Search results for " autonomic system"

Good decision-making is associated with an adaptive cardiovascular response to social competitive stress.

2018

Competition elicits different psychological and cardiovascular responses depending on a person's skills. Decision-making has been considered a distal factor that influences competition, but there are no studies analyzing this relationship. Our objective was to analyze whether decision-making affects the response to competition. Specifically, we aimed to test whether good performers on a decision-making test, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), showed an adaptive cardiovascular response to competition. In all, 116 participants (44 women) performed the IGT and were classified into Good or Poor decision-makers. Subsequently, they were exposed to a stress task in two different conditions: a face-to-f…

Effects of Different Opioid Receptor Antagonists on the Electrically-Evoked Release of Endogenous Dopamine from the Isolated Neural Lobe of the Rat P…

2009

Abstract Isolated neural lobes of the rat pituitary gland were incubated in Krebs-HEPES solution which contained the dopamine uptake inhibitor GBR 12921 and in some experiments additionally pargyline. The release of endogenous dopamine evoked by electrical stimulation of the pituitary stalk was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. (+/-)- Naloxone increased the evoked dopamine release maximally by 440% (EC(50) 209 nM). The (+)-enantiomer of naloxone (up to 10 muM) did not affect the release of dopamine. The preferential kappa-opioid receptor antagonist MR 2266 increased the evoked dopamine release maximally by 135% (EC(50) 7 nM). MR 2267, the i…

Depression subtyping based on evolutionary psychiatry: From reactive short-term mood change to depression

2018

Can stress biomarkers predict preterm birth in women with threatened preterm labor?

2017

Background: Preterm birth is a major paediatric challenge difficult to prevent and with major adverse outcomes. Prenatal stress plays an important role on preterm birth; however, there are few stress-related models to predict preterm birth in women with Threatened Preterm Labor (TPL). Objective: The aim of this work is to study the influence of stress biomarkers on time until birth in TPL women. Methods: Eligible participants were pregnant women between 24 and 31 gestational weeks admitted to the hospital with TPL diagnosis (n = 166). Stress-related biomarkers (a-amylase and cortisol) were determined in saliva samples after TPL diagnosis. Participants were followed-up until labor. A paramet…

Oxytocin reduces romantic rejection-induced pain in online speed-dating as revealed by decreased frontal-midline theta oscillations

2021

Abstract Background Romantic rejection is an emotionally distressful experience profoundly affecting life, possibly leading to mental illness or suicide. Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide widely implicated in reducing physical pain and negative emotions; however, whether OT has an effect on reducing intense social pain (e.g., romantic rejection) remains unknown. Here, we tested the effect of OT on social pain and investigated its role in the outcome evaluation phase of social decision-making. Methods Electroencephalographic recordings were obtained between August 2nd and October 20th, 2020 in Shenzhen University from 61 healthy participants in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study with a b…

Maintenance of iodine intake

2013

Dietary iodine status is routinely assessed by measuring urinary iodine excretion (UI). In most European countries iodine intake is maintained at WHO recommended levels by iodisation of table salt [1]. Exceptions to this practice include Ireland and the UK where only 5% (approximately) of table salt sold is iodine supplemented. However despite the finding of relatively low median UI values in study populations in both Ireland and the UK [2-4] there is little evidence of an increased prevalence of hypothyroidism, overt or subclinical, of non autoimmune pathogenesis [5-8]. In this communication studies on iodine status in the Irish population over the years 1988-2007 are reviewed, as are inve…

Neuroprotective Actions of Estradiol and Novel Estrogen Analogs in Ischemia: Translational Implications

2010

This review highlights our investigations into the neuroprotective efficacy of estradiol and other estrogenic agents in a clinically relevant animal model of transient global ischemia, which causes selective, delayed death of hippocampal CA1 neurons and associated cognitive deficits. We find that estradiol rescues a significant number of CA1 pyramidal neurons that would otherwise die in response to global ischemia, and this is true when hormone is provided as a long-term pretreatment at physiological doses or as an acute treatment at the time of reperfusion. In addition to enhancing neuronal survival, both forms of estradiol treatment induce measurable cognitive benefit in young animals. Mo…

Seabream (Sparus aurata) long-term dominant-subordinate interplay affects phagocytosis by peritoneal cavity cells.

2012

Fish are sensitive to stressful conditions that affect their innate immune systems and increase their susceptibility to diseases. We examined the social stress of paired gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). Social hierarchies (dominant/subordinate) were characterised by behavioural changes, such as “aggressiveness” and “feeding order”; hierarchical positions were established within an hour of exposure to social stress and remained unchanged for approximately 1 year. To characterise physiological stress, we measured blood plasma levels of cortisol, glucose, and lactate as well as osmolarity and observed that the levels of these stress markers were higher in subordinate individuals than in domi…

Hair cortisol predicts avoidance behavior and depressiveness after first-time and single-event trauma exposure in motor vehicle crash victims

2020

The role of cortisol as a premorbid vulnerability factor for trauma sequelae remains unclear. Furthermore, the onset of long-term endocrine changes in response to first-time trauma as a function of later psychopathology is not clarified yet. Thus the predictive value of pre- and post-traumatic hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) for psychological trauma sequelae was investigated in response to motor vehicle crash (MVC). A total of

How acute physical and psychological stress differentially influence the kynurenine pathway: A randomized cross-over trial.

2021

Abstract Psychological stress is associated with the pathogenesis of several neuropsychiatric disorders. In contrast, physical stress, as provoked by exercise, counteracts symptoms and potentially also disease progression. The kynurenine pathway, which is imbalanced in neuropsychiatric disorders, responds to both psychological and physical stress. Here, we compared the acute effects of psychological versus physical stress on the kynurenine pathway and inflammatory mediators. Thirty-five healthy males (mean age: 24.09±3.39 years) underwent both the Trier Social Stress Test (psychological stressor) and the Wingate-Test (physical stressor). The kinetics of tryptophan and its metabolites as wel…