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

Personality and Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis in Older Men and Women

Personality has been related to health and mortality risk, which has created interest in the biological pathways that could explain this relationship. Although a dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis has been associated with health outcomes and aging, few studies have explored the association between personality and HPA axis functioning in older adults. In addition, it has been suggested that sex could moderate the relationship between personality and HPA axis functioning. Thus, our aim was to analyze the relationship between the big five personality traits and the diurnal cortisol pattern in older adults, as well as sex differences in this relationship. To do so, 79 older people (40 men and 39 women) from 59 to 81 years old (M = 69.19, SD = 4.60) completed the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (FFI) to measure neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness. Saliva samples were provided on three consecutive days (awakening; 15, 30, and 45 min post-awakening; and bedtime) in order to analyze the diurnal cortisol pattern and, specifically, two cortisol indexes: the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and the diurnal cortisol slope (DCS). Results showed that neuroticism and conscientiousness moderated the diurnal cortisol pattern. Thus, individuals with higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness scores showed higher bedtime cortisol levels, suggesting a less healthy diurnal cortisol pattern. Regarding the cortisol indexes, higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness were related to greater CAR and DCS. Sex moderated the association between extraversion and the DCS. Specifically, higher extraversion was related to a lower DCS only in women. Openness and agreeableness were not related to the diurnal cortisol pattern. In conclusion, our results show that in older adults, neuroticism is a vulnerability factor for HPA axis dysregulation, with possible adverse effects on health. By contrast, conscientiousness, and extraversion only in women, appear to be protective factors of HPA axis functioning, with potential beneficial effects on health

Acute psychosocial stress effects on memory performance : relevance of age and sex

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in investigating the effects of chronic and acute stress on cognitive processes, especially memory performance. However, research focusing on acute stress effects has reported contradictory findings, probably due to the many factors that can moderate this relationship. In addition to factors related to the individual, such as sex and age, other factors, such as the type of memory assessed, can play a critical role in the direction of these effects. This review summarizes the main findings of our research group and others about the effects of acute psychosocial stress on memory performance in young and older people of both sexes, taking into account the type and phase of memory assessed. In our opinion, an approach that addresses individual factors and other factors related to the type of stressor and temporal relationship between exposure to the stressor and performance will contribute to better understanding the mechanisms underlying the complex relationship between acute stress and memory. Finally, some new directions for future studies on this research topic are suggested

Stress effects on cognitive function in healthy adults

In our lives, we are constantly exposed to different sources of stress, specifically psychological or social. Our reaction to stress is an adaptive response due to its role in facilitating survival. However, stress can also have immediate and delayed damaging consequences for health, and it is considered one of the most significant health problems of the 21st century, according to the World Health Organization (2001). The impact of stress extends to most of the physiological systems (i.e. cardiovascular, digestive, immune, neuroendocrine or nervous), resulting in numerous diseases. Cognitive problems stand out among the stress effects related to the nervous system. Given the large impact that these problems can have on society in general, and on individuals in particular, the need to understand more about this link is clear. This is one of the reasons for the growing interest in investigating the main mechanisms underlying the stress impact on different cognitive processes, such as memory, attention or executive functions. Several factors related to the characteristics of the stressor, the individual and the cognitive process assessed seem to play an important role in determining the direction of these stress effects. Thus, this thesis focuses on the way stress affects cognition, specifically memory performance, in healthy adults, analyzing the role of some of these factors. The first section of the first chapter discusses the evolution of the stress concept and explains what the stress response is. In the second part, the link between stress and memory is explained, detailing which brain structures are related to the control of the stress response and the cognitive processes. Then, a brief summary of the studies about the effect of acute stress on memory performance is presented. Moreover, the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA-axis) in basal conditions (non-stress) is addressed, again summarizing the studies that have investigated the relationship between HPA-axis functioning and cognitive performance. Finally, the chapter ends with the main goals and hypothesis of this thesis and a general description of the material and methods used in the empirical chapters. In the second chapter, the first study is presented. In this study, we examined the effects of stress-prior learning on two types of memory (i.e. non-declarative and declarative memory) in young adults. Here, the material to be remembered is neutral, and the role of sex is considered. Next, in the third chapter of the thesis, following a similar design, the second study carries out a direct comparison of older and young adults. The fourth chapter describes the third study, which investigates the stress effects on memory retrieval. Now, the stressor is applied before the retrieval tasks, and the material to be remembered is neutral and emotional. Again, older and young adults of both sexes are compared. In the last study, the fifth chapter analyzes the relationships between the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and the diurnal cortisol slope (DCS), two different components of the diurnal cortisol cycle, and different memory tasks. The sixth chapter contains a general discussion and the main findings of the aforementioned studies; the strengths and limitations of this thesis and the direction of the next steps in the research on this topic are discussed here. Finally, the seventh chapter presents the main conclusions of the studies included in this thesis

Utilidad del dispositivo portátil PIKO6 para la detección precoz de EPOC en Atención Primaria

[ES]Partiendo de la premisa que la EPOC es una enfermedad muy prevalente, pero infradiagnosticada, el presente trabajo ha consistido en la validación del dispositivo portátil Piko-6 para la detección precoz de EPOC en Atención Primaria, dado que el dispositivo portátil Piko-6 es mucho más barato, portátil y manejable, y no requiere adiestramiento especial por el personal sanitario ni de calibraciones periódicas. El objetivo principal de nuestro estudio fue validar la hipótesis de trabajo de que las mediciones del FEV1,FEV6 Y cociente FEV1/FEV6 realizadas a los pacientes con sospecha de EPOC con el dispositivo Piko-6 son comparables con las mediciones de FEV1, FVC, cociente FEV1/FVC realzadas mediante la espirometría forzada convencional. Se reclutó una cohorte de 155 pacientes con sospecha clínica de EPOC, a los que se les realizó una espirometría convencional y una determinaciones de FEV1,FEV6 y cociente FEV1/FEV6 con el dispositivo Piko-6. Los datos fueron registrados en la hoja de recogida de datos diseñada para este estudio y tratados con el paquete estadístico SPSS. Los principales resultados del estudio demostraron que existe una excelente concordancia entre las determinaciones realizadas por espirometría forzada y por el dispositivo Piko-6. La principal conclusión del estudio fue que el dispositivo Piko-6 es útil para el diagnóstico precoz de EPOC en Atención Primaria, pues las determinaciones del FEV1, FEV6 y cociente FEV1/FEV6 guardan una buena correlación con las determinaciones de FEV1 ,FVC y cociente FEV1/FVC obtenidas mediante espirometría forzada

Openness to experience and cognitive functioning and decline in older adults: The mediating role of cognitive reserve

Objective Openness to experience has been consistently associated with better cognitive functioning in older people, but its association with cognitive decline is less clear. Cognitive reserve has been proposed as a mechanism underlying this relationship, but previous studies have reported mixed findings, possibly due to the different ways of conceptualizing cognitive reserve. We aimed to analyze the potential mediating role of cognitive reserve in the association between openness and cognitive functioning and decline in healthy older people. Method In Wave 1 and at the four-year follow-up (Wave 2), 87 healthy older people (49.4% women; M age = 65.08, SD = 4.54) completed a neuropsychological battery to assess cognitive functioning and a questionnaire to assess cognitive reserve. Openness was measured with the NEO- Five-Factor Inventory. Mediation models were proposed to investigate the relationship between openness and cognitive function or decline through cognitive reserve or its change. Results Cognitive reserve mediated the openness-cognitive functioning association. Thus, individuals with higher openness showed greater cognitive reserve, and this greater cognitive reserve was associated with better cognitive functioning. Moreover, greater cognitive reserve at baseline also mediated the association between higher openness and slower cognitive decline. However, change in cognitive reserve did not mediate the association between openness and change in cognitive functioning. Conclusions Cognitive reserve is a mechanism underlying the association between openness and cognitive functioning and decline. These findings support the differential preservation hypothesis, suggesting that healthy older adults who engage in more cognitively stimulating activities would show less age-related cognitive decline

EEG markers and subjective memory complaints in young and older people

Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) have been related to subtle cognitive deficits and neural changes. In this study, we investigated whether EEG rhythms, usually altered in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, are also affected in SMCs compared to people without SMCs. Seventy-one older adults (55–74 years old) and 75 young people (18–34 years old) underwent 3 min of EEG recording in a resting-state condition with their eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) and a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. The EEG measures included were power spectral delta (0.5–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (8–12 Hz), beta (13–30 Hz), and EEG reactivity to EO. Compared to controls, older people with SMCs showed increased theta power and a loss of alpha reactivity to EO. Additionally, in older participants with SMCs, the theta power spectral was related to deficits in verbal memory. In contrast, we failed to find differences in the young people with SMCs, compared to the control group, in the power spectral or the EEG reactivity to EO. Our findings suggest that neurophysiological markers of brain dysfunction may identify cognitive changes even before they are observed on objective neuropsychological tests, at least in older people

Deficits in facial emotional valence processing in older people with subjective memory complaints: Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence

Subjective memory complaints (SMCs), which occur in the absence of clinical memory deficits, may precede mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer''s disease (AD). Some studies have reported a deficit in facial emotion processing in people with MCI or AD. However, it is unclear whether this deficit is also present in older people with SMCs. The present study used behavioral measurements and event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the facial emotion processing of 41 older people with SMCs and 38 without SMCs. The task contained 204 images displaying facial emotions (positive, negative, and neutral). In terms of behavior, our results showed that participants with SMCs were slower and less accurate than controls. In terms of ERPs, the N170 latency was longer in men with SMCs than in controls, whereas no differences were observed between groups in the P300 and late positive potential (LPP) latencies or amplitudes. Moreover, in participants with SMCs, higher P300 and LPP amplitudes were related to better performance on working memory, psychomotor speed, and attention. Additionally, women were faster and more accurate than men on the facial emotion-processing task. In sum, these results suggest that older people with SMCs may have deficits in the processing of facial expressions of emotion. However, this deficit seems to affect the structural encoding of faces, rather than the late stages of processing

Intervenciones terapéuticas para el tratamiento del síndrome de burnout: una revisión sistemática.

Introducción: El síndrome de burnout es un problema frecuente en la actualidad que está provocado por una respuesta emocional e interpersonal crónica ante los estresores en el trabajo. Objetivos: Establecer una propuesta de intervención terapéutica lo más eficaz posible para el tratamiento del burnout. Métodos: Se ha realizado una revisión sistemática siguiendo las directrices PRISMA con estudios encontrados en las bases de datos Pubmed, Scopus y BASE. Se seleccionaron artículos en inglés o español, publicados en revistas científicas entre 2004 y 2019, con un diseño experimental o cuasi experimental y con participantes mayores de 18 años. Se llevó a cabo un cribado desde los 206 artículos de la búsqueda inicial hasta los 22 analizados, extrayendo sus características principales para su comparación. Resultados: Los efectos de la intervención sobre el burnout son diferentes dependiendo de la corriente terapéutica o técnica psicoterapéutica aplicada. Conclusiones: La combinación de terapia cognitivo conductual y terapias de tercera generación son las intervenciones utilizadas en el síndrome de burnout que cuentan con mejores resultados, aunque habría que continuar investigando en el futuro. Palabras clave: Intervención en síndrome de burnout, tratamiento de burnout, estrés laboral.<br /