Men are more likely to have a dysregulated HPA axis that is associated with depressive symptoms, while women have higher levels of binding proteins for stress hormones that may prevent dysregulation of the HPA axis. The findings shed new light on how stress hormones impact dopamine transmission and how this impacts depression on a sex-specific basis.
Deficiencies in DSCAML1 disrupt normal brain development and increase baseline levels of cortisol, making the hormone less able to function correctly during periods of stress. The findings shed new light on programmed cell death in the developing brain and could lead to new treatments for mental health disorders including stress and anxiety.
Chronic stress impairs allopregnanolone production in the basolateral amygdala, a brain area associated with mediating emotional response. The reduction of this neurosteroid results in depressive symptoms in animal models.
Study finds the immune system may benefit from a measure of stress.
In mice genetically more susceptible to PTSD following a stressful event, researchers found an increased expression of cortisol receptors on neurons in the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus. Those increased receptors enabled an elevated expression of the HCN1 protein and TRIP8b, reducing neural excitability.
Our worldview forms during childhood as a result of our socialization within a particular cultural context. Our views get reinforced over time by the social groups we keep, the media we consume, and even the way in which our brains are wired. Challenging our worldviews with facts can feel like an attack on our personal identities and can often result in hardening our positions. Researchers assess how we can open our minds and explore facts that may go against our personal worldviews.
Researchers discuss the detrimental psychological, physical, and economic impact of loneliness.
Researchers explain how stress can have a detrimental impact on your skin, nails, and hair.
A new study reports that dog-assisted interventions lower cortisol levels and overall stress in young children.
Higher levels of stress can diminish altruistic behaviors, researchers report.
Women who hug their partners before a stressful event have a lower biological stress response and reduced cortisol levels compared to women who do not embrace their partners.
The stress hormone cortisol reduces altruistic behaviors and alters brain activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in people with higher levels of empathy.