Prenatal testosterone of progenitors could be involved in the etiology of both anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorders of their offspring.

OBJECTIVES: High intrauterine testosterone (T) levels seem to play a role in the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but their role in anorexia nervosa (AN) is controversial. Parents with masculinized 2D:4D ratios, a marker of the organizational effects of T, may have other relevant biological characteristics, in particular exposing their offspring to high T levels in the prenatal environment. This would increase the likelihood of their offspring developing these disorders. METHODS: The present study examined whether parents of offspring with AN (n=34; mean age= 51) and ASD (n=36; mean age=45) differ from control parents (n=40; mean age=43) in 2D:4D ratio, as well as by salivary T levels and its relationships. RESULTS: Our results revealed that AN and ASD parents (fathers and mothers) have masculinized 2D:4D ratios of the right hand compared to control parents. However, the difference compared to controls was larger in the ASD than the AN group. Furthermore, current salivary T levels were negatively related to the 2D:4D ratio in ASD and AN parents only. CONCLUSIONS: Our data partially support the view of high prenatal masculinization as a potential intermediate phenotype to the development of these disorders in their offspring.

Cortisol response to stress in caregivers of offspring with autism spectrum disorder is associated with care recipient characteristics.

Providing care for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is particularly stressful and frequently associated with disturbances in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis of the caregiver. This study examined whether the stress response is modulated by factors such as age of the care recipient and number of years spent by the caregiver in providing care for the ASD individual. Caregivers of children (n = 15), adolescents (n = 12), and adults (n = 11) with ASD were exposed to two episodes of acute psychosocial stressor in a 1 day session. Salivary cortisol samples were obtained before, during, and after the stressor episodes. Psychological characteristics (states of anxiety, anger, and mood) were measured before and after the stressor episodes. The characteristics of the ASD individuals (age, degree of autism, global activity, and level of autonomy) were also registered. A difference in stress response was found when caregivers of ASD children were compared with those of ASD adolescents and adults, ε = 0.25, F(2.24,53.65) = 5.82, p < 0.004; ε = 0.23 and F(2.11,48.43) = 4.88, p < 0.01, respectively. Thus, upon acute-stressor exposure, caregivers of ASD individuals presented a stress response that correlated with the age of the patient (the older the patient, the lower the cortisol response). Additional factors, such as number of years spent providing care and level of autonomy of the recipient, also significantly contributed to the stress response. Together, the results demonstrate that recipient characteristics contribute to the detection of high-risk individuals within a caregiver population.

High testosterone levels and sensitivity to acute stress in perpetrators of domestic violence with low cognitive flexibility and impairments in their emotional decoding process: a preliminary study.

Hormonal and neuropsychological impairment in intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators could play a role in domestic violence. For characterizing whether there is a specific psychobiological response to stress, participants who had previously been jailed for IPV and controls were compared for testosterone and cortisol levels, tested for 2D:4D ratio (as an indicator of masculinization), and given several trait questionnaires and neuropsychological tests related to executive functions and theory of mind. After performing the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), IPV perpetrators experienced decreases in salivary testosterone (T) levels, a moderate worsening of mood, slight anxiety, and a salivary cortisol (C) level increase. Moreover, high basal T was related with high levels of anger and anxiety and worse mood. However, that basal mood does not significantly alter T levels in response to stress. Nonetheless, controls experienced smaller changes in T and larger changes in C and psychological mood. With respect to neuropsychological and cognitive empathic features, IPV perpetrators showed poorer executive performance and emotional recognition than controls. In addition, deficits in both neuropsychological domains were positively associated. Regarding emotional empathy, IPV perpetrators showed higher levels of personal distress than controls. The 2D:4D ratio was lower in IPV perpetrators than in controls. Moreover, only in the former a smaller 2D:4D ratio was related to large increases in T in response to stress and poor emotional recognition. Together with social aspects involved in IPV, differences in psychobiological variables and their relationships could play a relevant role in the onset and perpetuation of violent behavior.

Psychophysiological responses to cooperation: the role of outcome and gender.

Instances of sustained cooperative behaviour in humans can be considered as an adaptive strategy that enhances the probability of reaching a goal. This study investigates psychophysiological responses to cooperation in healthy subjects, while considering outcome and gender as potential moderators of these responses. Salivary cortisol levels (Csal), heart rate (HR), skin conductance level (SCL), nonspecific skin conductance responses (NSRs), and mood states were measured at different points before, during and after a Lego house-building task in undergraduate men (n = 22) and women (n = 20). Once the task was finished, the experimenter informed the participants about the outcome obtained (positive or negative). Cooperation produces an increase in HR, SCL, and NSR responses. When the outcome is positive it produces a gradual diminution in Csal levels, but when the outcome is negative there is a significant increase in Csal levels after the task followed by a progressive decrease. Men with positive outcomes showed a lower area under curve (AUC) in Csal than women with a negative outcome. Men had more NSR responses in all periods other than the rest period. Several mood states are differently affected by the combined effect of outcome and gender. Our laboratory results can be generalized to other situations in which negotiation, mediation, and cooperative strategies are relevant for taking decisions and/or solving problems. The authors wish to thank Dr Tinca Polderman and John Rawlins for the revision of the English text. This study was supported by the Ministry of Business, Research and Science of the Valencia Regional Government (GVPRE/2008/260, GVACOMP/2010/250, and PROMETEO/2011/048) and the Ministry of Science and Education of the Spanish Government (PSI2008-04408/PSIC).

Stress-Induced Endocrine and Immune Dysfunctions in Caregivers of People with Eating Disorders.

Caregivers have to cope repeatedly with acute stressors in their daily lives, and this is associated with disturbances in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the immune system. Such disturbances could contribute to the development of health problems in informal caregivers of people with chronic illnesses, such as eating disorders (EDs). The main objective of this study was to examine endocrine (salivary cortisol levels (Csal)), immune (immunoglobulin-A (IgA)), and psychological (anxiety, mood, and anger feelings) responses to an acute psychological stressor in a sample of informal caregivers of individuals with EDs compared to a sample of non-caregivers. In addition, it also aimed to analyze the potential relationship of the aforementioned endocrine and immune response parameters with psychological variables in the caregivers. Caregivers had lower Csal and IgA levels at all assessment points except baseline. Moreover, they also exhibited lower Csal and IgA responses and greater worsening of mood in response to acute psychosocial stress than the non-caregivers, which suggests that caregivers had dampened endocrine and immune reactivity to acute stress. On the other hand, endocrine and immune parameters were unrelated to psychological variables. These findings advance our understanding of how a chronically stressed population reacts to acute stress, and should be considered for the development of effective interventions focused on stress management that could help caregivers to reduce their stress levels, which, in turn, would improve their health.

The Use of Testosterone/Cortisol Ratio in Response to Acute Stress as an Indicator of Propensity to Anger in Informal Caregivers.

Caring for an offspring diagnosed with a psychological chronic disorder is used in research as a model of chronic stress. Indeed, it is usually associated with disturbances in the salivary cortisol (Csal) levels of the caregiver. An imbalance between salivary testosterone (Tsal) and Csal levels is a marker of proneness to social aggression. Given this, we aimed to establish whether the salivary testosterone/cortisol (Tsal/Csal) ratio response to acute stress could be employed as a marker of proneness to anger in informal caregivers of offspring with autism spectrum (ASD). Tsal/Csal ratio and anger responses to a set of different cognitive tasks as well as anger trait and expression were compared in these informal caregivers and controls. Caregivers, particularly those of offspring with ASD, had higher Tsal/Csal ratios than controls in response to acute stress, concretely after the stress in the case of fathers (p = .05) and before stress when analyzing mothers (p = .05). Moreover, ASD fathers and mothers obtained higher magnitude of the T/C ratio response to stress (p = .03 and p =.04, respectively), anger state (p = .02 and p = .02, respectively) and expression scores (p = .05 and p = .05, respectively) than controls. Finally, high Tsal/Csal ratio levels and response to stress were significantly associated with high anger feelings increases (p .05, respectively) and expression (p .05, respectively) in caregivers.