Search results for "salivary alpha-amylase"
showing 10 items of 13 documents
Acute stress and working memory in older people.
2015
Several studies have shown that acute stress affects working memory (WM) in young adults, but the effect in older people is understudied. As observed in other types of memory, older people may be less sensitive to acute effects of stress on WM. We performed two independent studies with healthy older men and women (from 55 to 77 years old) to investigate the effects of acute stress (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST) and cortisol on WM. In study 1 (n = 63), after the TSST women (but not men) improved their performance on Digit Span Forward (a measure of the memory span component of WM) but not on Digit Span Backward (a measure of both memory span and the executive component of WM). Furthermore,…
Salivary alpha-amylase response to acute psychosocial stress: The impact of age
2011
a b s t r a c t The impact of stress on health varies across the different stages of human life. Aging is associated with psychobiological changes that could limit our ability to cope with stressors. Therefore, it is crucial to clarify the physiological mechanisms that underlie the stress response and the changes that occur in them as we age. Our aim was to investigate age differences in the salivary alpha amylase (sAA) response to stress, and its relationship with other typical stress biomarkers such as cortisol and heart rate (HR). Sixty-two participants divided into two age groups (younger group: N = 31, age range: 18-35 years; older group: N = 31, age range: 54-71 years) were exposed to…
Autonomic markers associated with generalized social phobia symptoms: heart rate variability and salivary alpha-amylase.
2016
The study of autonomic nervous system changes associated with generalized social phobia (GSP) disorder has increased in recent years, showing contradictory results. The present study aimed to evaluate how young people with GSP reacted before, during, and after exposure to the Trier Stress Social Test (TSST), focusing on their autonomic changes (heart rate variability (HRV) and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA)) compared to a control group (non-GSP). Some psychological variables were also considered. Sex was specifically studied as a possible modulator of autonomic fluctuations and psychological state. Eighty young people were randomly distributed into two counterbalanced situations: stress condi…
Mucosal immunity and upper respiratory tract symptoms in recreational endurance runners.
2015
The present study investigated the effects of a 12-week endurance-training intervention on salivary proteins and upper respiratory tract symptoms (URS) in 25 young men. Saliva samples of 25 recreational male endurance runners (age 34.6 years, body mass index = 23.8 kg·m−2, peak aerobic capacity = 47.2 mL·kg−1·min−1) were collected before (PRE) and after (POST) the training intervention, in a fasting state, as well as both before and after a maximal incremental treadmill run. The training consisted of both continuous and interval training sessions, 4–6 times per week based on the polarized training approach. Participants filled in Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey-21 and were retro…
Acute psychosocial stress effects on memory performance: Relevance of age and sex.
2018
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 in…
A preliminary study to assess the impact of maternal age on stress-related variables in healthy nulliparous women
2017
Purpose: Childbearing age has progressively increased in industrialized countries. The impact of this delay on motherhood, however, requires further research. Methods: The study sample included a prospective cohort of healthy nulliparous pregnant women aged between 18 and 40 years (n = 148) assessed at 38 weeks gestation (Time#1, T1), 48 h after birth (Time#2, T2), and 3 months after birth (Time#3, T3). The effect of age on psychological, biological, and social variables was evaluated. Maternal psychological symptoms in terms of depression and anxiety were assessed at T1-T3; and parenting stress at T3. Stress biomarkers (cortisol, alpha-amylase) were determined in mothers at T1-T3. Question…
Acute stress affects free recall and recognition of pictures differently depending on age and sex.
2015
Little is known about age differences in the effects of stress on memory retrieval. Our aim was to perform an in-depth examination of acute psychosocial stress effects on memory retrieval, depending on age and sex. For this purpose, data from 52 older subjects (27 men and 25 women) were reanalyzed along with data from a novel group of 50 young subjects (26 men and 24 women). Participants were exposed to an acute psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Test) or a control task. After the experimental manipulation, the retrieval of positive, negative and neutral pictures learned the previous day was tested. As expected, there was a significant response to the exposure to the stress task,…
A feasibility study of application and potential effects of a single session transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on competitive anxiety, m…
2020
Objective : To examine feasibility and potential effects of a single session tDCS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on competitive anxiety, mood state, and autonomic and endocrine stress responses in elite archer athletes under a real world competition. Methods : Twelve male elite archers volunteered to participate in this pilot trial. Participants were randomized in order to take left anodal DLPFC, left cathodal DLPFC, or sham stimulation (the F3 or F4 areas according to the 10/20 EEG International System) in a within-subject study design. This study included three official competitions. About 45 min before the competition, the tDCS stimulation process was started and the par…
Evening salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase at 14months and neurodevelopment at 4years: Sex differences.
2017
Stress system activity in early life can have long-term effects on neurodevelopment. The main aim of this study was to assess the association of child evening salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase basal levels at 14months of age with longer-term neuropsychological development at 4years in a low-risk population-based birth cohort derived from the INMA (Environment and Childhood) project in Spain. We included 186 parent-children pairs with information on both stress system activity and neurodevelopment. Both stress markers at 14months of age showed an association with neuropsychological development at 4years. Salivary cortisol showed a sex-specific pattern of association. In girls, cortisol lev…
The evolution and changing ecology of the African hominid oral microbiome
2021
Significance The microbiome plays key roles in human health, but little is known about its evolution. We investigate the evolutionary history of the African hominid oral microbiome by analyzing dental biofilms of humans and Neanderthals spanning the past 100,000 years and comparing them with those of chimpanzees, gorillas, and howler monkeys. We identify 10 core bacterial genera that have been maintained within the human lineage and play key biofilm structural roles. However, many remain understudied and unnamed. We find major taxonomic and functional differences between the oral microbiomes of Homo and chimpanzees but a high degree of similarity between Neanderthals and modern humans, incl…