Lower BMI and uric acid in Mexican-origin families with greater fear of deportation
Household fear of deportation in Mexican-origin families: Relation to body mass index percentiles and salivary uric acid Author: Martinez AD, et al. (2017), American Journal of Human Biology OBJECTIVE: Fear of deportation (FOD) is a prevalent concern among mixed-status families. Yet, our understanding of how FOD shapes human health and development is in its infancy. […]
Adolescent appraisal of interparental conflict is reflected by stress reactivity
Adolescent conflict appraisals moderate the link between marital conflict and physiological stress reactivity Author: Lucas-Thompson RG, et al. (2017), Journal of Research on Adolescence The goal of this study was to advance understanding of how adolescent conflict appraisals contribute uniquely, and in combination with interparental conflict behavior, to individual differences in adolescent physiological reactivity. Saliva […]
I love you from the bottom of my hypothalamus: Pair bonds & the stress response system
I love you from the bottom of my hypothalamus: The role of stress physiology in romantic pair bond formation and maintenance Author: Mercado E, et al. (2017), Social and Personality Psychology Compass Monogamous pair bonds helped solve ancestral problems pertinent to our survival as a species. In order for these pair bonds to succeed, biological […]
Evidence supports studying cortisol and DHEA in concert
Cortisol and DHEA in development and psychopathology Author: Karmin HS, et al (2017), Hormones and Behavior Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and cortisol are the most abundant hormones of the human fetal and adult adrenals released as end products of a tightly coordinated endocrine response to stress. Together, they mediate short- and long-term stress responses and enable physiological […]
Couples low in dyadic coping display increased immune reactivity in response to stress
Dyadic Coping and Salivary Interleukin-6 Responses to Interpersonal Stress Author: Reed RG, et al (2016), Journal of Family Psychology. Dysregulated immune responses to stress are a potential pathway linking close relationship processes to health, and couples’ abilities to cope with stress together (dyadic coping) likely impact such immune responses. Most stress research has focused on […]
Individual responses to psychosocial stress are influenced by a neural mechanism
Prefrontal Cortex Activity Is Associated with Biobehavioral Components of the Stress Response Author: Wheelock MD, et al (2016), Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Contemporary theory suggests that prefrontal cortex (PFC) function is associated with individual variability in the psychobiology of the stress response. Advancing our understanding of this complex biobehavioral pathway has potential to provide insight […]
The stress response to perceived discrimination as indicated by salivary measures
Perceived Discrimination, Racial Identity, and Multisystem Stress Response to Social Evaluative Threat among African American Men and Women Author: Lucas T, et al (2016), Psychosomatic Medicine. OBJECTIVES: Understanding individual differences in the psychobiology of the stress response is critical to grasping how psychosocial factors contribute to racial and ethnic health disparities. However, the ways in […]
Chronic caregiver-related stress linked to diurnal salivary alpha-amylase rhythms
Diurnal Salivary Alpha-Amylase Dynamics Among Dementia Family Caregivers Author: Liu Y, et al (2016), Health Psychology. Objective: The study examined diurnal regulation of salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) in association with daily stressors, adult day services (ADS) use, and other caregiving characteristics. Method: A sample of 165 family caregivers of individuals with dementia (IWD) completed an 8-day […]
Autonomic and Inflammatory Responses Moderated by Stress Appraisals and Affect
Coordination of cortisol response to social evaluative threat with autonomic and inflammatory responses is moderated by stress appraisals and affect Author: Laurent HK, et al (2016), Biol Psychol. Recent approaches to stress regulation have emphasized coordination among multiple biological systems. This study builds on evidence that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity should be considered in coordination […]
Nonhuman primates mirror human early life adversity & salivary cortisol/alpha-amylase responses
Effects of early life adversity on cortisol/salivary alpha-amylase symmetry in free-ranging juvenile rhesus macaques. Author: Petrullo LA, et al (2016), Horm Behav. Early life adversity (ELA) affects physiological and behavioral development. One key component is the relationship between the developing Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS). Recent studies suggest a relationship between […]
Salivary bioscience enables anabolic hormone profiles in elite military men
Anabolic hormone profiles in elite military men. Author: Taylor MK, et al (2016), Steroids. This study recently characterized the awakening responses and daily profiles of the catabolic stress hormone cortisol in elite military men. Anabolic hormones follow a similar daily pattern and may counteract the catabolic effects of cortisol. This companion report is the first […]