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Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and cortisol release appear to have contrasting effects on stress perception during stressful tasks. This study aimed to investigate anticipatory examination stress in college students by considering DHEA, cortisol, psycho-emotional aspects and examination performance. Seventy-six students (66 females, 10 males; age range 18-25 years) provided saliva samples and completed questionnaires in two sessions 48 hours apart. During the second session, the students performed the examination. The questionnaires used were the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, and the Brief-Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory. DHEA, cortisol, anxiety and negative affect showed an anticipatory rise before the examination (all ps < 0.001). This rise of DHEA and cortisol was associated with lower positive affect (p = 0.001 and p = 0.043, respectively). However, only the DHEA anticipatory levels were linked to poorer examination marks (p = 0.020). Higher levels of the DHEA/cortisol ratio in anticipation of the examination were related to lower scores on the support-seeking strategy (p = 0.022). There was no association between DHEA and cortisol levels and anxiety, negative affect, active and avoidant coping strategies, or academic record. These results suggest that how DHEA and cortisol respond in anticipation of examination stress significantly impacts students' emotional well-being during examination periods and how they cope with stress. They also suggest that levels of DHEA in anticipation of an academic stressor have detrimental effects on stress management.
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Adaptação Psicológica , Afeto , Ansiedade , Desidroepiandrosterona , Hidrocortisona , Saliva , Estresse Psicológico , Estudantes , Humanos , Masculino , Feminino , Hidrocortisona/metabolismo , Hidrocortisona/análise , Desidroepiandrosterona/análise , Desidroepiandrosterona/metabolismo , Adulto Jovem , Estudantes/psicologia , Adulto , Adolescente , Saliva/química , Estresse Psicológico/metabolismo , Estresse Psicológico/psicologia , Afeto/fisiologia , Ansiedade/psicologia , Inquéritos e Questionários , Antecipação Psicológica/fisiologia , UniversidadesRESUMO
The cumulative negative effects of prolonged Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA axis) activation are associated with several age-related diseases. Some psychological traits such as optimism and pessimism have been shown to be related to both health and the stress response, although their relationship with the HPA axis is inconclusive. More stable HPA axis biomarkers, such as hair samples of cortisol (HC) and dehydroepiandrosterone (HDHEA), would help to clarify the association between these psychological traits and HPA axis functioning. The main aim of this study was to test the relationships between optimism and pessimism and chronic stress biomarkers measured in hair (HC and HDHEA). Additionally, a secondary objective was to explore sex differences in HC and HDHEA levels and their relationship with these psychological traits. We measured optimism, pessimism, and their combination (dispositional optimism) using the Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R) and chronic stress biomarkers (HC and HDHEA) in 119 healthy participants (46 men and 73 women) between 56 and 81 years old who belonged to a university program. Regression analyses controlling for perceived stress and BMI indicated that higher dispositional optimism was related to lower HC and HC:HDHEAratio (ß = -0.256, p = .008 and ß = -0.300, p = .002, respectively). More specifically, higher pessimism was related to higher HC (ß = 0.235; p = .012) and HC:HDHEAratio (ß = 0.240; p = .011), whereas higher optimism was associated with a lower HC:HDHEAratio(ß = -0.205; p = .031). Moderation analyses showed no sex differences. To date, this is the first study to investigate the link between these traits and HC and HDHEA in older people. Our results confirm that positive and negative expectations about the future (i.e. optimism and pessimism) may play an important role in health due to their relationship with the HPA axis. They also strengthen the idea that the negative effects of pessimism have a greater weight than the protective effects of optimism in their relationship with HPA axis regulation.
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Hidrocortisona , Pessimismo , Humanos , Masculino , Feminino , Idoso , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Hidrocortisona/análise , Pessimismo/psicologia , Sistema Hipotálamo-Hipofisário , Sistema Hipófise-Suprarrenal , Biomarcadores/análise , Cabelo/química , DesidroepiandrosteronaRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Research on stress-related disorders and brain imaging suggests that (acute) stress might impact the capacity to mentally simulate specific episodic future events (EFT) through the effects of cortisol on brain regions supporting this cognitive function, such as the prefrontal cortices. This study aims to examine the mechanisms underlying this link, using transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. METHODS: 60 healthy participants were subjected to the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST), followed by either active or sham tDCS. After stimulation, the EFT task was administered. Salivary cortisol was measured throughout the protocol. RESULTS: Higher cortisol AUCi values were linked to less specific episodic future thoughts. Moreover, active tDCS enhanced EFT specificity irrespective of cortisol, especially in high trait ruminators. We did not observe an effect from active tDCS on cortisol AUCi, and equally there was no interaction effect between cortisol AUCi and stimulation condition predictive for EFT specificity. CONCLUSION: Although we did not find evidence for the effects of tDCS on the HPA-system, our data reveal a crucial link between two critical predictors of mental health for the first time, and provide a solution to help rehabilitate EFT deficits.Trial registration: Netherlands National Trial Register identifier: ntr004..
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Estimulação Transcraniana por Corrente Contínua , Humanos , Cognição , Hidrocortisona , Córtex Pré-Frontal/fisiologia , Estresse Psicológico , Estimulação Transcraniana por Corrente Contínua/métodos , Voluntários SaudáveisRESUMO
This study investigated whether men with a history of real-life aggressive, dominant behavior show increases in testosterone and cortisol levels after brief social contact with women. Furthermore, we tested the prediction that such changes in hormones would be larger than those observed previously in young male students. Sixty-seven male participants convicted of intimate partner violence (IPV) either had brief social contact with a female confederate (experimental condition) or a male confederate (control condition). We also performed meta-analyses to investigate whether IPV perpetrators' hormonal responses were larger than the typical responses of young male students in prior studies. All statistical analyses were preregistered. Change in testosterone did not differ across experimental conditions, and testosterone in the IPV perpetrators actually declined from baseline in the female confederate condition. Our meta-analysis showed that this testosterone decrease was different from the testosterone increase typically observed in young male students. The cortisol levels of IPV perpetrators did not change in response to contact with women. This result was consistent with our meta-analysis since young male students also did not experience a cortisol change in response to interactions with women. In sum, our findings provide no evidence that male IPV perpetrators exhibit larger hormone increases to brief interactions with women, although it is possible that the men in this sample did not perceive the social contact period as a courtship opportunity. These results suggest that hormone reactivity to social encounters may differ across subject populations and depend on how subjects perceive social situations within laboratory settings.
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Violência por Parceiro Íntimo , Agressão , Feminino , Humanos , Hidrocortisona , Masculino , TestosteronaRESUMO
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 into account the type and phase of memory assessed. In our opinion, an approach that addresses individual factors and other factors related to the type of stressor and temporal relationship between exposure to the stressor and performance will contribute to better understanding the mechanisms underlying the complex relationship between acute stress and memory. Finally, some new directions for future studies on this research topic are suggested.
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Memória , Estresse Psicológico/psicologia , Fatores Etários , Humanos , Memória de Curto Prazo , Rememoração Mental , Testes Neuropsicológicos , Fatores SexuaisRESUMO
People with drug-resistant epilepsy are exposed to unpredictable and uncontrollable seizures, which can be considered as a chronic stress condition. Additionally, these patients present memory deficits and a high prevalence of depression and anxiety. Cortisol, the main stress hormone, has a modulatory role on memory in healthy individuals and patients with emotional disorders, but its role in memory and emotional processes remains unclear in people with epilepsy. This study analyzes the differences in cortisol levels in people with epilepsy with high and low memory performance, and the relationships among cortisol levels, epilepsy-related factors, memory, anxiety, and depression. Fifty-two adults with drug-resistant epilepsy underwent a neuropsychological evaluation, in which nine saliva samples were collected to analyze the ability of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to descend in accordance with the circadian rhythm. Cortisol area under the curve (AUC) was computed to study the global cortisol changes. Patients with low immediate and delayed memory performance and left-hemisphere focus showed higher cortisol levels. Additionally, patients with low memory scores had higher cortisol AUC, and therefore slower declining levels in the afternoon. Memory performance was negatively related to the cortisol AUC and trait anxiety, being both reliable predictors of memory performance, especially in patients with left-hemisphere focus. These results suggest that memory deficits in people with drug-resistant epilepsy may be influenced by exposure to cortisol derived from chronic stress. Additionally, trait anxiety could contribute to increasing the vulnerability to stress.
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Ansiedade/metabolismo , Epilepsia Resistente a Medicamentos/metabolismo , Hidrocortisona/metabolismo , Transtornos da Memória/metabolismo , Memória/fisiologia , Saliva/metabolismo , Adulto , Ansiedade/epidemiologia , Ansiedade/psicologia , Ritmo Circadiano/fisiologia , Estudos Transversais , Epilepsia Resistente a Medicamentos/epidemiologia , Epilepsia Resistente a Medicamentos/psicologia , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Transtornos da Memória/epidemiologia , Transtornos da Memória/psicologia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Saliva/química , Adulto JovemRESUMO
The Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE-ε4) allele has been suggested as the main risk factor for late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), whereas the ApoE-ε2 allele has been proposed as a protective factor. These proposals have increased the interest in the effect of the ApoE genotype in healthy people. Additionally, high cortisol levels have been related to negative effects on cognition. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between cognitive performance and cortisol, taking into account the different ApoE alleles. For this reason, the aim of this study was to evaluate different cognitive domains (declarative and working memory, attention, and executive function) and their relationship with cortisol, considering the ApoE-ε2, ApoE-ε3, and ApoE-ε4 alleles in healthy older people (55-77â¯years old). Two saliva samples were collected during the neuropsychological session to obtain cortisol levels and the ApoE genotype. Results showed an association between the ApoE genotype and declarative memory, specifically learning ability, where ApoE-ε2 group performed better than ApoE-ε4 and ApoE-ε3 groups. No differences in cortisol levels were obtained considering the ApoE genotype. In addition, higher mean cortisol levels were related to a worse performance on declarative memory, for the whole sample, and when considering the three allelic variation, for the ApoE-ε4 group. On the contrary, an increase of cortisol levels during the neuropsychological session was associated to a better performance on declarative memory for the whole sample, and for the ApoE-ε3 group when considering the three alleles. Besides, ApoE-ε3 group also showed an association between higher mean cortisol levels and a better attention performance. Therefore, our results suggest that carrying the ApoE-ε4 allele may be a vulnerability factor in the adverse effects of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation on cognition during aging, while ApoE-ε3 allele could be associated to a more adaptive HPA axis response.
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Apolipoproteínas E/genética , Atenção/fisiologia , Cognição/fisiologia , Função Executiva/fisiologia , Hidrocortisona/fisiologia , Memória/fisiologia , Idoso , Feminino , Humanos , Hidrocortisona/análise , Sistema Hipotálamo-Hipofisário/fisiologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Sistema Hipófise-Suprarrenal/fisiologia , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo ÚnicoRESUMO
The feeling of stress is increasing in today's societies, particularly in young adults subjected to social evaluative situations in highly competitive academic and work contexts. Threat appraisal is a primary and fundamental reaction when people face a stressful situation. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of dispositional optimism as an antecedent and displacement behavior as a consequence of threat appraisal of a social-evaluative situation of stress. A second objective was to verify the moderating role of physiological responses to stress (heart rate and cortisol reactivity) in the relationship between threat appraisal and displacement behavior. To do this, we combined the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) with ethological analysis, self-report questionnaires, and physiological data. As expected, people who scored higher on dispositional optimism perceived stress as less threatening, and a higher perception of threat was positively related to displacement behavior patterns. Moreover, the results showed that threat appraisal fully mediates the relationship between dispositional optimism and displacement behavior, and that only heart rate reactivity (not cortisol) moderates the relationship between threat appraisal and displacement behavior.
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Frequência Cardíaca/fisiologia , Hidrocortisona/análise , Personalidade , Estresse Psicológico/fisiopatologia , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Saliva/química , Autorrelato , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Competition elicits different psychological and cardiovascular responses depending on a person's skills. Decision-making has been considered a distal factor that influences competition, but there are no studies analyzing this relationship. Our objective was to analyze whether decision-making affects the response to competition. Specifically, we aimed to test whether good performers on a decision-making test, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), showed an adaptive cardiovascular response to competition. In all, 116 participants (44 women) performed the IGT and were classified into Good or Poor decision-makers. Subsequently, they were exposed to a stress task in two different conditions: a face-to-face competition (winners/losers) or a control condition, while an electrocardiogram was recorded. In the competition group, good decision-makers increased their high-frequency respect to the total heart rate variability (HF/HRV) levels during the task, compared to Poor decision-makers. Again, competition group good decision-makers, showed lower LF and higher HF/HRV reactivity than the control group, which represents lower HRV stress pattern. Moreover, in the group of losers, good decision-makers had a decline in low frequency (LF) during the task and faster recovery than poor decision-makers. In conclusion, good decision-makers have a more adaptive stress response and higher levels of mental effort, based on total HRV interpretation. Decision-making skills could be a factor in a more adaptive cardiovascular response to competition.
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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 condition (N = 18 and 21 for GSP and non-GSP, respectively) and control condition (N = 21 and 20 for GSP and non-GSP, respectively), where cardiovascular variables were continuously recorded. Psychological questionnaires about mood and perceived stress were filled out, and five saliva samples were collected to analyze sAA. GSP participants showed higher values on low- and high-frequency ratios (HR domains), compared to non-GSP people, during exposure to the TSST, but no differences were observed after the stressor. Furthermore, the two groups did not differ in sAA. Importantly, positive affect in GSP participants was modulated by sex. The present study suggests that the balance between high- and low-frequency domains of HRV is a key cardiovascular marker reflecting the stress response of GSP people, as well the importance of sex in positive affect when facing a stressful situation.
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Sistema Nervoso Autônomo/fisiopatologia , Frequência Cardíaca/fisiologia , Fobia Social/diagnóstico , alfa-Amilases Salivares/análise , Estresse Psicológico/fisiopatologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Afeto , Biomarcadores , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Fobia Social/fisiopatologia , Inquéritos e Questionários , Adulto JovemRESUMO
A contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition. Psychoneuroendocrine effects of competition have been widely accepted as a clear example of the relationship between androgens and aggressive/dominant behavior in humans. However, results about the effects of competitive outcomes are quite heterogeneous, suggesting that personal and contextual factors play a moderating role in this relationship. To further explore these dimensions, we aimed to examine (i) the effect of competition and its outcome on the psychobiological response to a laboratory competition in young men, and (ii) the moderating role of some cognitive dimensions such as causal attributions. To do so, we compared the responses of 56 healthy young men faced with two competitive tasks with different instructions. Twenty-eight men carried out a task whose instructions led subjects to think the outcome was due to their personal performance ("merit" task), whereas 28 other men faced a task whose outcome was attributable to luck ("chance" task). In both cases, outcome was manipulated by the experimenter. Salivary steroid hormones (testosterone and cortisol), cardiovascular variables (heart rate and blood pressure), and emotional state (mood and anxiety) were measured at different moments before, during and after both tasks. Our results did not support the "winner-loser effect" because no significant differences were found in the responses of winners and losers. However, significantly higher values on the testosterone and cardiovascular variables, along with slight decreases in positive mood, were associated with the merit-based competition, but not the chance-based condition. In addition, an exploratory factorial analysis grouped the response components into two patterns traditionally related to more active or more passive behaviors. Thus, our results suggest that the perception of contributing to the outcome is relevant in the psychobiological response to competition in men. Overall, our results reveal the importance of the appraisal of control and causal attribution in understanding human competitive interactions.
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Comportamento Competitivo/fisiologia , Hidrocortisona/análise , Percepção Social , Testosterona/análise , Logro , Adolescente , Adulto , Afeto/fisiologia , Ansiedade/psicologia , Pressão Sanguínea/fisiologia , Frequência Cardíaca/fisiologia , Humanos , Masculino , Saliva/química , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Healthy older people with a cortisol awakening response (CAR) of decreased magnitude show worse frontal cortex-related cognitive performance. Systemic hypertension has been related to a CAR of decreased magnitude. Additionally, worse executive function and processing speed have been observed in older people with systemic hypertension. This is the first study to examine the relationship between the CAR (measured with six saliva samples at home on two consecutive weekdays) and cognitive performance, in both hypertensive (n=26) and normotensive (n=28) older people (from 56 to 78years old). Hypertensive participants showed lower morning cortisol secretion, and they also woke up earlier. No differences in CAR were observed. A CAR of decreased magnitude was related to worse executive function in both hypertensive and normotensive participants, but to slower processing speed only in normotensive participants. Being treated with antihypertensive for a longer period of time was related to a CAR of increased magnitude and better performance on executive function. Our findings suggest that earlier awakening time in hypertensive older people might underlie the lower overall morning cortisol secretion observed in previous studies. Additionally, this study confirms that a dysregulation of the CAR is related to worse executive function, and it extends this association to hypertensive older people. Finally, it is worth noting that hypertension may moderate the relationship between CAR and processing speed.
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Envelhecimento , Nível de Alerta/fisiologia , Cognição/fisiologia , Hidrocortisona/metabolismo , Hipertensão/metabolismo , Hipertensão/psicologia , Idoso , Envelhecimento/metabolismo , Envelhecimento/psicologia , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Ritmo Circadiano/fisiologia , Função Executiva/fisiologia , Feminino , Lobo Frontal/fisiologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Saliva/metabolismo , Vigília/fisiologiaRESUMO
The electrophysiological changes after a single session of neurofeedback training (↑SMR/↓Theta) and its effects on executive attention during a dichotic listening test with forced attentional procedures were measured in a sample of 20 healthy women. A pre-post moment test double blind design, with the inclusion of a group receiving sham neurofeedback, allowed for minimization of alien influences. The interaction of Moment × Group was significant, indicating an enhancement of SMR band after the real neurofeedback. The dichotic listening scores were correlated with the amplitude of Beta band in baseline conditions. The performance on the forced left attentional condition in dichotic listening was significantly improved and correlated positively with the post-training enhancement of the SMR band. The sham neurofeedback group also improved DL scores, so a clear affirmation about the benefits of neurofeedback training over cognitive performance could not be unambiguously established. It is concluded that the protocol showed a good independence and acceptable trainability in modifying the EEG results, but there was limited interpretability regarding cognitive outcomes.
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Método Duplo-Cego , Neurorretroalimentação , Atenção , Testes com Listas de Dissílabos , Eletroencefalografia , HumanosRESUMO
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, in women, cortisol levels at the moment of memory testing showed a positive association with the memory span component of WM before and after the TSST, and with the executive component of WM only before the stress task. In study 2 (n = 76), although participants showed a cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) response to the TSST, stress did not affect performance on Letter-Number Sequencing (LNS; a task that places a high demand on the executive component of WM). Cortisol and sAA were not associated with WM. The results indicate that circulating cortisol levels at the moment of memory testing, and not the stress response, affect memory span in older women, and that stress and the increase in cortisol levels after stress do not affect the executive component of WM in older men and women. This study provides further evidence that older people may be less sensitive to stress and stress-induced cortisol response effects on memory processes.
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Memória de Curto Prazo/fisiologia , Estresse Psicológico/psicologia , Idoso , Feminino , Humanos , Hidrocortisona/metabolismo , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Saliva/química , alfa-Amilases Salivares/metabolismo , Comportamento Social , Estresse Psicológico/metabolismoRESUMO
Stress has been associated with negative changes observed during the aging process. However, very little research has been carried out on the role of age in acute stress effects on memory. We aimed to explore the role of age and sex in the relationship between hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) reactivity to psychosocial stress and short-term declarative memory performance. To do so, sixty-seven participants divided into two age groups (each group with a similar number of men and women) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and a control condition in a crossover design. Memory performance was assessed by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). As expected, worse memory performance was associated with age; but more interestingly, the stressor impaired recall after interference only in the older group. In addition, this effect was negatively correlated with the alpha-amylase over cortisol ratio, which has recently been suggested as a good marker of stress system dysregulation. However, we failed to find sex differences in memory performance. These results show that age moderates stress-induced effects on declarative memory, and they point out the importance of studying both of the physiological systems involved in the stress response together.
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Envelhecimento/fisiologia , Atenção/fisiologia , Hidrocortisona/metabolismo , Memória de Curto Prazo/fisiologia , Rememoração Mental/fisiologia , Estresse Psicológico/fisiopatologia , alfa-Amilases/metabolismo , Adolescente , Adulto , Fatores Etários , Idoso , Envelhecimento/metabolismo , Estudos Cross-Over , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Saliva/química , Estresse Psicológico/metabolismo , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are a memory disorder that often precedes mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease (AD). Both individual alpha rhythms and cognitive reserve (CR) represent key features of SMCs and provide useful tools to characterize and predict the course of the disorder. We studied whether older people with SMCs may also present some abnormal resting state electroencephalogram (rsEEG) alpha rhythms, and whether alpha rhythms are associated with CR. To do this, eyes-closed rsEEG were recorded in 68 older people with and without SMCs. The individual alpha indexes alpha/theta transition frequency (TF) and individual alpha frequency peak (IAFp) were computed. TF and IAFp were also used to determine the alpha1, alpha2, and alpha3 power frequency. Results indicated no differences in TF or IAFp between older people with SMCs and controls. The SMCs group showed a reduction in alpha3 power in comparison with controls. Specifically, women with SMCs were characterized by a significant decrease in alpha3 power compared to control women. Furthermore, only in SMCs group, greater CR was associated with slow IAFp. In sum, these results suggest that TF and IAFp are two stable indexes that are not influenced by the presence of SMCs. However, the reduction in alpha3, as observed in women with SMCs, shows an abnormal posterior rsEEG at alpha power. Finally, the compensatory mechanisms of CR appear to interact with the neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie the regulation of alpha rhythms.
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Ritmo alfa , Reserva Cognitiva , Transtornos da Memória , Humanos , Ritmo alfa/fisiologia , Feminino , Idoso , Masculino , Reserva Cognitiva/fisiologia , Transtornos da Memória/fisiopatologia , Disfunção Cognitiva/fisiopatologia , Eletroencefalografia , Prognóstico , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Testes NeuropsicológicosRESUMO
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown, concerns about the impact of loneliness and reduced social interactions on mental health have arisen. This study explored the repercussions of post-lockdown social restrictions across psychological (loneliness, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms), biological (hair cortisol and cardiovascular activity), and cognitive dimensions (subjective memory complaints and working, declarative, and prospective memory), with a specific emphasis on perceived loneliness and the living situation. The study included 45 students: 23 (mean age = 25.69 years) in the Alone Group (AG), who experienced significant family changes and international relocation, and 22 (mean age = 25.50 years) in the Not Alone Group (NAG), who maintained their nuclear family and did not move from their home country. We assessed heart rate variability (HRV) before, during, and after immediate memory evaluations using time-domain (the square root of the mean, RMSSD) measures. The analysis revealed no significant group differences in telematic contact with family and friends, perceived stress, or depression. However, the AG participants reported fewer face-to-face interactions and greater perceived loneliness compared to the NAG. Additionally, the AG group exhibited slightly higher hair cortisol levels and worse working memory (WM) and prospective memory (PM) performance. Importantly, no significant associations were observed between memory outcomes and stress biomarkers. However, a significant interaction effect of loneliness in the relationship between hair cortisol levels and PM was found. That is, hair cortisol concentrations were negatively related to PM when participants perceived high and moderate loneliness. This interaction was absent in the working and declarative memory domains. In summary, these findings underscore the intricate interplay between loneliness, cortisol, and memory, emphasizing the need for comprehensive research on the complex mechanisms governing these multifaceted relationships.
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COVID-19 , Solidão , Humanos , Adulto , Solidão/psicologia , Hidrocortisona/análise , Condições Sociais , Biomarcadores , Depressão/psicologiaRESUMO
As the older population continues to expand, there is a growing prevalence of individuals who experience subjective cognitive decline (SCD), characterized by self-reported failures in cognitive function and an increased risk of cognitive impairment. Recognizing that preventive interventions are typically more effective in preclinical stages, current research endeavors to focus on identifying early biological markers of SCD using resting-state electroencephalogram (rsEEG) methods. To do so, a systematic literature review covering the past 20 years was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, in order to consolidate findings on rsEEG frequency bands in individuals with SCD. Pubmed and Web of Science databases were searched for rsEEG studies of people with SCD. Quality assessments were completed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale. A total of 564 articles published from December 2003 to December 2023 were reviewed, and significant aspects of these papers were analyzed to provide a general overview of the research on this technique. After removing unrelated articles, nine articles were selected for the present study. The review emphasizes patterns in frequency band activity, revealing that individuals classified as SCD exhibited increased theta power than healthy controls, but decreased than MCI. However, findings for the alpha, delta, and beta bands were inconsistent, demonstrating variability across studies and highlighting the need for further research. Although the rsEEG of frequency bands emerges as a promising early biomarker, there is a noteworthy need to establish uniform standards and consistent measurement approaches in order to ensure the reliability and comparability of the results obtained in the research.
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OBJECTIVE: Drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a neurological disorder characterized by cognitive deficits. This study examined whether patients with TLE and different cognitive phenotypes differ in cortisol levels and affectivity while controlling for demographic and clinical variables. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 79 adults with TLE underwent neuropsychological evaluation in which memory, language, attention/processing speed, executive function, and affectivity were assessed. Six saliva samples were collected in the afternoon to examine the ability of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to descend according to the circadian rhythm (C1 to C6). The cortisol area under the curve concerning ground (AUCg) was computed to examine global cortisol secretion. RESULTS: Three cognitive phenotypes were identified: memory impairment, generalized impairment, and no impairment. The memory-impairment phenotype showed higher cortisol levels at C4, C5, and C6 than the other groups (p = 0.03, η2 = 0.06), higher cortisol AUCg than the generalized-impairment phenotype (p = 0.004, η2 = 0.14), and a significant reduction in positive affectivity after the evaluation (p = 0.026, η2 = 0.11). Higher cortisol AUCg and reductions in positive affectivity were significant predictors of the memory-impairment phenotype (p < 0.001; Cox and Snell R2 = 0.47). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with memory impairment had a slower decline in cortisol levels in the afternoon, which could be interpreted as an inability of the HPA axis to inhibit itself. Thus, chronic stress may influence hippocampus-dependent cognitive function more than other cognitive functions in patients with TLE.
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BACKGROUND: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) has gained recent interest as a potential harbinger of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD). In addition, SCD can be related to depressive symptomatology. However, the association between AD and CVD biomarkers, depressive symptomatology, and SCD is still unclear. We investigated the association of AD and CVD biomarkers and depressive symptomatology with SCD in individuals with subjective memory complaints (SCD-memory group) and individuals with subjective concentration complaints (SCD-concentration group). METHODS: We recruited a population-based cohort of 217 individuals (all aged 70 years, 53% female participants, 119 SCD-memory individuals, 23 SCD-concentration individuals, and 89 controls). AD and CVD were assessed through cerebrospinal fluid levels of the Aß42/40 ratio and phosphorylated tau, and white matter signal abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. Associations between biomarkers, depressive symptomatology, and SCD were tested via logistic regression and correlation analyses. RESULTS: We found a significant association between depressive symptomatology with SCD-memory and SCD-concentration. Depressive symptomatology was not associated with AD and CVD biomarkers. Both the phosphorylated tau biomarker and depressive symptomatology predicted SCD-memory, and the Aß42/40 ratio and depressive symptomatology predicted SCD-concentration. CONCLUSIONS: The role of depressive symptomatology in SCD may differ depending on the stage within the spectrum of preclinical AD (as determined by amyloid-beta and tau positivity), and does not seem to reflect AD pathology. Our findings contribute to the emerging field of subclinical depressive symptomatology in SCD and clarify the association of different types of subjective complaints with distinct syndromic and biomarker profiles.