Psychophysiological response to social stressors : relevance of sex and age

Understanding the factors involved in the psychophysiological response of people in acute stressful situations is crucial to the prevention and treatment of stress-related health problems. We aim to integrate the results of studies investigating the role of sex and age in the inter-individual variability in several biomarkers of the stress response Methods: We summarize the main findings of our research group and other laboratories regarding sex and age-related differences in the psychophysiological response to psychosocial stress. Results: Sexrelated differences in the stress response are observed in blood pressure and cortisol, but not in heart rate, heart rate variability, or salivary alphaamylase. Additionally, age may explain differences in cortisol levels and basal sympathetic nervous system activity. Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of taking sex and age into account in order to understand the stress response and its possible negative effects on health. Antecedentes: entender los factores involucrados en la respuesta psicofisiológica ante situaciones de estrés agudo es crucial para prevenir y tratar problemas de salud relacionados con el estrés. El objetivo es integrar los resultados de estudios en humanos relacionados con el papel del sexo y la edad en las diferencias individuales en la respuesta de estrés en diferentes biomarcadores. Metodología: se integran los principales resultados de nuestro grupo de investigación y de otros laboratorios centrados en las diferencias debidas al sexo y la edad en la respuesta psicofisiológica a situaciones de estrés psicosocial. Resultados: se observan diferencias en la respuesta de estrés entre hombres y mujeres en presión sanguínea y en niveles de cortisol, pero no en frecuencia cardíaca, variabilidad de la frecuencia cardíaca y alfa-amilasa. Además, la edad influye en los niveles de cortisol y en la actividad basal del sistema nervioso simpático. Conclusiones: los resultados ponen de manifiesto la importancia de tener en cuenta el sexo y la edad de los participantes para poder entender la respuesta de estrés y sus posibles efectos en salud

Pms: Cyclical variation in attentional capacity with Pms and non-Pms women

The increasing need for women to have an expanded role in decision making capacities and in professional areas raises persistent questions concerning the effect of menstrual cycle fluctuations on performance, specifically, cognitive/intellectual functioning. A wide variety of recurring cyclical and emotional symptoms have been reported as common to women suffering from premenstrual syndrome (PMS). This study examined possible impairment of cognitive functioning during the PMS phase of the menstrual cycle using PMS and Non-PMS women. The two groups were compared over three menstrual cycles on a digit span task, a letter detection task, and a combination of the two. PMS sufferers were as accurate as Non-PMS women and did not exhibit performance deficits in the PMS phase of their cycle. However, the PMS subjects took longer on the letter detection task regardless of phase. The findings suggest that PMS women are not at a disadvantage during the PMS phase of their cycle and perform as accurately as Non-PMS women on specific cognitive tasks

Acute and chronic effects of multivitamin/mineral supplementation on objective and subjective energy measures

Background: Vitamins and minerals play an essential role within many cellular processes including energy production and metabolism. Previously, supplementation with a multivitamin/mineral (MVM) for ≥28 days resulted in improvements to cognition and subjective state. We have also demonstrated shifts in metabolism during cognitively demanding tasks following MVM in females, both acutely and following 8-week supplementation. The current study aimed to assess these effects further in males and females using metabolically challenging exercise and cognitive tasks. Methods: The current randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel groups study investigated the effects of a MVM complex in 82 healthy young (18-35y) exercisers. Subjective ratings and substrate metabolism were assessed during 30 min each of increasingly effortful incremental exercise and demanding cognitive tasks. Assessments took place on acute study days following a single dose (Day 1) of MVM, containing 3 times recommended daily allowance of water-soluble vitamins plus CoQ10, and following 4-week supplementation (Day 28). Results: Energy expenditure (EE) was increased during cognitive tasks following MVM across Day 1 and Day 28, with greater effects in males. In males, MVM also increased carbohydrate oxidation and energy expenditure during exercise across Day 1 and Day 28. In females, mental tiredness was lower during exercise; increases in physical tiredness following 30 min of exercise were attenuated; and stress ratings following cognitive tasks were reduced following MVM. In males, MVM only lowered mental tiredness following 10 min of exercise. These effects were apparent irrespective of day, but effects on mental tiredness were greater on Day 28. Ferritin levels were also higher on Day 28 in those receiving MVM. Conclusion: These findings extend on existing knowledge, demonstrating increased carbohydrate oxidation and increased energy expenditure in males following MVM supplementation for the first time. Importantly, they show modulation of energy expenditure and subjective tiredness following a single dose, providing further evidence for acute effects of MVM. Differential effects in men and women suggest that sex may play an important role in the effects of MVM on energy metabolism and should be considered in future research. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03003442. Registered 22nd November 2016 – retrospectively registere

Assets at risk:menstrual cycle variation in the envisioned formidability of a potential sexual assailant reveals a component of threat assessment

Abstract Situations of potential agonistic conflict demand rapid and effective deci-sion-making. The process of threat assessment includes assessments of relative fighting capacity, assessments of the likelihood of attack, and assessments of the extent to which one′s assets are at risk. The dimensions of physical size and strength appear to serve as key parameters in a cognitive representation summarizing multiple constituents of threat assessment. Here, we examine the thesis that this same representation summa-rizes asset risk. The fitness costs of sexual assault are in part a function of conception risk, as pregnancy due to assault compromises female choice and imperils existing and subsequent male investment. Prior research indicates that women′s attitudes and behaviors vary systematically across the menstrual cycle in a manner that would have reduced the likelihood of sexual assault during periods of greatest fertility in ancestral women. If the envisioned size and strength of a potential antagonist is used to represent asset risk, and if the threat that sexual assault poses to a woman′s reproductive assets is in part a product of her fertility, then the conceptualized size and strength of a potential sexual assailant should be a function of conception risk. We find support for thi

Science Majoring Background Modulates the Psychological Responses to Stress on Numerical Task

Numerical tasks have become part of the daily activities of individuals even in academic potential tests which have the potential to cause stress to individuals. The background of majoring in science is thought to be one of the factors that influence the individual's physiological response to stress when doing numerical tasks. This study aims to investigate whether there are differences in the final results and processing stages on numerical tasks between students majoring in science and social studies. A simple mathematical numerical task was given to participants to respond by adding numbers that were close to each other within a predetermined time limit. Twenty-two participants took the test twice with a one-week gap between tests. Recording of participants' electrodermal activity while working on a task using a galvanic meter. The results show that there is no difference in performance between students in majoring in social science and science (t = 0.552; p = 0.587), however, there are indications of different stress dynamics, where students in majoring in science show a positive effect of stress, while students in majoring in social science show the opposite. Further discussed the stress response on the difference in the frequency of meetings with numerical tasks during education at school

Menstrual cycle phase modulates emotional conflict processing in women with and without premenstrual syndrome (PMS): A pilot study

Background Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is characterized by a cluster of psychological and somatic symptoms during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle that disappear after the onset of menses. Behavioral differences in emotional and cognitive processing have been reported in women with PMS, and it is of particular interest whether PMS affects the parallel execution of emotional and cognitive processing. Related to this is the question of how the performance of women with PMS relates to stress levels compared to women without PMS. Cortisol has been shown to affect emotional processing in general and it has also been shown that women with severe PMS have a particular cortisol profile. Methods We measured performance in an emotional conflict task and stress levels in women with PMS (n = 15) and women without PMS (n = 15) throughout their menstrual cycle. Results We found a significant increase (p = 0.001) in the mean reaction time for resolving emotional conflict from the follicular to the luteal cycle phase in all subjects. Only women with PMS demonstrated an increase in physiological and subjective stress measures during the luteal menstrual cycle phase. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the menstrual cycle modulates the integration of emotional and cognitive processing in all women. Preliminary data are supportive of the secondary hypothesis that stress levels are mediated by the menstrual cycle phase only in women with PMS. The presented evidence for menstrual cycle-specific differences in integrating emotional and cognitive information highlights the importance of controlling for menstrual cycle phase in studies that aim to elucidate the interplay of emotion and cognition

Changes in functioning of mesolimbic incentive processing circuits during the premenstrual phase

The premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle is associated with marked changes in normal and abnormal motivated behaviors. Animal studies suggest that such effects may result from actions of gonadal hormones on the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system. We therefore investigated premenstrual changes in reward-related neural activity in terminal regions of the DA system in humans. Twenty-eight healthy young women underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging on 2 days during the menstrual cycle, once during the late follicular phase and once during the premenstrual phase, in counterbalanced order. Using a modified version of the monetary incentive delay task, we assessed responsiveness of the ventral striatum to reward anticipation. Our results show enhanced ventral striatal responses during the premenstrual as compared to the follicular phase. Moreover, this effect was most pronounced in women reporting more premenstrual symptoms. These findings provide support for the notion that changes in functioning of mesolimbic incentive processing circuits may underlie premenstrual changes in motivated behaviors. Notably, increases in reward-cue responsiveness have previously been associated with DA withdrawal states. Our findings therefore suggest that the sharp decline of gonadal hormone levels in the premenstrual phase may trigger a similar withdrawal-like state