Protocol for an experimental investigation of the roles of oxytocin and social support in neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and subjective responses to stress across age and gender

Laura D Kubzansky, Wendy B Mendes, Allison Appleton, Jason Block, Gail K Adler, Laura D Kubzansky, Wendy B Mendes, Allison Appleton, Jason Block, Gail K Adler

Abstract

Background: Substantial empirical evidence has demonstrated that individuals who are socially isolated or have few positive social connections seem to age at a faster rate and have more chronic diseases. Oxytocin is a neurohypophyseal hormone hypothesized to coordinate both the causes and effects of positive social interactions, and may be involved in positive physiological adaptations such as buffering the deleterious effects of stress and promoting resilience. The proposed research will examine whether and how oxytocin influences responses to stress in humans and will consider effects in relation to those of social support.

Methods/design: Experimental research will be used to determine whether exogenously administered oxytocin (intranasal) influences psychological and physiological outcomes under conditions of stress across gender and age in adulthood. Hypotheses to be tested are: 1) Oxytocin ameliorates the deleterious neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and subjective effects of stress; 2) Oxytocin and social support have similar and additive stress-buffering effects; 3) Oxytocin effects are stronger in women versus men; and 4) Oxytocin effects are similar across a range of adult ages. Hypotheses will be tested with a placebo-controlled, double-blind study using a sample of healthy men and women recruited from the community. Participants are randomly assigned to receive either oxytocin or placebo. They undergo a social stress manipulation with and without social support (randomly assigned), and outcome measures are obtained at multiple times during the procedure.

Discussion: Understanding the determinants of healthy aging is a major public health priority and identifying effective measures to prevent or delay the onset of chronic diseases is an important goal. Experimental research on oxytocin, social relationships, and health in adulthood will contribute to the scientific knowledge base for maximizing active life and health expectancy. At conclusion of the study we will have solid evidence concerning the effects of oxytocin on stress response and whether it has similar effects across age and gender groups. A neurobiological understanding of resilience can inform efforts for both prevention and intervention of diseases or problems common in later life.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01011465.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sample Recruitment Protocol.
Figure 2
Figure 2
General Study Protocol.

References

    1. Russek LG, King SH, Russek SJ, Russek HI. The Harvard Mastery of Stress Study 35-year follow-up: Prognostic significance of patterns of psychophysiological arousal and adaptation. Psychosomatic Medicine. 1990;52:271–285.
    1. Taylor SE, Klein LC, Lewis BP, Gruenewald TL, Gurung RA, Updegraff JA. Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: tend-and-befriend, not fight-or-flight. Psychological Review. 2000;107(3):411–429. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.107.3.411.
    1. Taylor SE, Lerner JS, Sage RM, Lehman BJ, Seeman TE. Early environment emotions, responses to stress and health. Journal of Personality. 2004;72(6):1365–1393. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2004.00300.x.
    1. Uvnas-Moberg K. Oxytocin linked antistress effects - the relaxation and growth response. Acta Psychologica Scandinavica. 1997;640(Supplement):38–42.
    1. Knox SS, Uvnas-Moberg K. Social isolation and cardiovascular disease: an atherosclerotic pathway? Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1998;23(8):877–890. doi: 10.1016/S0306-4530(98)00061-4.
    1. Berkman LF, Syme SL. Social networks host resistance and mortality: A nine-year follow-up study of Alameda County residents. American Journal of Epidemiology. 1979;109:186–204.
    1. Seeman TE. Health promoting effects of friends and family on health outcomes in older adults. Am J Health Promot. 2000;14(6):362–370.
    1. Ryff CD, Singer B. Interpersonal flourishing: A positive health agenda for the new millennium. Personality and Social Psychology Review. 2000;4(1):30–44. doi: 10.1207/S15327957PSPR0401_4.
    1. Pressman SD, Cohen S, Miller GE, Barkin A, Rabin BS, Treanor JJ. Loneliness, social network size and immune response to influenza vaccination in college freshmen. Health Psychol. 2005;24(3):297–306. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.3.297.
    1. Cacioppo JT, Hawkley LC, Crawford LE, Ernst JM, Burleson MH, Kowalewski RB, Malarkey WB, Van Cauter E, Berntson GG. Loneliness and health: potential mechanisms. Psychosom Med. 2002;64(3):407–417.
    1. Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Loving TJ, Stowell JR, Malarkey WB, Lemeshow S, Dickinson SL, Glaser R. Hostile marital interactions proinflammatory cytokine production and wound healing. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62(12):1377–1384. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.62.12.1377.
    1. Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, Morrow JD, Cawthon RM. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2004;101(49):17312–17315. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0407162101.
    1. Russek LG, Schwartz GE. Perceptions of parental caring predict health status in midlife: a 35-year follow-up of the Harvard Mastery of Stress Study. Psychosom Med. 1997;59(2):144–149.
    1. Carstensen LL, Charles ST. Emotion in the second half of life. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 1998;7(5):144–149. doi: 10.1111/1467-8721.ep10836825.
    1. Carstensen LL, Isaacowitz DM, Charles ST. Taking time seriously. A theory of socioemotional selectivity. Am Psychol. 1999;54(3):165–181. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.54.3.165.
    1. Carstensen LL, Pasupathi M, Mayr U, Nesselroade JR. Emotional experience in everyday life across the adult life span. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000;79(4):644–655. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.79.4.644.
    1. Lang FR, Carstensen LL. Close emotional relationships in late life: further support for proactive aging in the social domain. Psychol Aging. 1994;9(2):315–324. doi: 10.1037/0882-7974.9.2.315.
    1. National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. From neurons to neighborhoods: the science of early child development. Committee on integrating the science of early childhood development. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press; 2000.
    1. McCarthy MM. Oxytocin inhibits infanticide in female house mice (Mus domesticus) Hormones and Behavior. 1990;24:365–375. doi: 10.1016/0018-506X(90)90015-P.
    1. Taylor SE, Lehman BJ, Kiefe CI, Seeman TE. Relationship of early life stress and psychological functioning to adult C-reactive protein in the coronary artery risk development in young adults study. Biol Psychiatry. 2006;60(8):819–824. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.03.016.
    1. Gutkowska J, Jankowski M, Mukaddam-Daher S, McCann SM. Oxytocin is a cardiovascular hormone. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. 2000;33:625–633. doi: 10.1590/S0100-879X2000000600003.
    1. Fehm-Wolfsdorf G, Born J. Behavioral effects of neurohypophyseal peptides in healthy volunteers: 10 years of research. Peptides. 1991;12:1399–1406. doi: 10.1016/0196-9781(91)90226-F.
    1. Petersson M, Uvnas-Moberg K, Erhardt S, Engberg G. Oxytocin increases locus coeruleus alpha 2-adrenoreceptor responsiveness in rats. Neurosci Lett. 1998;255(2):115–118. doi: 10.1016/S0304-3940(98)00729-0.
    1. De Kloet ER, Voorhuis TAM, Elands J. Estradiol induces oxytocin binding sites in rat hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus. Eur J Pharmacol. 1986;118:185–186. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(85)90679-X.
    1. Young LJ, Muns S, Wang Z, Insel TR. Changes in oxytocin receptor mRNA in rat brain during pregnancy and the effects of estrogen and interleukin-6. J Neuroendocrinol. 1997;9(11):859–865. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2826.1997.00654.x.
    1. McCarthy MM. Estrogen modulation of oxytocin and its relation to behavior. Adv Exp Med Biol. 1995;395:235–245.
    1. Heinrichs M, Meinlschmidt G, Neumann I, Wagner S, Kirschbaum C, Ehlert U, Hellhammer DH. Effects of suckling on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to psychosocial stress in postpartum lactating women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001;86(10):4798–4804. doi: 10.1210/jc.86.10.4798.
    1. Heinrichs M, Neumann I, Ehlert U. Lactation and stress: protective effects of breast-feeding in humans. Stress. 2002;5(3):195–203. doi: 10.1080/1025389021000010530.
    1. Light KC, Grewen KM, Amico JA. More frequent partner hugs and higher oxytocin levels are linked to lower blood pressure and heart rate in premenopausal women. Biol Psychol. 2005;69(1):5–21. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.11.002.
    1. Light KC, Smith TE, Johns JM, Brownley KA, Hofheimer JA, Amico JA. Oxytocin responsivity in mothers of infants a preliminary study of relationships with blood pressure during laboratory stress and normal ambulatory activity. Health Psychol. 2000;19(6):560–567. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.19.6.560.
    1. Sanders G, Freilicher J, Lightman SL. Psychological stress of exposure to uncontrollable noise increases plasma oxytocin in high emotionality women. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1990;15:47–58. doi: 10.1016/0306-4530(90)90046-C.
    1. Turner RA, Altemus M, Enos T, Cooper B, McGuinness T. Preliminary research on plasma oxytocin in normal cycling women: investigating emotion and interpersonal distress. Psychiatry. 1999;62(2):97–113.
    1. Turner RA, Altemus M, Yip DN, Kupferman E, Fletcher D, Bostrom A, Lyons DM, Amico JA. Effects of emotion on oxytocin prolactin, and ACTH in women. Stress. 2002;5(4):269–276. doi: 10.1080/1025389021000037586-1.
    1. Grewen KM, Girdler SS, Amico J, Light KC. Effects of partner support on resting oxytocin cortisol, norepinephrine, and blood pressure before and after warm partner contact. Psychosom Med. 2005;67(4):531–538. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000170341.88395.47.
    1. Taylor SE, Gonzaga GC, Klein LC, Hu P, Greendale GA, Seeman TE. Relation of oxytocin to psychological stress responses and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity in older women. Psychosom Med. 2006;68(2):238–245. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000203242.95990.74.
    1. Bartz JA, Hollander E. The neuroscience of affiliation: forging links between basic and clinical research on neuropeptides and social behavior. Horm Behav. 2006;50(4):518–528. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.06.018.
    1. Carter S, Lederhendler I, Kirkpatrick B. The integrative neurobiology of affiliation: Introduction. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1997;807:xiii–xviii. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1997.tb51909.x.
    1. Born J, Lange T, Kern W, McGregor GP, Bickel U, Fehm HL. Sniffing neuropeptides: a transnasal approach to the human brain. Nature Neuroscience. 2002;5(6):514–516. doi: 10.1038/nn0602-849.
    1. Kosfeld M, Heinrichs M, Zak PJ, Fischbacher U, Fehr E. Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature. 2005;435(7042):673–676. doi: 10.1038/nature03701.
    1. Lippert TH, Mueck AO, Seeger H, Pfaff A. Effects of oxytocin outside pregnancy. Horm Res. 2003;60(6):262–271. doi: 10.1159/000074243.
    1. Insel TR, Winslow JT. Central administration of oxytocin modulates the infant rat's response to social isolation. Eur J Pharmacol. 1991;203(1):149–152. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(91)90806-2.
    1. Lightman SL, Windle RJ, Wood SA, Kershaw YM, Shanks N, Ingram CD. Peripartum plasticity within the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. Prog Brain Res. 2001;133:111–129. full_text.
    1. Neumann ID, Torner L, Wigger A. Brain oxytocin: differential inhibition of neuroendocrine stress responses and anxiety-related behaviour in virgin pregnant and lactating rats. Neuroscience. 2000;95(2):567–575. doi: 10.1016/S0306-4522(99)00433-9.
    1. Neumann ID, Wigger A, Torner L, Holsboer F, Landgraf R. Brain oxytocin inhibits basal and stress-induced activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in male and female rats: partial action within the paraventricular nucleus. J Neuroendocrinol. 2000;12(3):235–243. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2826.2000.00442.x.
    1. Windle RJ, Shanks N, Lightman SL, Ingram CD. Central oxytocin administration reduces stress-induced corticosterone release and anxiety behavior in rats. Endocrinology. 1997;138(7):2829–2834. doi: 10.1210/en.138.7.2829.
    1. Heinrichs M, Domes G. Neuropeptides and social behavior: Effects of oxytocin and vasopressin in humans. Progress in Brain Research. 2008;170:337–350. full_text.
    1. Chiodera P, Volpi R, Capretti L, Caiazza A, Marchesi M, Caffari G, Rossi G, Coiro V. Oxytocin response to challenging stimuli in elderly men. Regul Pept. 1994;51(2):169–176. doi: 10.1016/0167-0115(94)90206-2.
    1. Berkman LF, Czajkowski SM, Hill DR, Clarkson TB, Rockville MD. In: Women, behavior, and cardiovascular disease. Czajkowski SM, Hill DR, Clarkson TB, editor. Volume NIH Publication No. 94-3309. National Institutes of Health; 1994. Social support and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality in women; pp. 159–166.
    1. Berkman LF, Leo-Summers L, Horwitz RI. Emotional support and myocardial infarction: findings from a prospective population-based study of the elderly. Annals of Internal Med. 1992;117:1003–1009.
    1. Christenfeld N, Gerin W. Social support and cardiovascular reactivity. Biomed & Pharmaocother. 2000;54:251–257.
    1. Eng PM, Rimm EB, Fitzmaurice G, Kawachi I. Social ties and change in social ties in relation to subsequent total and cause-specific mortality and coronary heart disease incidence. Am J Epidemiol. 2002;155:700–709. doi: 10.1093/aje/155.8.700.
    1. Rozanski A, Blumenthal JA, Davidson KW, Saab P, Kubzansky LD. The epidemiology pathophysiology, and management of psychosocial risk factors in cardiac practice: The emerging field of behavioral cardiology. Journal of American College of Cardiology. 2005;45(5):637–651. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2004.12.005.
    1. Lett HS, Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Strauman TJ, Robins C, Sherwood A. Social support and coronary heart disease: epidemiologic evidence and implications for treatment. Psychosom Med. 2005;67(6):869–878. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000188393.73571.0a.
    1. Williams RB, Barefoot JC, Schneiderman N. Psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease: more than one culprit at work. Jama. 2003;290(16):2190–2192. doi: 10.1001/jama.290.16.2190.
    1. Berkman LF, Glass TA, Brissett I, Seeman TE. From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Social Science and Medicine. 2000;51:843–857. doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00065-4.
    1. Thorsteinsson EB, James JE. A meta-analysis of the effects of experimental manipulations of social support during laboratory stress. Psychology and Health. 1999;14:869–886. doi: 10.1080/08870449908407353.
    1. Uchino BN. Social support and health: a review of physiological processes potentially underlying links to disease outcomes. J Behav Med. 2006;29(4):377–387. doi: 10.1007/s10865-006-9056-5.
    1. Krantz DS, Manuck SB. Acute psychophysiologic reactivity and risk of cardiovascular disease: A review and methodologic critique. Psychological Bulletin. 1984;96:435–564. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.96.3.435.
    1. Manuck SB, Kaplan JR, Adams MR, Clarkson TB. Behaviorally elicited heart rate reactivity and atherosclerosis in female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) Psychosom Med. 1989;51:306.
    1. Manuck SB, Kaplan JR, Clarkson TB. Behaviorally induced heart rate reactivity and atherosclerosis in cynomolgus monkeys. Psychosom Med. 1983;45:95.
    1. Kamarck TW, Everson SA, Kaplan GA, Manuck SB, Jennings JR, Salonen R, Salonen JT. Exaggerated blood pressure responses during mental stress are associated with enhanced carotid atherosclerosis in middle-aged Finnish men: Findings from the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease study. Circulation. 1997;96(11):3842–3848.
    1. Everson SA, Kaplan GA, Goldberg DE, Salonen JT. Anticipatory blood pressure response to exercise predicts future high blood pressure in middle-aged men. Hypertension. 1996;27(5):1059–1064.
    1. Everson SA, Lynch JW, Kaplan GA, Lakka TA, Sivenius J, Salonen JT. Stress-induced blood pressure reactivity and incident stroke in middle-aged men. Stroke. 2001;32(6):1263–1270.
    1. Uchino BN, Cacioppo JT, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. The relationship between social support and physiological processes: a review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin. 1996;119(3):488–531. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.119.3.488.
    1. Kamarck TW, Annunziato B, Amateau LM. Affiliation moderates the effects of social threat on stress-related cardiovascular responses: boundary conditions for a laboratory model of social support. Psychosom Med. 1995;57(2):183–194.
    1. Westmaas JL, Jamner LD. Paradoxical effects of social support on blood pressure reactivity among defensive individuals. Ann Behav Med. 2006;31(3):238–247. doi: 10.1207/s15324796abm3103_5.
    1. Ewing JA. Detecting alcoholism: The CAGE Questionnaire. JAMA. 1984;252:1905–1907. doi: 10.1001/jama.252.14.1905.
    1. Sobell LC, Sobell MB, Levin C, Cleland P, Ellingstad T, Toll B. RAGS: A new brief drug abuse screening instrument. Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy. 1999.
    1. Symonds CS, Gallagher P, Thompson JM, Young AH. Effects of the menstrual cycle on mood neurocognitive and neuroendocrine function in healthy premenopausal women. Psychol Med. 2004;34(1):93–102. doi: 10.1017/S0033291703008535.
    1. Jennings JR, Kamarck T, Stewart C, Eddy M, Johnson P. Alternate cardiovascular baseline assessment techniques: vanilla or resting baseline. Psychophysiology. 1992;29(6):742–750.
    1. Piferi RL, Kline KA, Younger J, Lawler KA. An alternative approach for achieving cardiovascular baseline: viewing an aquatic video. Int J Psychophysiol. 2000;37(2):207–217. doi: 10.1016/S0167-8760(00)00102-1.
    1. Heinrichs M, Baumgartner T, Kirschbaum C, Ehlert U. : Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress. Biol Psychiatry. 2003;54(12):1389–1398. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3223(03)00465-7.
    1. Dickerson SS, Kemeny ME. Acute stressors and cortisol responses: a theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychol Bull. 2004;130(3):355–391. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.355.
    1. Bruins J, Hijman R, Van Ree JM. Effect of a single dose of des-glycinamide-[Arg8]vasopressin or oxytocin on cognitive processes in young healthy subjects. Peptides. 1992;13:461–468. doi: 10.1016/0196-9781(92)90075-E.
    1. Hoover RT. Intranasal oxytocin in eighteen hundred patients. A study on its safety as used in a community hospital. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1971;110(6):788–794.
    1. Landgraf R. Plasma oxytocin concentrations in man after different routes of administration of synthetic oxytocin. Exp Clin Endocrinol. 1985;85(2):245–248. doi: 10.1055/s-0029-1210444.
    1. Lane D, Carroll D, Lip GY. Psychology in coronary care. Quarterly Journal of Medicine. 1999;92(8):425–431.
    1. Sandholm L. The effect of intravenous and intranasal oxytocin on intramamary pressure during early lactation. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1968;47(2):145–154. doi: 10.3109/00016346809157474.
    1. Pitman RK, Orr SP, Lasko NB. Effects of intranasal vasopressin and oxytocin on physiologic responding during personal combat imagery in Vietnam Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatry Research. 1993;48:107–117. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(93)90035-F.
    1. Heinrichs M, Meinlschmidt G, Wippich W, Ehlert U, Hellhammer DH. Selective amnesic effects of oxytocin on human memory. Physiol Behav. 2004;83(1):31–38.
    1. Kirsch P, Esslinger C, Chen Q, Mier D, Lis S, Siddhanti S, Gruppe H, Mattay VS, Gallhofer B, Meyer-Lindenberg A. Oxytocin modulates neural circuitry for social cognition and fear in humans. J Neurosci. 2005;25(49):11489–11493. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3984-05.2005.
    1. Domes G, Heinrichs M, Michel A, Berger C, Herpertz SC. Oxytocin improves "mind-reading" in humans. Biol Psychiatry. 2007;61(6):731–733. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.07.015.
    1. Epperson CN, McDougle CJ, Price LH. Intranasal oxytocin in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 1996;40(6):547–549. doi: 10.1016/0006-3223(96)00120-5.
    1. Coan JA, Schaefer HS, Davidson RJ. Lending a hand: social regulation of the neural response to threat. Psychol Sci. 2006;17(12):1032–1039. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01832.x.
    1. Kamarck T, Manuck SB, Jennings JR. Social support reduces cardiovascular reactivity to psychological challenge: A laboratory model. Psychosomatic Medicine. 1990;52:42–58.
    1. Ratnasingam P, Bishop GD. Social support schemas trait anger and cardiovascular responses. Int J Psychophysiol. 2007;63(3):308–316. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2007.01.002.
    1. Anthony JL, O'Brien WH. An evaluation of the impact of social support manipulations on cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory stressors. Behav Med. 1999;25(2):78–87. doi: 10.1080/08964289909595740.
    1. Glynn LM, Christenfeld N, Gerin W. Gender, social support and cardiovascular responses to stress. Psychosom Med. 1999;61(2):234–242.
    1. Christenfeld N, Gerin W, Linden W, Sanders M, Mathur J, Deich JD, Pickering TG. Social support effects on cardiovascular reactivity: is a stranger as effective as a friend? Psychosom Med. 1997;59(4):388–398.
    1. Kirschbaum C, Klauer T, Filipp SH, Hellhammer DH. Sex-specific effects of social support on cortisol and subjective responses to acute psychological stress. Psychosom Med. 1995;57(1):23–31.
    1. Kirschbaum C, Pirke KM, Hellhammer DH. The 'Trier Social Stress Test' - A tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology. 1993;28:76–81. doi: 10.1159/000119004.
    1. Blascovich J, Mendes WB, Forgas JP. In: Feeling and thinking: The role of affect in social cognition. Forgas JP, editor. New York NY: Cambridge University Press; 2000. Challenge and threat appraisals: The role of affective cues; pp. 59–82.
    1. Mendes WB, Blascovich J, Hunter SB, Lickel B, Jost JT. Threatened by the unexpected: physiological responses during social interactions with expectancy-violating partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2007;92:698–716. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.92.4.698.
    1. Epel ES, Lin J, Wilhelm FH, Wolkowitz OM, Cawthon R, Adler NE, Dolbier C, Mendes WB, Blackburn EH. Cell aging in relation to stress arousal and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2006;31(3):277–287. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.08.011.
    1. Mendes WB, Epel ES. Threat reactivity predicts accelerated cellular aging. Psychological Science Under review.
    1. Tomaka J, Blascovich J, Kelsey RM, Leitten CL. Subjective, physiological, and behavioral effects of threat and challenge appraisal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1993;65(2):248–260. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.65.2.248.
    1. McEwen BS. Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine. 1998;338(3):171–179. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199801153380307.
    1. Demaree HA, Everhart DE. Healthy high-hostiles: Reduced parasympathetic activity and decreased sympathovagal flexibility during negative emotional processing. Personality and Individual Differences. 2004;36:457–469. doi: 10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00109-0.
    1. Kawachi I, Sparrow D, Vokonas PS, Weiss ST. Decreased heart rate variability in men with phobic anxiety (data from the Normative Aging Study) American Journal of Cardiology. 1995;75(14):882–885. doi: 10.1016/S0002-9149(99)80680-8.
    1. Porges SW. The Polyvagal Theory: phylogenetic contributions to social behavior. Physiol Behav. 2003;79(3):503–513. doi: 10.1016/S0031-9384(03)00156-2.
    1. Thayer JF, Friedman BH, Borkovec TD. Autonomic characteristics of generalized anxiety disorder and worry. Biological Psychiatry. 1996;39:255–266. doi: 10.1016/0006-3223(95)00136-0.
    1. Bigger JT, Fleiss JL, Rolnitzky LM, Steinman RC. The ability of several short-term measures of RR variability to predict mortality after myocardial infarction. Circulation. 1993;88(3):927–934.
    1. Epel ES, Burke HM, Wolkowitz OM, Aldwin CM, Park CL, Spiro A. In: Handbook of Health Psychology and Aging. Aldwin CM, Park CL, Spiro A, editor. New York: Guilford Press; 2007. The psychoneuroendocrinology of aging: anabolic and catabolic hormones; pp. 119–141.
    1. Rich MW, Saini JS, Kleiger RE, Carney RM, teVelde A, Freedland KE. Correlation of heart rate variability with clinical and angiographic variables and late mortality after coronary angiography. Am J Cardiol. 1988;62(10 Pt 1):714–717. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(88)91208-8.
    1. Epel ES, McEwen BS, Ickovics JR. Embodying psychological thriving: Physiological thriving in response to stress. Journal of Social Issues. 1998;54:301–322. doi: 10.1111/0022-4537.671998067.
    1. Wolkowitz OM, Kalimi M, Regelson W. In: Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) Kalimi M, Regelson W, editor. Berlin: Walter d Gruyter GmbH & Co KG; 1999. Neuropsychiatric effects of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
    1. Wolkowitz OM, Epel ES, Reus VI. Stress hormone-related psychopathology: pathophysiological and treatment implications. World J Biol Psychiatry. 2001;2(3):115–143. doi: 10.3109/15622970109026799.
    1. Morgan CA, Southwick S, Hazlett G, Rasmusson A, Hoyt G, Zimolo Z, Charney D. Relationships among plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and cortisol levels symptomsof dissociation and objective performance in humans exposed to acute stress. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61(8):819–825. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.61.8.819.
    1. Sherwood A, Allen MT, Fahrenberg J, Kelsey RM, Lovallo WR, van Doornen LJ. Methodological guidelines for impedance cardiography. Psychophysiology. 1990;27(1):1–23. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1990.tb02171.x.
    1. Kamarck TW, Jennings JR, Debski TT, Glickman-Weiss E, Johnson PS, Eddy MJ, Manuck SB. Reliable measures of behaviorally-evoked cardiovascular reactivity from a PC-based test battery: results from student and community samples. Psychophysiology. 1992;29(1):17–28. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1992.tb02006.x.
    1. Berntson GG, Bigger JT Jr, Eckberg DL, Grossman P, Kaufmann PG, Malik M, Nagaraja HN, Porges SW, Saul JP, Stone PH. Heart rate variability: origins, methods, and interpretive caveats. Psychophysiology. 1997;34(6):623–648. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1997.tb02140.x.
    1. Kirschbaum C, Hellhammer DH. Salivary cortisol in psychoneuroendocrine research: recent developments and applications. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1994;19(4):313–333. doi: 10.1016/0306-4530(94)90013-2.
    1. Lu Y, Bentley GR, Gann PH, Hodges KR, Chatterton RT. Salivary estradiol and progesterone levels in conception and nonconception cycles in women: evaluation of a new assay for salivary estradiol. Fertil Steril. 1999;71(5):863–868. doi: 10.1016/S0015-0282(99)00093-X.
    1. Kirschbaum C, Hellhammer DH. Salivary cortisol in psychobiological research: an overview. Neuropsychobiology. 1989;22(3):150–169. doi: 10.1159/000118611.
    1. Walpurger V, Pietrowsky R, Kirschbaum C, Wolf OT. Effects of the menstrual cycle on auditory event-related potentials. Horm Behav. 2004;46(5):600–606. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2004.07.002.
    1. Spielberger CD. Preliminary Manual for the State-Trait Personality Inventory. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida; 1998.
    1. Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1988;54(6):1063–1070. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063.
    1. Chen YY, Gilligan S, Coups EJ, Contrada RJ. Hostility and perceived social support: Interactive effects on cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory stressors. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2005;29(1):37–43. doi: 10.1207/s15324796abm2901_6.
    1. Collins NL, Feeney BC. Working models of attachment shape perceptions of social support: evidence from experimental and observational studies. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2004;87(3):363–383. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.87.3.363.
    1. Cook WW, Medley DM. Proposed hostility and pharisaic-virtue scales for the MMPI. Journal of Applied Psychology. 1954;38:414–418. doi: 10.1037/h0060667.
    1. Matthews KA. Coronary heart disease and Type A behaviors: Update on and alternative to the Booth-Kewley and Friedman (1987) quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin. 1988;104:373–380. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.104.3.373.
    1. Crowne DP, Marlowe D. A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology. 1960;24:349–354. doi: 10.1037/h0047358.
    1. Bartholomew K, Simpson JA, Rholes WS. In: Attachment Theory and Close Relationships. Simpson JA, Rholes WS, editor. New York: Guilford; 1998. Methods of assessing adult attachment: Do they converge? pp. 46–76.
    1. Cohen S, Mermelstein R, Kamarck T, Hoberman H, Sarason IG, Sarason BR. In: Social support: Theory, research, and application. Sarason IG, Sarason BR, editor. The Hague Holland: Martinus Nijhoff; 1985. Measuring the functional components of social support; pp. 73–94.
    1. Sherwood A, Dolan CA, Light KC. Hemodynamics of blood pressure responses during active and passive coping. Psychophysiology. 1990;27(6):656–668. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1990.tb03189.x.
    1. Scherwitz L, Perkins L, Chesney M, Hughes G. Cook-Medley Hostility Scale and subsets: Relationship to demographic and psychosocial characteristics in young adults in the CARDIA study. Psychosomatic Medicine. 1991;53:36–49.
    1. Andrews P, Meyer RG. Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and short Form C: forensic norms. J Clin Psychol. 2003;59(4):483–492. doi: 10.1002/jclp.10136.
    1. Smith TW, Ruiz JM, Uchino BN. Mental activation of supportive ties hostility, and cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory stress in young men and women. Health Psychol. 2004;23(5):476–485. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.23.5.476.
    1. Cohen J. A power primer. Psychological Bulletin. 1992;112(1):155–159. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155.
    1. Uvnas-Moberg K. Oxytocin may mediate the benefits of positive social interaction and emotions. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1998;23(8):819–835. doi: 10.1016/S0306-4530(98)00056-0.
    1. Thompson R, Gupta S, Miller K, Mills S, Orr S. The effects of vasopressin on human facial responses related to social communication. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004;29(1):35–48. doi: 10.1016/S0306-4530(02)00133-6.
    1. Perras B, Schultes B, Behn B, Dodt C, Born J, Fehm HL. Intranasal atrial natriuretic peptide acts as central nervous inhibitor of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal stress system in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004;89(9):4642–4648. doi: 10.1210/jc.2004-0089.
    1. Rimmele U, Hediger K, Heinrichs M, Klaver P. Oxytocin makes a face in memory familiar. J Neurosci. 2009;29(1):38–42. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4260-08.2009.
    1. Carter CS, Pournajafi-Nazarloo H, Kramer KM, Ziegler TE, White-Traut R, Bello D, Schwertz D. Oxytocin: behavioral associations and potential as a salivary biomarker. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007;1098:312–322. doi: 10.1196/annals.1384.006.
    1. Altemus M, Deuster PA, Galliven E, Carter CS, Gold PW. Suppression of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to stress in lactating women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1995;80(10):2954–2959. doi: 10.1210/jc.80.10.2954.
    1. Higuchi T, Tadokoro Y, Honda K, Negoro H. Detailed analysis of blood oxytocin levels during suckling and parturition in the rat. J Endocrinol. 1986;110(2):251–256. doi: 10.1677/joe.0.1100251.
    1. McNeilly AS, Robinson IC, Houston MJ, Howie PW. Release of oxytocin and prolactin in response to suckling. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1983;286(6361):257–259. doi: 10.1136/bmj.286.6361.257.
    1. Bale TL, Davis AM, Auger AP, Dorsa DM, McCarthy MM. CNS region-specific oxytocin receptor expression: importance in regulation of anxiety and sex behavior. J Neurosci. 2001;21(7):2546–2552.
    1. Bales KL, Carter CS. Neonatal manipulation of oxytocin affects alloparental behavior in male prairie voles. Horm Behav. 2001;39:324.
    1. Boccia ML, Pedersen CA. Brief vs. long maternal separations in infancy: contrasting relationships with adult maternal behavior and lactation levels of aggression and anxiety. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2001;26(7):657–672. doi: 10.1016/S0306-4530(01)00019-1.
    1. Francis DD, Young LJ, Meaney MJ, Insel TR. Naturally occurring differences in maternal care are associated with the expression of oxytocin and vasopressin (V1a) receptors: gender differences. J Neuroendocrinol. 2002;14(5):349–353. doi: 10.1046/j.0007-1331.2002.00776.x.

Source: PubMed

Sponsors en medewerkers

Medische omstandigheden

Geneesmiddelinterventies

3
Abonneren