overall fitness. Braconids have been widely used to study the effects of temperature on host-parasitoid interactions and the present work focused on the solitary endoparasitoid Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae Aphidiidae), an efficient biological control agent commercially used against aphids such as the potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas (Sternorrhyncha: Aphididae). Contrary to previous studies using heat shocks at extreme temperatures, we evaluated the effects of mild heat stresses by transferring young parasitoid adults from the constant temperature of 20°C to either a warm (25°C) or hot (28°C) temperature, for either 1 h or 48 h. Such treatments are consistent with situations commonly experienced by parasitoids when moved from their rearing conditions to greenhouses or field conditions. The effects were evaluated both on the heat stressed A. ervi adults (G0) (immediate effects) and on their first generation (G1) progeny (trans-generational effects). G0 wasps' mortality was significantly affected by the temperature in interaction with the duration of the stress. Longevity of G0 wasps surviving the heat stress was negatively affected by the temperature and females lived longer than males. Heat stress applied to A. ervi parents also had consequences on their G1 progeny whose developmental time, rates of mummification and percentage of parasitoid completing total development were negatively affected. Surprisingly, the egg load at emergence of the G1 female progeny was increased when their mothers had been submitted to a mild heat stress of 25°C or 28°C. These results clearly demonstrate trans-generational phenotypic plasticity, showing that adaptation to thermal stresses may be achieved via maternal effects. This study also sheds light on the complexity

Trans-generational effects of mild heat stress on the life history traits of an aphid parasitoid.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim Ismaeil

Full Text Available Temperature changes are common in nature and insects are particularly exposed and sensitive to such variations which can be potential stresses, ultimately affecting life history traits and overall fitness. Braconids have been widely used to study the effects of temperature on host-parasitoid interactions and the present work focused on the solitary endoparasitoid Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae Aphidiidae, an efficient biological control agent commercially used against aphids such as the potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas (Sternorrhyncha: Aphididae. Contrary to previous studies using heat shocks at extreme temperatures, we evaluated the effects of mild heat stresses by transferring young parasitoid adults from the constant temperature of 20°C to either a warm (25°C or hot (28°C temperature, for either 1 h or 48 h. Such treatments are consistent with situations commonly experienced by parasitoids when moved from their rearing conditions to greenhouses or field conditions. The effects were evaluated both on the heat stressed A. ervi adults (G0 (immediate effects and on their first generation (G1 progeny (trans-generational effects. G0 wasps' mortality was significantly affected by the temperature in interaction with the duration of the stress. Longevity of G0 wasps surviving the heat stress was negatively affected by the temperature and females lived longer than males. Heat stress applied to A. ervi parents also had consequences on their G1 progeny whose developmental time, rates of mummification and percentage of parasitoid completing total development were negatively affected. Surprisingly, the egg load at emergence of the G1 female progeny was increased when their mothers had been submitted to a mild heat stress of 25°C or 28°C. These results clearly demonstrate trans-generational phenotypic plasticity, showing that adaptation to thermal stresses may be achieved via maternal effects. This study also sheds light on

The sequential pathway between trauma-related symptom severity and cognitive-based smoking processes through perceived stress and negative affect reduction expectancies among trauma exposed smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Garey, Lorra; Cheema, Mina K; Otal, Tanveer K; Schmidt, Norman B; Neighbors, Clayton; Zvolensky, Michael J

2016-10-01

Smoking rates are markedly higher among trauma-exposed individuals relative to non-trauma-exposed individuals. Extant work suggests that both perceived stress and negative affect reduction smoking expectancies are independent mechanisms that link trauma-related symptoms and smoking. Yet, no work has examined perceived stress and negative affect reduction smoking expectancies as potential explanatory variables for the relation between trauma-related symptom severity and smoking in a sequential pathway model. Methods The present study utilized a sample of treatment-seeking, trauma-exposed smokers (n = 363; 49.0% female) to examine perceived stress and negative affect reduction expectancies for smoking as potential sequential explanatory variables linking trauma-related symptom severity and nicotine dependence, perceived barriers to smoking cessation, and severity of withdrawal-related problems and symptoms during past quit attempts. As hypothesized, perceived stress and negative affect reduction expectancies had a significant sequential indirect effect on trauma-related symptom severity and criterion variables. Findings further elucidate the complex pathways through which trauma-related symptoms contribute to smoking behavior and cognitions, and highlight the importance of addressing perceived stress and negative affect reduction expectancies in smoking cessation programs among trauma-exposed individuals. (Am J Addict 2016;25:565-572). © 2016 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Determinants of developmental delay in infants aged 12 months.

Science.gov (United States)

Slykerman, Rebecca F; Thompson, John M D; Clark, Phillipa M; Becroft, David M O; Robinson, Elizabeth; Pryor, Jan E; Wild, Chris J; Mitchell, Edwin A

2007-03-01

The aim of this study was to determine which demographic, maternal, obstetric and postnatal variables were associated with achievement of developmental milestones at the age of 12 months in term infants. Mothers and babies were enrolled in the Auckland Birthweight Collaborative Study shortly after birth. All infants were full term (gestation >or= 37 weeks). Approximately half of the sample were small for gestational age (SGA = birthweight 10th percentile). A maternal interview was conducted soon after birth. Phase 2 of the study occurred 12 months later when mothers were sent a postal questionnaire requesting information about the child's health and development during the first year of life using the Denver Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire. Seven hundred and forty-four (85.4%) European mothers returned the postal questionnaire. SGA children were not at increased risk of developmental delay at 12 months of age. In a sample representative of New Zealand European children, after adjustment for the effects of potential confounders, maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 2.1 [95% CI 1.1, 4.0]), maternal smoking during the first year of life (OR = 1.9 [95% CI 1.0, 3.8]) and low levels of satisfaction with parenting (OR = 2.4 [95% CI 1.1, 5.2]) were associated with significantly increased risk of developmental delay. In the subgroup of SGA children, maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 2.9 [95% CI 1.4, 6.2]), high levels of stress associated with parenting (OR = 2.2 [95% CI 1.2, 4.0]), and low levels of satisfaction with parenting (OR = 4.3 [95% CI 1.3, 13.5]) were significantly associated with developmental delay after adjustment for the effects of potential confounders. In conclusion, maternal and postnatal factors were better predictors of developmental delay than demographic variables.

Effects of heat stress on bovine preimplantation embryos produced in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakatani, Miki

2017-08-19

Summer heat stress decreases the pregnancy rate in cattle and has been thought to be associated with the early embryonic death caused by the elevation of maternal body temperature. In vitro cultures have been widely used for the evaluation of effects of heat stress on oocytes, fertilization, preimplantation, and embryonic development. Susceptibility to heat stress is present in developmental stages from oocytes to cleavage-stage (before embryonic gene activation, EGA) embryos, leading to a consequent decrease in developmental competence. On the other hand, advanced-stage embryos such as morula or blastocysts have acquired thermotolerance. The mechanism for the developmental stage-dependent change in thermotolerance is considered to be the accumulation of antioxidants in embryos in response to heat-inducible production of reactive oxygen species. The supplementation of antioxidants to the culture media has been known to neutralize the detrimental effects of heat stress. Besides, EGA could be involved in acquisition of thermotolerance in later stages of embryos. Morulae or blastocysts can repair heat-induced unfolded proteins or prevent DNA damage occurring in processes such as apoptosis. Therefore, embryo transfer (ET) that can bypass the heat-sensitive stage could be a good solution to improve the pregnancy rate under heat stress. However, frozen-thawed ET could not improve the pregnancy rate as expected. Frozen-thawed blastocysts were more sensitive to heat stress and showed less proliferation upon heat exposure, compared to fresh blastocysts. Therefore, further research is required to improve the reduction in pregnancy rates due to summer heat stress.

Stress-affected microstructural development and creep-swelling interrelationship

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brager, H.R.; Garner, F.A.; Gilbert, E.R.; Flinn, J.E.; Wolfer, W.G.

1977-05-01

Macroscopic measurement of the deformations arising from swelling and creep during neutron irradiation indicate that both processes are dependent on the magnitude and possibly the sign of the applied stress state. Current modeling efforts also indicate that a strong interaction exists between swelling and creep through the stress state. Because the macroscopic distortions arise from the integrated microscopic strains associated with specific microstructural elements, the effect of applied stress on microstructural development has been studied

Developmental psychopathology: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petermann Franz

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, formerly regarded as a typical childhood disorder, is now known as a developmental disorder persisting over the lifespan. Starting in preschool-age, symptoms vary depending on the age group affected. Method According to the variability of ADHD-symptoms and the heterogeneity of comorbid psychiatric disorders, a broad review of recent studies was performed. These findings were summarized in a developmental psychopathological model, documenting relevant facts on a timeline. Results Based on a genetic disposition and a neuropsychological deregulation, there is evidence for factors which persist across the lifespan, change age-dependently, or show validity in a specific developmental phase. Qualitative changes can be found for children in preschool-age and adults. Conclusion These differences have implications for clinical practice as they can be used for prevention, diagnostic proceedings, and therapeutic intervention as well as for planning future studies. The present article is a translated and modified version of the German article "Entwicklungspsychopathologie der ADHS", published in Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Psychologie und Psychotherapie, 56, 2008, S. 265-274.

Developmental psychopathology: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Sören; Petermann, Franz

2009-09-17

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), formerly regarded as a typical childhood disorder, is now known as a developmental disorder persisting over the lifespan. Starting in preschool-age, symptoms vary depending on the age group affected. According to the variability of ADHD-symptoms and the heterogeneity of comorbid psychiatric disorders, a broad review of recent studies was performed. These findings were summarized in a developmental psychopathological model, documenting relevant facts on a timeline. Based on a genetic disposition and a neuropsychological deregulation, there is evidence for factors which persist across the lifespan, change age-dependently, or show validity in a specific developmental phase. Qualitative changes can be found for children in preschool-age and adults. These differences have implications for clinical practice as they can be used for prevention, diagnostic proceedings, and therapeutic intervention as well as for planning future studies. The present article is a translated and modified version of the German article "Entwicklungspsychopathologie der ADHS", published in Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Psychologie und Psychotherapie, 56, 2008, S. 265-274.

Running away from stress: How regulatory modes prospectively affect athletes' stress through passion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucidi, F; Pica, G; Mallia, L; Castrucci, E; Manganelli, S; Bélanger, J J; Pierro, A

2016-06-01

A prospective field study conducted with runners training for an upcoming marathon (Marathon of Rome 2013) examined the relation between regulatory modes, locomotion and assessment, and stress. Integrating regulatory mode theory and the dualistic model of passion, we hypothesized that the relation between regulatory modes (evaluated 3 months before the race) and the experience of stress approaching the marathon, is mediated by the type of passion (harmonious vs obsessive) athletes experience with regard to marathoning. Results revealed that (a) locomotion positively predicted harmonious passion, which in turn reduced athletes' experience of stress; and (b) assessment positively predicted obsessive passion, which in turn enhanced athletes' experience of stress. Overall, the present results suggest that proximal psychological mechanisms such as basic regulatory mode orientations can predict distal outcomes such as stress indirectly through their relation with motivational phenomena such as passion. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evidence of major genes affecting stress response in rainbow trout using Bayesian methods of complex segregation analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vallejo, R L; Rexroad III, C E; Silverstein, J T

2009-01-01

As a first step toward the genetic mapping of QTL affecting stress response variation in rainbow trout, we performed complex segregation analyses (CSA) fitting mixed inheritance models of plasma cortisol by using Bayesian methods in large full-sib families of rainbow trout. To date, no studies have...... been conducted to determine the mode of inheritance of stress response as measured by plasma cortisol response when using a crowding stress paradigm and CSA in rainbow trout. The main objective of this study was to determine the mode of inheritance of plasma cortisol after a crowding stress....... The results from fitting mixed inheritance models with Bayesian CSA suggest that 1 or more major genes with dominant cortisol-decreasing alleles and small additive genetic effects of a large number of independent genes likely underlie the genetic variation of plasma cortisol in the rainbow trout families...

Germ Cell Origins of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Risk: The Transgenerational Impact of Parental Stress Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, Ali B; Bale, Tracy L

2015-09-01

Altered stress reactivity is a predominant feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and may reflect disease vulnerability, increasing the probability that an individual will develop PTSD following trauma exposure. Environmental factors, particularly prior stress history, contribute to the developmental programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress axis. Critically, the consequences of stress experiences are transgenerational, with parental stress exposure impacting stress reactivity and PTSD risk in subsequent generations. Potential molecular mechanisms underlying this transmission have been explored in rodent models that specifically examine the paternal lineage, identifying epigenetic signatures in male germ cells as possible substrates of transgenerational programming. Here, we review the role of these germ cell epigenetic marks, including posttranslational histone modifications, DNA methylation, and populations of small noncoding RNAs, in the development of offspring stress axis sensitivity and disease risk. Copyright © 2015 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Child, parent, and parent-child emotion narratives: implications for developmental psychopathology.

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Oppenheim, David

2006-01-01

Studies using narratives with children and parents offer ways to study affective meaning-making processes that are central in many theories of developmental psychopathology. This paper reviews theory regarding affective meaning making, and argues that narratives are particularly suited to examine such processes. The review of narrative studies and methods is organized into three sections according to the focus on child, parent, and parent-child narratives. Within each focus three levels of analysis are considered: (a) narrative organization and coherence, (b) narrative content, and (c) the behavior/interactions of the narrator(s). The implications of this research for developmental psychopathology and clinical work are discussed with an emphasis on parent-child jointly constructed narratives as the meeting point of individual child and parent narratives.

Communalism Predicts Maternal Affect, Stress, and Physiology Better than Ethnicity and SES

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Abdou, Cleopatra M.; Schetter, Christine Dunkel; Campos, Belinda; Hilmert, Clayton J.; Dominguez, Tyan Parker; Hobel, Calvin J.; Glynn, Laura M.; Sandman, Curt

2010-01-01

The present study examined the relevance of communalism, operationalized as a cultural orientation emphasizing interdependence, to maternal prenatal emotional health and physiology and distinguished its effects from those of ethnicity and childhood and adult SES. African American and European American women (N=297) were recruited early in pregnancy and followed through 32 weeks gestation using interviews and medical chart review. Overall, African American women and women of lower socioeconomic backgrounds had higher levels of negative affect, stress and blood pressure, but these ethnic and socioeconomic disparities were not observed among women higher in communalism. Hierarchical multivariate regression analyses showed that communalism was a more robust predictor of prenatal emotional health than ethnicity, childhood SES, and adult SES. Communalism also interacted with ethnicity and SES, resulting in lower blood pressure during pregnancy for African American women and women who experienced socioeconomic disadvantage over the life course. The effects of communalism on prenatal affect, stress, and physiology were not explained by depressive symptoms at study entry, perceived availability of social support, self-esteem, optimism, mastery, nor pregnancy-specific factors, including whether the pregnancy was planned, desired after conception, or how frequently the woman felt happy to be pregnant. This suggests that a communal cultural orientation benefits maternal prenatal emotional health and physiology over and above its links to better-understood personal and social resources in addition to economic resources. Implications regarding culture as a determinant of maternal prenatal health and well-being and as a potentially important lens for examining ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities in health are discussed. PMID:20658883

An in-situ investigation of the acute effects of Bikram yoga on positive- and negative affect, and state-anxiety in context of perceived stress.

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Szabo, Attila; Nikházy, Letícia; Tihanyi, Benedek; Boros, Szilvia

2017-04-01

Bikram yoga is a relatively new, but an increasingly popular form of exercise. Its health benefits were demonstrated on physical and psychological measures. The current field study tested the acute effects of Bikram yoga on practitioners' positive-/negative-affect and state-anxiety, and their link to the self-perceived stress, in Bikram yoga participants. Field study, within-participants design, testing perceived stress and its relation to changes in positive-/negative-affect and state-anxiety in 53 habitual Bikram yoga participants. Statistically significant positive changes emerged in all three psychological measures after the 90-min Bikram yoga session. The decrease in negative-affect and state-anxiety were significantly and positively related to the perceived stress. Estimated effort was unrelated to the magnitude of the changes recorded in the psychological measures. Heart rates and self-report measures indicated that physically Bikram yoga is only mildly challenging. The findings illustrate that, independently of the physical effort, Bikram yoga is a new mild form of exercise that reduces negative-affect and state-anxiety, and the reduction is directly related to the perceived stress. Therefore, Bikram yoga appears to be beneficial for all practitioners, but even more so for the individuals who experience substantial stress in the daily life.

Coping and Psychological Health of Aging Parents of Adult Children with Developmental Disabilities

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Piazza, Vivian E.; Floyd, Frank J.; Mailick, Marsha R.; Greenberg, Jan S.

2014-01-01

Among aging parents (mean age = 65, "N" = 139) of adults with developmental disabilities, we examined the effectiveness of multiple forms of coping with caregiver burden. As expected, accommodative strategies of adapting to stress (secondary engagement), used frequently in later life, buffered the impact of caregiver burden, whereas…

Parenting Stress in CHARGE Syndrome and the Relationship with Child Characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wulffaert, Josette; Scholte, Evert M.; Dijkxhoorn, Yvette M.; Bergman, Jorieke E. H.; van Ravenswaaij-Arts, Conny M. A.; van Berckelaer-Onnes, Ina A.

This study investigates the parental perception of stress related to the upbringing of children with CHARGE syndrome and its association with behavioral and physical child characteristics. Parents of 22 children completed the Nijmegen Parenting Stress Index-Short, Developmental Behavior Checklist,

I. DEVELOPMENTAL METHODOLOGY AS A CENTRAL SUBDISCIPLINE OF DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE.

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Card, Noel A

2017-06-01

This first chapter introduces the main goals of the monograph and previews the remaining chapters. The goals of this monograph are to provide summaries of our current understanding of advanced developmental methodologies, provide information that can advance our understanding of human development, identify shortcomings in our understanding of developmental methodology, and serve as a flagpost for organizing developmental methodology as a subdiscipline within the broader field of developmental science. The remaining chapters in this monograph address issues in design (sampling and big data), longitudinal data analysis, and issues of replication and research accumulation. The final chapter describes the history of developmental methodology, considers how the previous chapters in this monograph fit within this subdiscipline, and offers recommendations for further advancement. © 2017 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Post-learning stress differentially affects memory for emotional gist and detail in naturally cycling women and women on hormonal contraceptives

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Nielsen, Shawn E.; Ahmed, Imran; Cahill, Larry

2014-01-01

Sex differences in emotional memory have received increasing interest over the past decade. However, to date, no work has explored how a post-learning stressor might modulate the influence of sex hormone status on memory for gist and peripheral detail in an emotional versus neutral context. Here, we tested three predictions. First, compared to naturally cycling women (NC women) in the luteal phase, women on hormonal contraception (HC women) would have significantly blunted HPA reactivity to physical stress. Second, post-learning stress would enhance detail and gist memory from an emotional story in NC women, and finally, post-learning stress would not affect emotional memory for details or gist in HC women. Healthy NC and HC women viewed a brief, narrated story containing neutral or emotionally arousing elements. Immediately after, Cold Pressor Stress (CPS) or a control procedure was administered. One week later, participants received a surprise free recall test for story elements. NC women exhibited significantly greater cortisol increases to CPS compared to HC women. NC women who viewed the emotional story and were administered CPS recalled the most peripheral details overall and more gist from the emotional compared to the neutral story. In HC women, however, the post-learning cortisol release did not affect memory for gist or peripheral details from the emotional or neutral story in any way. Additionally, NC and HC women performed similarly on measures of attention and arousal. These findings suggest that in women, post-learning stress differentially affects memory for emotional information depending on their hormonal contraceptive status. PMID:24841741

Childhood traumatization by primary caretaker and affect dysregulation in patients with borderline personality disorder and somatoform disorder

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Annemiek van Dijke

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Affect regulation is often compromised as a result of early life interpersonal traumatization and disruption in caregiving relationships like in situations where the caretaker is emotionally, sexually or physically abusing the child. Prior studies suggest a clear relationship between early childhood attachment-related psychological trauma and affect dysregulation. We evaluated the relationship of retrospectively recalled childhood traumatization by primary caretaker(s (TPC and affect dysregulation in 472 adult psychiatric patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD, somatoform disorder (SoD, both BPD and SoD, or disorders other than BPD or SoD, using the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire, the self-report version of the Structured Interview for Disorders of Extreme Stress, the Self-rating Inventory for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (SRIP and the Traumatic Experiences Checklist. Almost two-thirds of participants reported having experienced childhood TPC, ranging from approximately 50% of patients with SoD or other psychiatric disorders to more than 75% of patients with comorbid BPD + SoD. Underregulation of affect was associated with emotional TPC and TPC occurring in developmental epoch 0–6 years. Over-regulation of affect was associated with physical TPC. Childhood trauma by a primary caretaker is prevalent among psychiatric patients, particularly those with BPD, and differentially associated with underand over-regulation of affect depending on the type of traumatic exposure.For the abstract or full text in other languages, please see Supplementary files under Reading Tools online

Going down to the Crossroads: Neuroendocrinology, Developmental Psychobiology, and Prospects for Research at the Intersection of Neuroscience and Education

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Blair, Clancy

2010-01-01

The relation of stress hormones and activity in stress response systems to the development of aspects of cognition and behavior important for educational achievement and attainment is examined from the perspective of the developmental psychobiological model. It is proposed that research in neuroendocrinology supports three general conclusions,…