{"title":"A focused review of saliva biomarkers in cognitive fatigue: Current challenges and future directions","authors":"Yunxian Pan","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107473","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study provides a focused review on the use of saliva biomarkers, particularly salivary cortisol, for measuring cognitive fatigue. Through a systematic review and analysis of 25 articles sourced from five academic databases, we examine the relationship between cognitive fatigue and saliva biomarkers. The findings highlight the potential of salivary cortisol as an effective marker of cognitive fatigue, while also identifying limitations in current methodologies, including inconsistent saliva collection and analysis procedures. Although prior reviews have explored saliva biomarkers, our analysis focuses on gaps related to the empirical connection between cognitive fatigue and biomarkers. This review further meta-analysis reveals that cortisol and alpha-amylase levels significantly increased after completing cognitive fatigue-inducing tasks. Moreover, this review emphasizes the need for updated, standardized protocols and real-time detection methods. Future research should aim to conduct more focused empirical investigations to advance the field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"177 ","pages":"Article 107473"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453025001969","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study provides a focused review on the use of saliva biomarkers, particularly salivary cortisol, for measuring cognitive fatigue. Through a systematic review and analysis of 25 articles sourced from five academic databases, we examine the relationship between cognitive fatigue and saliva biomarkers. The findings highlight the potential of salivary cortisol as an effective marker of cognitive fatigue, while also identifying limitations in current methodologies, including inconsistent saliva collection and analysis procedures. Although prior reviews have explored saliva biomarkers, our analysis focuses on gaps related to the empirical connection between cognitive fatigue and biomarkers. This review further meta-analysis reveals that cortisol and alpha-amylase levels significantly increased after completing cognitive fatigue-inducing tasks. Moreover, this review emphasizes the need for updated, standardized protocols and real-time detection methods. Future research should aim to conduct more focused empirical investigations to advance the field.
期刊介绍:
Psychoneuroendocrinology publishes papers dealing with the interrelated disciplines of psychology, neurobiology, endocrinology, immunology, neurology, and psychiatry, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary studies aiming at integrating these disciplines in terms of either basic research or clinical implications. One of the main goals is to understand how a variety of psychobiological factors interact in the expression of the stress response as it relates to the development and/or maintenance of neuropsychiatric illnesses.