Diurnal variation of cardiac autonomic activity in adolescent non-suicidal self-injury.

Heart rate (HR) and vagally mediated heart rate variability (HRV) are two distinct biomarkers of cardiac autonomic activity. Decreased cardiac vagal activity (or decreased HRV) in particular has been linked with impairments in the functional flexibility of the central autonomic network (CAN), resulting in impaired stress and emotion regulatory capacities. Decreased HRV is widely used as trait marker of psychopathology. Repetitive engagement in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescence correlates with both deficits in stress and emotion regulation, as well as decreased HRV. Existing research has, however, focused on short-term recordings of HR and HRV under resting and phasic conditions. In this study, we examined whether diurnal variation of cardiac autonomic activity, indexed by cosinor parameters of HR and HRV derived from 48 h of ambulatory ECG recording under natural conditions over a weekend, are altered in female adolescents with NSSI disorder compared to controls (HC; N = 30 per study group). Several important confounds, including physical activity, were controlled for. Female adolescents with NSSI show higher rhythm-adjusted 24 h mean levels and greater respective amplitude of HR, as well as lower rhythm-adjusted 24 h mean levels and smaller respective amplitude of HRV. Peak levels in both HR and HRV in the NSSI group were reached approximately 1 h later compared to HC. Severity of exposure to early life maltreatment might be linked with altered amplitudes of 24 h HR and HRV. Diurnal rhythms of cardiac autonomic activity might hold promise as objective indicators of disordered stress and emotion regulation in developmental psychopathology, and as such should be investigated in future studies with rigorous assessment and control of potential confounds.

The Psychology of Athletic Endeavor.

A considerable amount of human behavior occurs within the context of sports. In recent years there have been notable advances in psychological science research applied to understanding athletic endeavor. This work has utilized a number of novel theoretical, methodological, and data analytic approaches. We review the current evidence related to developmental considerations, intrapersonal athlete factors, group processes, and the role of the coach in explaining how athletes function within the sport domain. This body of work sheds light on the diverse ways in which psychological processes contribute to athletic strivings. It also has the potential to spark interest in domains of psychology concerned with achievement as well as to encourage cross-domain fertilization of ideas.

Effectiveness of the mentalisation-based serious game 'You & I' for adults with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities: A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Mentalising and stress regulation pose challenges for adults with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBID), emphasising the importance of an intervention program. The study examined the effectiveness and social validity of the serious game 'You & I' in enhancing mentalising and stress regulation among adults with MBID. METHOD: A randomised controlled superiority trial with experimental and waitlist-control groups was conducted with 159 adults with MBID (Mage = 36) at baseline, post-test, and follow-up. Analyses investigated the effects on aspects of mentalising, stress regulation, and social validity. RESULTS: The experimental group showed decreased stress from negative interpersonal relations, while the control group experienced increased stress (d = 0.26). There were no significant effects on mentalising, but positive user expectations and experiences were reported. CONCLUSIONS: This initial study on 'You & I' provides limited evidence of its effectiveness for people with MBID, warranting further examination of the potential of serious games.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in patients with primary polydipsia compared to healthy controls.

OBJECTIVE: Primary polydipsia is characterized by excessive fluid intake which may suppress vasopressin levels. It is speculated that suppressed vasopressin levels lead to a dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as vasopressin co-modulates the HPA axis. However, data are contradictory. The aim of this study was to investigate markers of the HPA axis in patients with primary polydipsia compared to healthy controls. DESIGN: Exploratory analysis combining data from two different prospective observational studies. PATIENTS: We included 34 patients with primary polydipsia (68% females, median aged 29.5 years (interquartile range, IQR: 26.0, 38.8) and 20 healthy controls (55% females, median age 24.0 years [IQR: 22.0, 27.2]). MEASUREMENTS: The main outcome was difference in HPA axis activity assessed using circadian serum and salivary cortisol, 24-h urinary free cortisol and cortisol levels before and after adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation; vasopressin suppression was assessed measuring fasting copeptin levels between patients with primary polydipsia and healthy controls using Wilcoxon rank-sum test. RESULTS: No difference was seen in circadian serum cortisol levels (p = .9), urinary free cortisol levels (p = .17) and serum cortisol in response to ACTH stimulation (p = .77) between groups. Circadian salivary cortisol levels were significantly lower in patients with primary polydipsia compared to healthy controls with an estimated difference of -3.7 nmol/L (95% CI: -5.5, -1.8 nmol/L, p < .001). Fasting copeptin levels were significantly lower in patients with primary polydipsia compared to healthy volunteers (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest no difference in HPA axis activity between patients with primary polydipsia and healthy controls. The observed difference in salivary cortisol levels may be linked to a dilution effect in saliva rather than an altered stress axis considering the other findings.

Effects of Multisession Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Stress Regulation and Emotional Working Memory: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Military Personnel.

OBJECTIVES: Top-down stress regulation, important for military operational performance and mental health, involves emotional working memory and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Multisession transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied over the DLPFC during working memory training has been shown to improve working memory performance. This study tested the hypothesis that combined tDCS with working memory training also improves top-down stress regulation. However, tDCS response differs between individuals. Resting-state electrophysiological brain activity was post hoc explored as a possible predictor of tDCS response. The predictive value of the ratio between slow-wave theta oscillations and fast-wave beta oscillations (theta/beta ratio) was examined, together with the previously identified tDCS response predictors age, education, and baseline working memory performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Healthy military service members (n = 79) underwent three sessions of real or sham tDCS over the right DLPFC (anode: F4, cathode: behind C2) at 2 mA for 20 minutes during emotional working memory training (N-back task). At baseline and within a week after the tDCS training sessions, stress regulation was assessed by fear-potentiated startle responses and subjective fear in a threat-of-shock paradigm with instructed emotional downregulation. Results were analyzed in generalized linear mixed-effects models. RESULTS: Threat-of-shock responses and emotional working memory performance showed no significant group-level effects of the real vs sham tDCS training intervention (p > 0.07). In contrast, when considering baseline theta/beta ratios or the other tDCS response predictors, exploratory results showed a trait-dependent beneficial effect of tDCS on emotional working memory training performance during the first session (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: No evidence was found for effectivity of the tDCS training intervention to improve stress regulation in healthy military personnel. The emotional working memory training results emphasize the importance of studying the effects of tDCS in relation to individual differences. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was preregistered on September 16, 2019, at the Netherlands Trial Register (www.trialregister.nl) with ID: NL8028.

Molecular Aspects of MicroRNAs and Phytohormonal Signaling in Response to Drought Stress: A Review.

Phytohormones play an essential role in plant growth and development in response to environmental stresses. However, plant hormones require a complex signaling network combined with other signaling pathways to perform their proper functions. Thus, multiple phytohormonal signaling pathways are a prerequisite for understanding plant defense mechanism against stressful conditions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are master regulators of eukaryotic gene expression and are also influenced by a wide range of plant development events by suppressing their target genes. In recent decades, the mechanisms of phytohormone biosynthesis, signaling, pathways of miRNA biosynthesis and regulation were profoundly characterized. Recent findings have shown that miRNAs and plant hormones are integrated with the regulation of environmental stress. miRNAs target several components of phytohormone pathways, and plant hormones also regulate the expression of miRNAs or their target genes inversely. In this article, recent developments related to molecular linkages between miRNAs and phytohormones were reviewed, focusing on drought stress.

RimO (SrrB) is required for carbon starvation signaling and production of secondary metabolites in Aspergillus nidulans.

Depending on the prevailing environmental, developmental and nutritional conditions, fungi activate biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) to produce condition-specific secondary metabolites (SMs). For activation, global chromatin-based de-repression must be integrated with pathway-specific induction signals. Here we describe a new global regulator needed to activate starvation-induced SMs. In our transcriptome dataset, we found locus AN7572 strongly transcribed solely under conditions of starvation-induced SM production. The predicted AN7572 protein is most similar to the stress and nutritional regulator Rim15 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and to STK-12 of Neurospora crassa. Based on this similarity and on stress and nutritional response phenotypes of A. nidulans knock-out and overexpression strains, AN7572 is designated rimO. In relation to SM production, we found that RimO is required for the activation of starvation-induced BGCs, including the sterigmatocystin (ST) gene cluster. Here, RimO regulates the pathway-specific transcription factor AflR both at the transcriptional and post-translational level. At the transcriptional level, RimO mediates aflR induction following carbon starvation and at the post-translational level, RimO is required for nuclear accumulation of the AflR protein. Genome-wide transcriptional profiling showed that cells lacking rimO fail to adapt to carbon starvation that, in the wild type, leads to down-regulation of genes involved in basic metabolism, membrane biogenesis and growth. Consistently, strains overexpressing rimO are more resistant to oxidative and osmotic stress, largely insensitive to glucose repression and strongly overproduce several SMs. Our data indicate that RimO is a positive regulator within the SM and stress response network, but this requires nutrient depletion that triggers both, rimO gene transcription and activation of the RimO protein.

Anxious parents show higher physiological synchrony with their infants.

BACKGROUND: Interpersonal processes influence our physiological states and associated affect. Physiological arousal dysregulation, a core feature of anxiety disorders, has been identified in children of parents with elevated anxiety. However, little is understood about how parent-infant interpersonal regulatory processes differ when the dyad includes a more anxious parent. METHODS: We investigated moment-to-moment fluctuations in arousal within parent-infant dyads using miniaturised microphones and autonomic monitors. We continually recorded arousal and vocalisations in infants and parents in naturalistic home settings across day-long data segments. RESULTS: Our results indicated that physiological synchrony across the day was stronger in dyads including more rather than less anxious mothers. Across the whole recording epoch, less anxious mothers showed responsivity that was limited to 'peak' moments in their child's arousal. In contrast, more anxious mothers showed greater reactivity to small-scale fluctuations. Less anxious mothers also showed behaviours akin to 'stress buffering' - downregulating their arousal when the overall arousal level of the dyad was high. These behaviours were absent in more anxious mothers. CONCLUSION: Our findings have implications for understanding the differential processes of physiological co-regulation in partnerships where a partner is anxious, and for the use of this understanding in informing intervention strategies for dyads needing support for elevated levels of anxiety.

Effects of skin-to-skin contact on full-term infants' stress reactivity and quality of mother-infant interactions.

Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) between mothers and their infants has beneficial effects in both preterm and full-term infants. Underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. This randomized controlled trial assessed whether daily SSC in full-term mother-infant dyads: (1) decreases infants' cortisol and behavioral reactivity to a mild naturalistic stressor, and (2) facilitates interaction quality between infants and mothers (i.e., improved maternal caregiving behavior and mother-infant adrenocortical synchrony). Pregnant Dutch women (N = 116) were recruited and randomly allocated to an SSC or care-as-usual condition. The SSC condition performed 1 h of SSC daily, from birth until postnatal week 5. In week 5, mothers bathed the infant (known mild stressor). Infant and maternal cortisol was sampled at baseline, 25 and 40 min after bathing, and infant and maternal behavior was rated. Results did not indicate effects of SSC on infant behavioral and cortisol reactivity to the bathing session. Similarly, no effect of SSC was found on maternal caregiving behavior and mother-infant adrenocortical synchrony. In conclusion, the findings provide no evidence that daily mother-infant SSC is associated with full-term infants' behavioral and adrenocortical stress reactivity or mother-infant interaction quality. Future studies should replicate these findings and unveil other potential mechanisms underlying beneficial effects of SSC.

Influence of chronic stress on the mechanism of the cytotoxic system in common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

Aquaculture conditions expose fish to internal and environmental stressors that increase their susceptibility to morbidity and mortality. The brain accumulates stress signals and processes them according to the intensity, frequency duration and type of stress, recruiting several brain functions to activate the autonomic or limbic system. Triggering the autonomic system causes the rapid release of catecholamines, such as adrenaline and noradrenaline, into circulation from chromaffin cells in the head kidney. Catecholamines trigger blood cells to release proinflammatory and regulatory cytokines to cope with acute stress. Activation of the limbic axis stimulates the dorsolateral and dorsomedial pallium to process emotions, memory, behaviour and the activation of preoptic nucleus-pituitary gland-interrenal cells in the head kidney, releasing glucocorticoids, such as cortisol to the bloodstream. Glucocorticoids cause downregulation of various immune system functions depending on the duration, intensity and type of chronic stress. As stress persists, most immune functions, with the exception of cytotoxic functions, overcome these effects and return to homeostasis. The deterioration of cytotoxic functions during chronic stress appears to be responsible for increased morbidity and mortality.

Redox Protein OsaR (PA0056) Regulates dsbM and the Oxidative Stress Response in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Bacteria have evolved distinct molecular mechanisms as a defense against oxidative stress. The foremost regulator of the oxidative stress response has been found to be OxyR. However, the molecular details of regulation upstream of OxyR remain largely unknown and need further investigation. Here, we characterize an oxidative stress and antibiotic tolerance regulator, OsaR (PA0056), produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Knocking out of osaR increased bacterial tolerance to aminoglycoside and ß-lactam antibiotics, as well as to hydrogen peroxide. Expression of the oxyR regulon genes oxyR, katAB, and ahpBCF was increased in the osaR mutant. However, the OsaR protein does not regulate the oxyR regulon genes through direct binding to their promoters. PA0055, osaR, PA0057, and dsbM are in the same gene cluster, and we provide evidence that expression of those genes involved in oxidant tolerance is controlled by the binding of OsaR to the intergenic region between osaR and PA0057, which contain two divergent promoters. The gene cluster is also regulated by PA0055 via an indirect effect. We further discovered that OsaR formed intramolecular disulfide bonds when exposed to oxidative stress, resulting in a change of its DNA binding affinity. Taken together, our results indicate that OsaR is inactivated by oxidative stress and plays a role in the tolerance of P. aeruginosa to aminoglycoside and ß-lactam antibiotics.

Divergent expression of hypoxia response systems under deoxygenation in reef-forming corals aligns with bleaching susceptibility.

Exposure of marine life to low oxygen is accelerating worldwide via climate change and localized pollution. Mass coral bleaching and mortality have recently occurred where reefs have experienced chronic low oxygen events. However, the mechanistic basis of tolerance to oxygen levels inadequate to sustain normal functioning (i.e. hypoxia) and whether it contributes to bleaching susceptibility, remain unknown. We therefore experimentally exposed colonies of the environmentally resilient Acropora tenuis, a common reef-building coral from the Great Barrier Reef, to deoxygenation-reoxygenation stress that was aligned to their natural night-day light cycle. Specifically, the treatment involved removing the 'night-time O2 buffer' to challenge the inherent hypoxia thresholds. RNA-Seq analysis revealed that coral possess a complete and active hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-mediated hypoxia response system (HRS) homologous to other metazoans. As expected, A. tenuis exhibited bleaching resistance and showed a strong inducibility of HIF target genes in response to deoxygenation stress. We applied this same approach in parallel to a colony of Acropora selago, known to be environmnetally susceptible, which conversely exhibited a bleaching phenotype response. This phenotypic divergence of A. selago was accompanied by contrasting gene expression profiles indicative of varied effectiveness of their HIF-HRS. Based on our RNA-Seq analysis, we propose (a) that the HIF-HRS is central for corals to manage deoxygenation stress and (b) that key genes of this system (and the wider gene network) may contribute to variation in coral bleaching susceptibility. Our analysis suggests that heat shock protein (hsp) 70 and 90 are important for low oxygen stress tolerance and further highlights how hsp90 expression might also affect the inducibility of coral HIF-HRS in overcoming a metabolic crisis under deoxygenation stress. We propose that differences in coral HIF-HRS could be central in regulating sensitivity to other climate change stressors-notably thermal stress-that commonly drive bleaching.

Long-term effects of father involvement in childhood on their son's physiological stress regulation system in adulthood.

Using a long-term prospective longitudinal study of U.S. men and their fathers, the present study examined the extent to which the quantity (i.e., shared activities between fathers and sons) and the quality (i.e., assessors' ratings of fathers' positive behaviors toward sons and the relationship quality between fathers and sons) of father involvement during childhood influenced sons' diurnal patterns of salivary cortisol in adulthood (late 30s) directly and indirectly through substance use across the 20s. Findings indicated that the quantity of father involvement during childhood was directly associated with sons' diurnal cortisol patterns assessed almost 30 years later. Specifically, the quantity of father involvement in childhood significantly increased the intercept (i.e., upon awakening) and also led to a greater reduction in cortisol across the day, suggesting a well-regulated diurnal cortisol pattern. The quantity of father involvement significantly reduced the amount of sons' illicit drug and tobacco use across the 20s. Tobacco use across the 20s was associated with a lower cortisol intercept level (upon awakening), although the mediating path was not significant. The present study provided empirical evidence demonstrating long-term physiological and behavioral consequences of father involvement in childhood and its potency as a crucial early caregiving environment for sons.

Infants' stress responses and protest behaviors at childcare entry and the role of care providers.

During the transition from home to childcare, 70 15-month-old infants were videotaped, and their negative emotions were rated. Infants' attachments to mothers were assessed prior to child care entry and to care providers five months later using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). Infant heart rate was monitored at home, during adaptation to childcare (mothers present), and during subsequent separations. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was computed from the beat-to-beat measures of heart rate to reflect vagal tone, which is reduced during chronic states of stress, and was collected upon Arrival, during in-group Play, and when in the Group more generally. All infants responded to childcare entry with low RSA levels indicating stress. However, during adaptation with the mother present, RSA was higher for securely attached infants. On the first separation day, 35.3% of the infants fussed and cried extensively. These intense protests predicted later secure attachments to care providers, which adaptively helped to reduce stress, especially in infants who protested extensively, as if summoning their mothers back. Because extensive protest suggests limited regulatory capacities, infants risk overburdening the stress system when left unsupported.

Arginine Methylation Regulates Ribosome CAR Function.

The ribosome CAR interaction surface is hypothesized to provide a layer of translation regulation through hydrogen-bonding to the +1 mRNA codon that is next to enter the ribosome A site during translocation. The CAR surface consists of three residues, 16S/18S rRNA C1054, A1196 (E. coli 16S numbering), and R146 of yeast ribosomal protein Rps3. R146 can be methylated by the Sfm1 methyltransferase which is downregulated in stressed cells. Through molecular dynamics analysis, we show here that methylation of R146 compromises the integrity of CAR by reducing the cation-pi stacking of the R146 guanidinium group with A1196, leading to reduced CAR hydrogen-bonding with the +1 codon. We propose that ribosomes assembled under stressed conditions have unmethylated R146, resulting in elevated CAR/+1 codon interactions, which tunes translation levels in response to the altered cellular context.

"It made me feel brighter in myself"- The health and well-being impacts of a residential front garden horticultural intervention.

Residential gardens make up 30% of urban space in the UK, yet unlike many other green space typologies, their role in the health and well-being agenda has largely been overlooked. A horticultural intervention introduced ornamental plants to 38 previously bare front gardens (≈ 10 m2) within an economically deprived region of North England, UK. Measures of perceived stress and diurnal cortisol profiles (as an indicator of health status) were taken pre- and post-intervention (over 3 months). Residents reported significant decreases in perceived stress post-intervention. This finding was aligned with a higher proportion of 'healthy' diurnal cortisol patterns post-intervention, suggesting better health status in those individuals. All residents derived one or more reported socio-cultural benefits as a result of the front garden plantings, although overall scores for subjective well-being did not increase to a significant level. Further qualitative data suggested that the gardens were valued for enhancing relaxation, increasing positive emotions, motivation, and pride of place. The results indicate that adding even small quantities of ornamental plants to front gardens within deprived urban communities had a positive effect on an individual's stress regulation and some, but not all, aspects of subjective well-being. The research highlights the importance of residential front gardens to human health and well-being, and thus their contribution to the wider debates around city densification, natural capital and urban planning.

Why do we hunger for touch? The impact of daily gentle touch stimulation on maternal-infant physiological and behavioral regulation and resilience.

We report the impact of a Gentle Touch Stimulation (GTS) program. Forty-three mothers provided daily 10-min GTS with C-tactile (CT) afferent optimal stroking touch, for 4 weeks to their 3-12 weeks old infants. CT-afferents are cutaneous unmyelinated, low-threshold mechanosensitive nerves hypothesized to underly the regulatory impact of affective touch. We compared physiological and behavioral responses during a no-touch-baseline (BL), static-touch-baseline (BL-T), intervention/control (GTS/CTRL), Still Face (SF) and Reunion (RU) condition for GTS-infants versus a control-group (CTRL) at the start (T1) and end of (T2) of the program. We collected mother-infant ECG, respiration, cortisol, video-recordings, and diary-reports. At T1, physiological arousal significantly increased during SF in both groups, that is, decreased respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and R-R interval (RRI). At T2, GTS-infants showed significantly increased RSA, RRI, decreased respiration during GTS, buffering SF-arousal and allowing complete recovery during RU; CTRL-infants showed higher SF-arousal and small recovery, under initial BL-levels. Maternal cardio-respiratory showed a metabolic investment during RU. Cortisol and behavioral analyses showed higher arousal in CTRL-infants than GTS-infants at T2. We suggest that the combination of phasic short-term and tonic long-term responses to CT-optimal stroking touch, delivered in a structured daily manner, contribute to the building of infant stress regulation and resilience.

Reportamos el impacto del programa de Estimulación Táctil Suave (GTS). Cuarenta y tres madres les dieron a sus infantes de 3-12 semanas 10 minutos de GTS con un toque táctil-C (CT) aferente óptimo de caricias por 4 semanas. Los aferentes CT son nervios cutáneos amielínicos mecano-sensibles de bajo impacto que según hipótesis rigen el impacto regulatorio del toque afectivo. Comparamos las respuestas fisiológicas y de comportamiento durante un momento de referencia no táctil (BL), un momento de referencia táctil estático (BL-T), intervención/control (GTS-CTRL), la Cara Seria (SF) y la condición de Reunión (RU) para infantes GTS versus un grupo de control (CTRL) al principio (T1) y al final (T2) del programa. Recogimos información ECG de madre-infante, respiración, cortisol, grabaciones en vídeo, y reportes de un diario. Al T1, la estimulación fisiológica significativamente aumentó durante SF en ambos grupos, v.g., una baja en la arritmia respiratoria paranasal (RSA) y el intervalo R-R (RRI). Al T2, los infantes GTS significativamente mostraron un aumento de RSA, RRI, una baja en la respiración durante GTS, amortiguando la estimulación SF y permitiendo un completo recobro durante RU; los infantes de CTRL mostraron una más alta estimulación SF y un pequeño recobro, bajo los niveles BL iniciales. El aspecto cardio-respiratorio materno mostró inversión metabólica durante RU. Los análisis de cortisol y de comportamiento mostraron más altas estimulaciones de infantes de CTRL que en infantes GTS al T2. Proponemos que la combinación de las respuestas fásicas a corto plazo y tónicas a largo plazo a las caricias táctiles óptimas CT, ofrecidas de una manera estructural diaria, contribuyen a moldear la regulación del estrés y capacidad de resistencia del infante.

Cet article fait état de l'impact du programme Stimulation Toucher en Douceur (an anglais Gentle Touch Stimulation, que nous abrégeons ici GTS). Quarante-trois mères ont procédé chaque jour à un GTS de 10 minutes avec un toucher par caresse optimale C-tactile (CT) afférent, pendant 4 semaines à leurs nourrissons de 3-12 semaines. Les afférents CD sont des nerfs cutanés amyéliniques, à faible seuil et mécano-sensibles, dont on pense qu'ils sous-tendent l'impact régulatoire du toucher affectif. Nous comparons les réponses physiologiques et les réponses comportementales durant la condition à un niveau de référence NR sans toucher, un niveau de référence toucher statique (NR-T), un contrôle/intervention (GTS/CTRL), Visage Impassible (Still Face, soit SF) et la Réunion (RU) pour les bébés GTS par rapport aux bébés du groupe de contrôle (CTRL) au commencement (T1) et à la fin (T2) du programme. Nous avons recueilli l'électrocardiogramme mère-bébé, la respiration, le niveau de cortisol et les rapports-journaux. Au T1 la stimulation physiologique a augmenté de façon importante durant le SF pour les deux groupes, c'est-à-dire une arythmie des sinus respiratoires (RSA) décrue et un intervalle R-R décru (RRI). Au T2 les bébés GTS ont fait preuve d'une RSA et d'un RRI bien plus élevés, une respiration décrue durant le GTS, un éveil SF tampon et ont fait preuve d'un rétablissement complet durant la RU. Les bébés contrôle ont fait preuve de plus d'éveil SF et d'un petit rétablissement, moins élevés que les niveaux BL initiaux. La cardio-respiration maternelle a fait preuve un investissement métabolique durant la RU. Les analyses de cortisol et les analyses comportementales ont montré un éveil plus élevé chez les bébés-CTRL que chez les bébés GTS au T2. Nous suggérons que la combinaison de réactions phasiques à court terme et de réponses toniques à long terme au toucher caresse CT-optimal, donné chaque jour de manière structurée, contribue à la construction de la régulation du stress du bébé et de sa résilience.

Attachment and stress regulation in socioeconomically disadvantaged children: Can public childcare compensate?

Children growing up in families experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage (SED) are at greater risk for deficits in attachment and stress regulation as compared to peers in families with more socioeconomic resources. The present study hypothesized that care providers in out-of-home care might help these children to compensate. We therefore investigated 60 children (n = 30 from SED, n = 30 matched counterparts from middle class) and assessed children's Attachment Q-Sort (AQS) toward the mother and the primary care provider in childcare centers. Moreover, children's diurnal cortisol rhythm was measured based on 12 saliva samples taken across three days a week. The disadvantaged children showed lower AQS scores with their mothers than their care providers. Compared to their counterparts, disadvantaged children also displayed heightened cortisol release and flatter cortisol profiles reflecting overall high hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activities and lower capacities to regulate stress. Most notably however, multilevel path modeling linked higher care provider AQS scores to decreasing cortisol release throughout the week.

Los niños que crecen en familias que experimentan desventajas socioeconómicas (SED) se encuentran bajo mayor riesgo de déficits en la afectividad y regulación del estrés, comparados con compañeros de familias con más recursos socioeconómicos. EL presente estudio presenta la hipótesis de que quienes cuidan a estos niños dentro del sistema público de guarderías pudieran ayudarles a compensar. Nosotros, por tanto, investigamos a 60 niños (n = 30 de SED, n = 30 niños de clase media pareados como contraparte) y evaluamos la afectividad de los niños (AQS) hacia las madres y quienes les proveían el cuidado primario en guarderías infantiles públicas. Es más, se midió el ritmo diurno de cortisol de los niños con base en 12 muestras de saliva tomadas a lo largo de tres días a la semana. Los niños con desventajas mostraron más bajos puntajes de AQS con sus madres que con quienes les prestaban el cuidado. Comparados con su contraparte, los niños con desventajas también mostraron un elevado nivel de emisión de cortisol y perfiles de cortisol más planos lo cual refleja en general un alto nivel de actividades HPA y más bajas capacidades para regular el estrés. Aún más notable, sin embargo, el modelo de trayectoria a múltiples niveles relacionó los más altos puntajes AQS del cuidador con una baja en la emisión de cortisol a lo largo de la semana.

Les enfants grandissant dans des familles faisant l'expérience d'un désavantage socioéconomique (abrégé ici DSE) sont à plus grand risque de déficits dans l'attachement et la régulation du stress comparés aux enfants grandissant dans des familles dotées de plus de ressources socioéconomiques. Cette étude a pris pour hypothèse que les personnes s'occupant des enfants dans les crèches publiques pourraient aider ces enfants à compenser. Nous avons donc étudié 60 enfants (n = 30 de SED, n = 30 homologues issus de la classe moyenne) et évalué l'attachement (AQS) des enfants envers leur mère et envers les personnes prenant soin d'eux dans les crèches publiques. De plus le rythme de cortisol diurne a été mesuré basé sur des échantillons de salive pris au cours de trois jours par semaine. Les enfants de milieu désavantagé ont fait preuve de scores AQS plus bas avec leurs mères qu'avec les personnes prenant soin d'eux dans les crèches. Comparés à leurs homologues, les enfants désavantagés ont aussi fait preuve de sécrétion de cortisol plus élevée et des profils de cortisol plus plats reflétaient des activités HPA dans l'ensemble hautes et des capacités plus basses à réguler le stress. Plus particulièrement cependant une modélisation à plusieurs niveaux a établi un lien entre des scores AQS plus élevés des modes de soin à la crèche à des sécrétions de cortisol décroissantes tout au long de la semaine.

Talking about emotions: Effects of emotion-focused interviewing on children's physiological regulation of stress and discussion of the subjective elements of a stressful experience.

This is the first study to examine the effect of questioning children about emotions and cognitions versus facts on children's stress reactivity and regulation, as well as children's abilities to discuss their subjective experiences, in the context of adult-child discussions about a stressful event. A total of 80 8- to 12-year-old children participated in a stressful laboratory task (i.e., Trier Social Stress Test). Following the task, half of the children were engaged in an emotion-focused conversation with an adult interviewer about the event, and half were engaged in a fact-focused conversation. Electrodermal and cardiac preejection activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia were derived at baseline, during the laboratory stressor, and during the conversation to index stress reactivity and regulation. Children's narratives were coded for indicators of emotion processing (i.e., positive and negative emotion words, cognitive words [e.g., think, know]). Children's English language abilities, self-reported stress, and several parent-report measures (demographics, child life stress, and children's emotion regulation strategies) were also obtained. Results indicate that the emotion-focused interview facilitated children's discussions of their subjective experiences without increasing their stress reactivity and that children showed enhanced physiological stress regulation during the emotion-focused interview. This research will be of interest to those in the fields of child narratives, stress, and social context as well as to parents and practitioners interested in improving children's understanding, reporting, and recovery after stressful experiences.

MATERNAL TRAUMA AFFECTS PRENATAL MENTAL HEALTH AND INFANT STRESS REGULATION AMONG PALESTINIAN DYADS.

We examined how diverse and cumulated traumatic experiences predicted maternal prenatal mental health and infant stress regulation in war conditions and whether maternal mental health mediated the association between trauma and infant stress regulation. Participants were 511 Palestinian mothers from the Gaza Strip who reported exposure to current war trauma (WT), past childhood emotional (CEA) and physical abuse, socioeconomic status (SES), prenatal mental health problems (posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms), and perceived stress during their secondtrimester of pregnancy as well as infant stress regulation at 4 months. While all trauma types were associated with high levels of prenatal symptoms, CEA had the most wide-ranging effects and was uniquely associated with depression symptoms. Concerning infant stress regulation, mothers' CEA predicted negative affectivity, but only among mothers with low WT. Against hypothesis, the effects of maternal trauma on infant stress regulation were not mediated by mental health symptoms. Mothers' higher SES was associated with better infant stress regulation whereas infant prematurity and male sex predisposed for difficulties. Our findings suggest that maternal childhood abuse, especially CEA, should be a central treatment target among war-exposed families. Cumulated psychosocial stressors might increase the risk for transgenerational problems.