'Doctor, I am so stressed out!' A descriptive study of biological, psychological, and socioemotional markers of stress in individuals who self-identify as being 'very stressed out' or 'zen'.

Surveys report that about three-quarters of visits to general practitioners in America are for stress-related complaints. Animal and human studies have consistently demonstrated that exposure to acute and/or chronic stress leads to the activation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and/or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and to the production of catecholamines and glucocorticoids. Yet, many studies performed in humans do not report significant associations between subjective feelings of stress and increases in these stress biomarkers. Consequently, it is not clear whether the stress-related complaints of individuals are associated with significant increases in these stress biomarkers. In the present study, we measured whether individuals who self-identify as being 'very stressed out' or 'zen' present differences in psychological (depression and anxiety symptoms), biological (basal and reactive levels of glucocorticoids and alpha-amylase) and socioemotional (emotion regulation, mind wandering, personality, resilience and positive mental health) factors associated with stress. Salivary levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase were obtained in the home environment and in reaction to the Trier Social Stress Test in 123 adults aged between 19 and 55 years. All participants completed questionnaires assessing the psychological and socioemotional factors described above. The results showed that groups significantly differed on almost all psychological and socioemotional factors, although we found no significant group differences on biological markers of stress (cortisol or alpha-amylase). These results suggest that when people complain of being 'very stressed out', what they may really be alluding to is an experience of psychological distress that is related to poor emotion regulation capacities. It is thus possible that the construct of stress used by people to discuss their internal state of 'stress' is quite different than the construct of stress measured in animal and human laboratories using biomarkers of 'stress'.

Mobile phone use in young adults who self-identify as being "Very stressed out" or "Zen": An exploratory study.

Previous studies have reported a positive association between mobile phone use and psychological stress. However, the reasons why stressed out individuals use their cell phones more are not clear. To gain further insight on this relationship, we performed secondary analyses on a database of 87 healthy young adults aged 18-35 years who self-categorized themselves as being "Very stressed out" (N = 46) or "Zen" (N = 41). All participants were assessed for psychological stress, duration and nature (hedonistic vs. utilitarian) of mobile phone use, involvement with the mobile phone and levels of nomophobia. Results controlled for the exploratory nature of this study showed that although "Very stressed out" and "Zen" individuals used their mobile phone for the same amount of time and were equally involved with it, "Very stressed out" individuals reported a greater use of their mobile phone for hedonistic purposes and were more nomophobic than "Zen" individuals. The results of this exploratory study suggest that highly stressed out individuals might use hedonistic functions of their mobile phone as a tool to deal with stress, thus explaining why they present greater levels of nomophobia.

Neuronal control of peripheral nutrient partitioning.

The appropriate utilisation, storage and conversion of nutrients in peripheral tissues, referred to as nutrient partitioning, is a fundamental process to adapt to nutritional and metabolic challenges and is thus critical for the maintenance of a healthy energy balance. Alterations in this process during nutrient excess can have deleterious effects on glucose and lipid homeostasis and contribute to the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Nutrient partitioning is a complex integrated process under the control of hormonal and neural signals. Neural control relies on the capacity of the brain to sense circulating metabolic signals and mount adaptive neuroendocrine and autonomic responses. This review aims to discuss the hypothalamic neurocircuits and molecular mechanisms controlling nutrient partitioning and their potential contribution to metabolic maladaptation and disease.

Early child adversity and psychopathology in adulthood: HPA axis and cognitive dysregulations as potential mechanisms.

Early adversity (EA) has been shown to be a potent risk factor for developing a psychopathology in adulthood. Alterations of the stress system in addition to changes in brain development have been suggested to explain some of the psychopathologies associated with EA. The stress response involves the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis, which leads to the production of glucocorticoids (GCs; cortisol in humans). Being soluble in lipids, GCs easily cross the blood brain barrier and access GC receptors in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and amygdala. These three brain structures do not develop at the same rhythm in humans and recent models suggest that exposition to EA at different times throughout cerebral development can induce a differential vulnerability to diverse mental illnesses. Although these models are of interest, they do not provide any mechanism(s) through which exposition to EA could lead to an increased vulnerability to certain mental illnesses and not others. Interestingly, the main brain structures that are affected by the chronic secretion of stress hormones during childhood (hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and amygdala) are differentially involved in various cognitive functions (memory, emotion regulation, encoding of emotional memories, etc.). It is therefore proposed that exposure to EA, by affecting the development of specific brain structures, might alter the underlying cognitive process of these brain regions, and increase vulnerability to specific mental disorders in adulthood.