Browsing by Subject "Cortisol"

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12
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    Autonomic, hormonal, and subjective responses to a modified version of the TSST: a pilot study
    (Universidad de Murcia. Servicio de Publicaciones, 2021) Salvador, Alicia; Gómez-Amor, Jesús; Espín López, Laura
    El objetivo de esta investigación fue estudiar las respuestas hormonales, autonómicas y afectivas a una versión modificada del estresor TSST en una muestra de jóvenes universitarios compuesta de treinta y ocho sujetos (11 hombres y veintisiete mujeres, 11 en la fase lútea del ciclo menstrual, 16 mujeres en la fase folicular). La respuesta hormonal se evaluó con niveles de cortisol. La frecuencia cardíaca y la actividad electrodérmica se registraron durante toda la sesión experimental y la ansiedad rasgo y estado se evaluaron antes y después de la tarea. La fase de discurso provocó la frecuencia cardíaca más alta, la mayor frecuencia de respuestas inespecíficas y el mayor nivel de conductancia de la piel, mostrando diferencias significativas con la fase de habituación. Sin embargo, la respuesta de cortisol salival no fue significativa con respecto al factor estresante. En relación con las diferencias de sexo, independientemente del factor estresante, los hombres mostraron una mayor frecuencia de respuesta inespecífica, un mayor nivel de conductancia de la piel que las mujeres y mayores niveles de cortisol en comparación con las mujeres en la fase lútea. La ansiedad estado fue similar pre y postarea y no reveló ninguna diferencia asociada con el sexo o la fase del ciclo menstrual. Nuestros resultados sugieren que el eje HHA no responde al TSST sentado y proporcionó evidencia de que el TSST provoca diferentes patrones de respuesta psicofisiológica dependiendo de algunas variaciones del protocolo.
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    Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on nutritional, functional and frailty biomarkers of people living in nursing homes. a prospective study
    (SAGE Publications, 2023-05-15) Oliveira, Adriana C. De Souza; Gómez Martínez, Carmelo; López Mongil, Rosa; Moreno Molina, Jorge; Hernández Morante, Juan José; Echevarría Pérez, Paloma; Gómez Gallego, María; Atención Sociosanitaria
    Abstract Background: Nursing home residences suffered a lockdown from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study prospectively evaluates the frailty, functional, and nutritional statuses of nursing home residents. Methods: Three hundred and one residents from three nursing homes took part in the study. Frailty status was measured using the FRAIL scale. Functional status was evaluated using the Barthel Index. Additionally, Short Physical Performance Batter (SPPB), SARC-F, hand grip strength, and gait speed were also evaluated. Nutritional status was determined using the mini nutritional assessment test (MNA) and several anthropometrical and biochemical markers. Results: Mini Nutritional Assessment test scores decreased in 20% throughout the confinement (p < .001). Barthel index, SPPB and SARC-F scores also decreased, although to a lesser extent, reflecting a decrease in functional capacity. However, both anthropometric parameters, hand grip strength and gait speed, remained stable throughout confinement (p > .050 in all cases). Morning cortisol secretion significantly decreased by 40% from baseline to post-confinement. A significant reduction in daily cortisol variability was observed, which may suggest increased distress. Fifty-six residents died during the period of confinement (81.4% survival rate). Sex, FRAIL and Barthel Index scores were significant predictors of resident survival. Conclusion: After the first COVID-19 blockade, several alterations in residents’ frailty markers were observed, which were small and potentially reversible. However, many of the residents were pre-frail after the lockdown. This fact highlights the need for preventive strategies to reduce the impact of future social and physical stressors on these vulnerable individuals.
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    Effects of stress on emotional memory in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in healthy elderly
    (Cambridge University Press, 2017-12-14) Gómez García, Juan; Gómez Gallego, María; Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa
    Objective: We aimed at examining the relation between stress markers (cortisol levels and state anxiety) with memory for emotional information in AD patients and in healthy elderly. Design, Setting, and participants: Baseline and changes in stress markers during memory testing were assessed in a sample of 98 elderly (46 mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease patients and 52 controls) recruited from dementia day centers and adult day centers, respectively. Measurements: Salivary cortisol, state anxiety, and measures of immediate recall and delayed recognition using the International Affective Pictures System. Results: Patients’ performance in memory tasks was not associated with either cortisol levels or anxiety. In controls, quadratic and linear associations were found between cortisol and immediate recall scores (total and bias, respectively). Besides, quadratic and linear associations were observed between anxiety and delayed recognition scores (total and bias, respectively). Conclusions: The emotional memory of patients with Alzheimer´s disease is not related to stress markers as healthy older adults’ is. Future studies that include moderating variables are needed to explain the lack of association.
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    Enhancing effects of acute psychosocial stress on priming of non-declarative memory in healthy young adults
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2012) Espín López, Laura; Hidalgo, Vanesa; Villada, Carolina; Almela, Mercedes; Gómez Amor, Jesús; Salvador, Alicia; Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología; Facultades de la UMU::Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia
    Social stress affects cognitive processes in general, and memory performance in particular. However, the direction of these effects has not been clearly established, as it depends on several factors. Our aim was to determine the impact of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) reactivity to psychosocial stress on short-term non-declarative memory and declarative memory performance. Fifty-two young participants (18 men, 34 women) were subjected to the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST) and a control condition in a crossover design. Implicit memory was assessed by a priming test, and explicit memory was assessed by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). The TSST provoked greater salivary cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) responses than the control task. Men had a higher cortisol response to stress than women, but no sex differences were found for sAA release. Stress was associated with an enhancement of priming but did not affect declarative memory. Additionally, the enhancement on the priming test was higher in those whose sAA levels increased more in response to stress (r48 1⁄4 0.339, p 1⁄4 0.018). Our results confirm an effect of acute stress on priming, and that this effect is related to SNS activity. In addition, they suggest a different relationship between stress biomarkers and the different memory systems.
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    Evaluation of the effect of a live interview in journalism students on salivary stress biomarkers and conventional stress scales
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2022-02-09) Roca Marín, Delfina; Escribano Tortosa, Damián; Franco Martínez, Lorena; Contreras Aguilar, María Dolores; Bernal Gambín, Luis Jesús; Cerón Madrigal, José Joaquín; Rojo Villada, Pedro Antonio; Martínez Subiela, Silvia; Tvarijonaviciute, Asta; Comunicación; Facultades de la UMU::Comunicación y Documentación
    A career in journalism can be very stressful, as journalists frequently have to deal with uncontrolled situations such as conducting live interviews. Therefore, training is essential during their career, both for the development of communication skills and for the improvement of the real and effective capacity to perform the tasks of their professional activity. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of stress in students before and after a practical training in a professional television set using subjective (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Likert scale) and objective (salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase) methods. The results indicate that a live interview produces stress in the students as revealed by increased concentrations of cortisol and alpha amylase in saliva. Furthermore, students with lower initial concentrations of these biomarkers obtained better grades in evaluation, suggesting that greater control of anticipatory stress could be associated with a better activity performance.
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    Feeding entrainment of locomotor activity rhythms, digestive enzymes and neuroendocrine factors in goldfish
    (2007) Vera, L.M.; De Pedro, N.; Gómez Milán, E.; Delgado, M.J.; Sánchez Muros, M.J.; Madrid, J.A.; Sánchez Vázquez, F.J.; Fisiología
    L.M. VERA, N. DE PEDRO, E. GÓMEZ-MILÁN, M.J. DELGADO, M.J. SÁNCHEZ MUROS, J.A. MADRID, F.J. SÁNCHEZ-VÁZQUEZ. Feeding entrainment of locomotor activity, digestive enzymes and neuroendocrine factors in goldfish. PHYSIOL BEHAV 90 (2-3) 518-524, 2007. The existence of food anticipatory activity (FAA) in animals subjected to daily feeding schedules seems to be mediated by a feeding-entrainable oscillator (FEO). Such an FEO may help in anticipating meal time and so optimizing food acquisition and nutrient utilization. In this study we investigated the existence of FAA and whether digestive enzymes, plasma cortisol, hypothalamic NPY and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and plasma melatonin were entrained by periodic feeding in goldfish. We observed that periodically fed goldfish showed FAA in locomotor activity as well as in amylase and NPY. Alkaline protease and GIT melatonin were higher after feeding, whereas plasma cortisol levels were reduced. Plasma melatonin remained unmodified before and after meal time. These results suggested that scheduled feeding entrained both behavioral and certain physiological patterns in goldfish, FAA being of adaptive value to anticipate a meal and prepare the digestive physiology of fish.
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    Fisiología de los ritmos circadianos: regulación temporal del organismo y sincronización de las funciones biológicas
    (2026-05-08) Victoria Montesinos, Desirée ; Mateo Orcajada, Adrián; Fisiología
    La fisiología de los ritmos circadianos estudia cómo el organismo regula sus funciones biológicas siguiendo ciclos de aproximadamente 24 horas. Estos ritmos están controlados por un reloj biológico central situado en el núcleo supraquiasmático del hipotálamo, que se sincroniza principalmente con la luz ambiental. Gracias a este sistema, procesos como el sueño, la temperatura corporal, la secreción hormonal, el metabolismo, el apetito y el estado de alerta se ajustan al ciclo día-noche, favoreciendo la homeostasis y la adaptación del organismo al entorno.
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    Polimorfismo corto del gen del transportador de la serotonina (5-HTTLPR) y su asociación con la respuesta al estrés mediada por cortisol: un meta-análisis
    (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, Editum, 2014-05) Agüero-Tejado, Emiliano
    Varios estudios han sido llevados a cabo para analizar el papel del polimorfismo corto del transportador de la serotonina (5-HTTLPR) en la respuesta al estrés psicosocial mediado por cortisol, habiéndose encontrado resultados contradictorios. Con el fin de sintetizar y analizar la información disponible acerca del papel del polimorfismo corto del gen 5-HTTLPR en la respuesta al estrés se ha realizado este meta-análisis. Se realizó un meta-análisis de estudios publicados hasta noviembre de 2011 sin restricción de idioma, donde se analizaba el efecto del polimorfismo corto del 5-HTTLPR en la respuesta de cortisol durante un protocolo inductor de estrés. Se recogieron los valores F o p genotipo publicados como estimadores de la diferencia entre grupos, así como el signo de esta diferencia para su análisis. El meta-análisis global no mostró asociación significativa entre la presencia del alelo corto y una diferente respuesta al estrés psicosocial. Tras comparar los subgrupos de estudios donde sometía a los participantes a una intervención emocionalmente neutral frente a una intervención emocionalmente negativa, se encontraron diferencias significativas. En el subgrupo de estudios donde los pacientes fueron sometidos durante la intervención a un ambiente emocionalmente negativo, se observó una significativamente mayor liberación de cortisol por parte de aquellos sujetos portadores del alelo corto. Esta asociación no se observó en el subgrupo neutral.
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    La ratio interdigital D2:D4 y su relación con otros indicadores de androgenización en progenitores de personas con trastornos del espectro autista
    (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, Editum, 2013-01) Romero-Martínez, Ángel; de Andrés-García, Sara; Sariñana-González, Patricia; Sanchis-Calatayud, M.V.; Roa, Juan M.; González-Bono, Esperanza; Moya-Albiol, L.
    La ratio D2:D4 es el cociente entre la longitud de los dedos índice y anular e indicador indirecto de androgenización. A mayor testosterona prenatal,incrementa la probabilidad de desarrollar una menor ratio D2:D4. Se ha sugerido que personas con trastornos del espectro autista (TEA) y sus progenitores podrían tener cerebros altamente androgenizados, por lo que se ha utilizado como marcador de tal idiosincrasia. El objetivo principal es analizar si los progenitores de personas con TEA difieren de la población general en diversos parámetros de androgenización, principalmente la ratio D2:D4. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 43 progenitores de personas con TEA y 42 controles, de los que se midieron la ratio D2:D4, cuestionarios rasgo y niveles de testosterona y cortisol en saliva. Aunque no se encontraron diferencias por grupo en la ratio D2:D4, la ratio de la mano izquierda de progenitores de personas con TEA mostró mayor capacidad predictiva para explicar los cocientes de empatía y autismo, conductas cooperativas y niveles de cortisol. Además, en los progenitores varones predijo la gravedad de los hijos. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la ratio D2:D4 podría ser empleada, junto a otros parámetros, como indicador de la probabilidad de desarrollar rasgos autistas en los descendientes.
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    Relationship between plasma biochemistry values and metal concentrations in nesting olive ridley sea turtles
    (Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature, 2018-10-30) Cortés-Gómez, Adriana A.; Tvarijonaviciute, Asta; Girondot, Marc; Tecles, Fernando; Romero, Diego; Ciencias Sociosanitarias
    A hundred nesting olive ridley turtles were sampled to determine biochemical parameters (ALP, AST, ALT, creatinine, albumin, cholesterol, glucose, proteins, triglycerides, urea, and P-nitrophenyl acetate esterase activity). Esterase activity (EA) is a new biomarker very sensitive to metals. Most of the samples showed detectable levels. We also analyzed the concentration of 11 inorganic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, Ti, Se, and Zn), some of them previously reported with very high concentrations in this population (especially cadmium with 82 and 150 μgg−1 ww in liver and kidney, respectively). Cadmium presented two negative relationships with creatinine and glucose. Some other understudied elements, Sr and Ti, for instance, presented five and four significant relationships with some biochemical parameters, respectively (most of them positive). EA was the parameter with most negative relationships (with Pb, Ti, As, Cr, and Se), reinforcing the results of other researchers in humans regarding the possible inhibition of EA by metals.
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    Salivary alpha-amylase response to acute psychosocial stress: the impact of age
    (Elsevier, 2011-07) Espín López, Laura; Almela, Mercedes; Hidalgo, Vanesa; Villada, Carolina; Meij, Leander van der; Gómez Amor, Jesús; Salvador, Alicia; Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología; Facultades de la UMU::Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia
    The impact of stress on health varies across the different stages of human life. Aging is associated with psychobiological changes that could limit our ability to cope with stressors. Therefore, it is crucial to clarify the physiological mechanisms that underlie the stress response and the changes that occur in them as we age. Our aim was to investigate age differences in the salivary alpha amylase (sAA) response to stress, and its relationship with other typical stress biomarkers such as cortisol and heart rate (HR). Sixty-two participants divided into two age groups (younger group: N = 31, age range: 18–35 years; older group: N = 31, age range: 54–71 years) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test and a control condition in a crossover design. No age differences were found in the sAA or HR responses to stress. However, the sAA global output was higher in older than younger adults. Additionally, in the stress condition, the total amount of cortisol released was positively related to the total sAA released, while the HR increase was positively related to the sAA increase. Our results do not support the existence of an attenuated autonomic nervous system response to stress in older adults, but rather a heightened sympathetic tone. Furthermore, we found further evidence of the coordination between the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal system and the autonomic nervous system in their response to acute psychosocial stress.
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    Voluntary exercise reduces plasma cortisol levels and improves transitory memory impairment in young and aged Octodon degus
    (Elsevier, ) Estrada, Cristina; Cuenca, Lorena; Cano Fernández, Lorena; Sánchez Rodrigo, Consuelo; González Cuello, Ana Maria; Fernández Villalba, Emiliano; Herrero, Maria Teresa; Gil Martínez, Ana Luisa; Enfermería
    Sleep deprivation (SD) has been reported to induce transient cognitive impairment in functional domains commonly affected in dementia, including memory. Indeed, sleep disturbance has been proposed as an early marker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). SD emulates many aging-related modifications, including important memory dysfunctions possibly caused by triggers of stress such as cortisol. Although exercise is widely assumed to be beneficial for overall health, only recently has the research community focused its attention on its possible effects on brain functions such as cognition. Octodon degus (O. degus) is a recent rodent model considered suitable for the study of neurodegenerative diseases, since it spontaneously develops several histopathological hallmarks observed in AD. We aimed to uncover the interaction between stress, exercise, age and transient memory impairments after SD insult. In this study, animals had free individual access to wheels to practice voluntary exercise. The Barnes Maze (BM) task was conducted with young and aged O. degus animals after combining voluntary exercise and either normal sleep or SD. Plasma cortisol levels were measured after each condition. SD impaired hippocampus-dependent memory in both young and old animals, while cortisol levels did not significantly differ between non-SD and SD animals. However, voluntary exercise for 45 days improved the cognitive impairment caused by SD compared with the control condition. Moreover, voluntary exercise decreased plasma cortisol levels in both conditions, independently of the age.