Psychoneuroendocrinology最新文献

{"title":"Salivary oxytocin and anxiety in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study","authors":"Yutaka Kunitake ,&nbsp;Yoshiomi Imamura ,&nbsp;Hiroko Kunitake ,&nbsp;Junko Ohishi-Fukuchi ,&nbsp;Hiroshi Tateishi ,&nbsp;Jun Matsushima ,&nbsp;Toru Murakawa-Hirachi ,&nbsp;Ryohei Kojima ,&nbsp;Takumi Shiraishi ,&nbsp;Ryuzo Orihashi ,&nbsp;Yoshito Mizoguchi","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107502","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107502","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>Oxytocin may play a role in defensive responses, such as heightened anxiety, during pandemics. However, the relationship between oxytocin and anxiety under such conditions remains unclear. This study examined the association between salivary oxytocin and anxiety among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted a cross-sectional study from May to November 2021 among community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older in rural Japan. Salivary oxytocin levels were measured only once using an ELISA non-extraction protocol. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the 15 item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Additional measures included the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR) and vaccine acceptance.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Among the 77 participants (mean age 80.7 years, SD = 4.6, 52 women), multivariable analysis showed a significant association between salivary oxytocin levels and STAI-state scores (β = 0.21, 95 % CI: 0.059–0.374, p = 0.008) when all participants were analyzed, after adjusting for GDS-15, FCV-19S, ECR, vaccine acceptance, and other covariates. Further subgroup analysis revealed that this effect was driven by women (β = 0.229, 95 % CI: 0.041–0.465, p = 0.02), whereas no significant association was observed in men. However, FCV-19S was not significantly associated with STAI-state among all participants, women, or men.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Among older women in rural Japan, elevated oxytocin was linked with higher anxiety levels, suggesting that oxytocin may amplify anxiety under threat. This highlights oxytocin's complex role in stress responses and warrants further study to inform mental health support for older adults during pandemics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 107502"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144255245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cortisol response patterns to stress correlated to white matter integrity and duration of illness in patients with schizophrenia","authors":"Xinyu Jiang ,&nbsp;Mengzhuang Gou ,&nbsp;Yi Yin ,&nbsp;Wenjin Chen ,&nbsp;Yanli Li ,&nbsp;Song Chen ,&nbsp;Shujuan Pan ,&nbsp;Xingguang Luo ,&nbsp;Shuping Tan ,&nbsp;Baopeng Tian ,&nbsp;Wei Li ,&nbsp;Jinghui Tong ,&nbsp;Jue Wang ,&nbsp;Hongna Li ,&nbsp;Ting Yu ,&nbsp;Zhiren Wang ,&nbsp;Ping Zhang ,&nbsp;Junchao Huang ,&nbsp;Li Tian ,&nbsp;Peter Kochunov ,&nbsp;Yunlong Tan","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107501","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107501","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Stress plays a critical role in schizophrenia pathogenesis, and blunted cortisol responses to acute stress exposure among patients with schizophrenia may be related to damaged white matter (WM) fibers in specific brain regions. The present aim was to assess correlations between cortisol response patterns and changes in WM integrity in patients with schizophrenia and to determine if such changes relate to the duration of illness. This study included patients with chronic schizophrenia (PCS, n = 92), patients with first-episode schizophrenia (PFS, n = 86), and healthy controls (HC, n = 77). All participants were subjected to the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task and the Mirror Tracing Persistence Task. Saliva samples were collected 0 min before tasks, 20 and 40 min after task completion. Cortisol levels were assessed using highly sensitive liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess WM microstructural integrity. Clinical psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. The repeated measures analysis of variance and pairwise comparisons demonstrated distinct cortisol response patterns across groups. In the HC group, cortisol levels peaked before tasks, declining rapidly thereafter. In the PFS group, cortisol levels significantly increased 20 min post-exposure, with no significant decrease observed at the final 40-minutes time point. In the PCS group, cortisol levels remained relatively high, with no significant fluctuations over time. Furthermore, WM integrity progressively deteriorated as disease duration increased. A negative correlation was observed between WM tract integrity and prolonged cortisol reactivity in the PFS group, whereas this correlation was positive in the HC group and absent in the PCS group. Changes in salivary cortisol levels did not correlate with clinical symptoms in our patients with schizophrenia. These findings suggest that stress has the potential to contribute to schizophrenia by exacerbating WM damage. Stress-induced cortisol response patterns, which vary according to disease duration, may represent a potential biomarker of schizophrenia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 107501"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144222805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Announcement: 55th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE)","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107500","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107500","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 107500"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144254676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The social context of educational effort – implications for psychological and physiological health in adolescence","authors":"Lauren Gaydosh ,&nbsp;Taylor Hargrove ,&nbsp;Audrey Kelly ,&nbsp;Kalsea Koss ,&nbsp;Lisa Schnepper ,&nbsp;Daniel Notterman ,&nbsp;Colter Mitchell","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107499","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107499","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Individual educational effort usually promotes educational success and attainment, and generally has long-lasting positive consequences. However, there is important heterogeneity in this relationship due in part to constraints on the efficacy of individual effort presented by structural disadvantage, racism, and ethnocentrism. Using longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 1670, age 0–17, male and female), we investigate the relationship between educational effort and mental (depressive symptoms) and physical (accelerated epigenetic aging) health. Drawing from scholarship on intersectionality, John Henryism, and skin-deep resilience, we investigate whether the associations are moderated by socioeconomic disadvantage, and test for differences by race and ethnicity (White, Black, and Hispanic). We find that educational effort is consistently protective for depressive symptoms but predicts accelerated epigenetic aging among Hispanic adolescents from low socioeconomic circumstances.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 107499"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144263823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spousal bereavement enhances proinflammatory cytokine production to acute, psychological stress","authors":"E. Lydia Wu-Chung ,&nbsp;Ryan L. Brown ,&nbsp;Robert Suchting ,&nbsp;Jensine Paoletti-Hatcher ,&nbsp;Michelle A. Chen ,&nbsp;Angie S. LeRoy ,&nbsp;Kyle W. Murdock ,&nbsp;Cobi J. Heijnen ,&nbsp;Christopher P. Fagundes","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107498","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107498","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Early widowhood is characterized by chronic stress and is associated with a higher risk of incident depression and cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality. Peripheral inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder and atherothrombosis and may represent a common mechanism underlying widow(er)’s elevated risk for both health conditions. Chronic psychological stress sensitizes the release of proinflammatory cytokines during the peripheral stress response. The present study examined whether recent spousal bereavement enhances the inflammatory response to an acute, psychological stressor. Recently widowed older adults (n = 143) and non-widowed controls (n = 69) participated in a quasi-experimental study, during which they underwent the Trier Social Stress Test, provided multiple blood samples through an intravenous catheter (before stressor, 45 min post-stressor, 120 min post-stressor), and completed self-report questionnaires. Blood samples were assayed for serum Interleukin (IL)-6 levels. Mixed linear modeling was used to test hypotheses. There was a significant time × bereavement status effect on IL-6 after controlling for confounding variables. Widow(er)s showed a steeper increase in IL-6 per hour compared to non-bereaved adults. Findings suggest that the inflammatory stress response is heightened in widow(er)s, which may contribute to the mental and physical health risks associated with early widowhood.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 107498"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144154773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cortisol dynamics and sleep quality: The role of sex and oral contraceptive use","authors":"Margot W.L. Morssinkhof ,&nbsp;Søren Vinther Larsen ,&nbsp;Brice Ozenne ,&nbsp;Arafat Nasser ,&nbsp;Sofie Hvitved ,&nbsp;Ysbrand D. van der Werf ,&nbsp;Brenda W.J.H. Penninx ,&nbsp;Birit F.P. Broekman ,&nbsp;Vibe G. Frokjaer","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107497","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107497","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Women report poorer sleep than men, and oral contraceptive (OC) users appear to experience poorer sleep quality, in particular disrupted sleep, relative to non-users, potentially related to disruption of the circadian rhythm of cortisol. This preregistered study evaluated sleep quality and sleep disruptions and their relationship with cortisol dynamics in naturally cycling (NC) women, OC users and men. In 242 healthy participants from the Cimbi database, we first conducted cross-sectional group comparisons of self-reported sleep quality and sleep disruptions between the groups with linear regression and probabilistic index models, respectively. Second, we examined if the cortisol awakening response (CAR) mediated potential group differences in sleep quality and sleep disruptions. We show no significant differences in sleep disruptions in OC users (n = 31), or in men (n = 124) compared to NC women (n = 87). OC users reported marginally poorer overall sleep quality compared to NC women (p_adjusted=0.042). This difference was not mediated by the CAR. However, a lower CAR was associated with more sleep disruptions within OC users (-0.138 [-0.238; −0.039], p = 0.006) and with poorer sleep quality in men (0.24 [-0.41; −0.07], p = 0.006), but no associations with sleep were seen in NC women. In conclusion, we find modestly poorer sleep in healthy OC users compared to NC women, but no differences in sleep between NC women and men. Further, our data suggest a coupling between cortisol dynamics and sleep in OC users and men. Prospective studies are necessary to further assess the role of sex/gender differences and OC use in cortisol dynamics and sleep.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 107497"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144124516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Not just for bonding: Nucleus accumbens oxytocin receptors facilitate huddling with strangers and feeding in male spiny mice","authors":"Brandon A. Fricker ,&nbsp;Arjen J. Boender ,&nbsp;Larry J. Young ,&nbsp;Aubrey M. Kelly","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107496","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107496","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although oxytocin receptors (OXTRs) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are well known for their contributions to bonding in mating and parental contexts, little is known about how accumbal OT signaling modulates nonreproductive social behavior. Here we used the communal spiny mouse and viral-mediated CRISPR/Cas9 to decrease OXTR expression in the NAc of males to determine the direct contributions of accumbal OXTRs to behavior during interactions with novel, same-sex conspecifics. To determine whether NAc OXTRs specifically regulate social behaviors, feeding behavior was also assessed in a mealworm eating test. Males with reduced NAc OXTR expression exhibited less huddling with novel, same-sex conspecifics and consumed fewer mealworms compared to control males. These findings suggest that accumbal OXTRs do not specifically modulate social behaviors and that there is strong evolutionary conservation of NAc OXTR social function, such that these receptors facilitate prosocial behavior across rodent species that vary in breeding system and group structure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 107496"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144107575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating the added value of salivary hormones in the context of menstrual cycle staging: A machine learning approach and app-implementation","authors":"Alexander Rietzler,&nbsp;Tobias Hausinger,&nbsp;Belinda Pletzer","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107495","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107495","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Salivary hormone assessment is commonly used in menstrual cycle studies, but its validity for accurate menstrual cycle staging has been questioned. In the present study, we explore possibilities and limitations of salivary hormone assessment for menstrual cycle staging using a machine-learning approach. Specifically, we determine, how saliva sampling should be scheduled in various scenarios to maximize prediction accuracy of menstrual cycle phases from salivary estradiol and progesterone.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We utilize a data set including daily salivary estradiol and progesterone assessment, urinary ovulation tests, as well as accurate forward and backwards counts of cycle days over 136 cycles from 68 women (age: 18–35 years). A Support Vector Machine (SVM) approach was chosen to evaluate improvements in prediction accuracy for cycle phases due to salivary hormone assessments, using a series of models designed to reflect practical scenarios in menstrual cycle research.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A singular salivary hormone assessment does not significantly improve prediction of menstrual cycle phases when adequate counting methods or urinary ovulation kits are available. When no counting method is available, only progesterone, but not estradiol measurements can adequately distinguish between cycle phases, specifically progesterone works best in identifying mid-luteal sessions. However, salivary hormone assessment does significantly improve prediction of cycle phases when more than one time-point is assessed, and values can be referenced against each other. Adding a second assessment timepoint is more informative for estradiol than progesterone values, but most effective when both hormones are combined. Importantly, and contrary to common practice, prediction accuracy is highest when saliva is sampled on days near the transitions between cycle phases when counting methods do not allow for a definitive decision.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>These results demonstrate that salivary hormone assessments are not necessary in all research designs but are useful when counting methods are inadequate or do not allow for a definitive decision, or when multiple assessment days are included. Results of our models were implemented in a web application to aid researchers in assessing the prediction accuracy of their menstrual cycle staging based on the measures they have available.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 107495"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144124517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neighborhood violence, hair cortisol, and perceived stress among Black men living in a large urban city","authors":"Sage J. Kim ,&nbsp;Evgenia Karayeva ,&nbsp;Miguel Negrete ,&nbsp;Kestutis Bendinskas ,&nbsp;Robert A. Winn ,&nbsp;Alicia K. Matthews","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107478","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107478","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Exposure to social stress, such as neighborhood violence, affects the body’s psychoneuroendocrinology, contributing to multiple chronic diseases. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is a novel proxy measure of chronic stress response. While Black Americans are exposed to social stress at a higher level, the association between violence exposure and HCC has not been extensively examined in older Black men. Intersectionality of race, gender, and class may disproportionately affect Black men to exposure to violence, thus, elevated HCC.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Black men aged 45 and older were recruited from four barbershops in predominantly Black communities in Chicago. Hair samples were collected by barbers for HCC, and a set of survey questions concerning perceived stress, exposure to violence, and fear of crime were collected along with demographic characteristics and residential community area. Using the residential community area, the homicide and poverty rates were appended. Descriptive statistics and a two-level hierarchical regression were used to examine the association between HCC and individual- and neighborhood-level factors.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 127 participants were included in the final analytic sample. The mean HCC was 22.3 pg/mg for those living in the lowest quartile homicide rates, while the mean HCC was 40.2 pg/mg for participants residing in the highest quartile homicide areas. Log-HCC was significantly correlated with homicide rate (r = .264, P &lt; .01) and perceived violence exposure (r = .195, p = .028) but not with perceived stress (r = .100, p = .508) or fear of crime (r = .124, p = .136). Multilevel regression models showed that log-HCC was significantly higher for those living in the highest homicide quartile compared to HCC in the lowest quartile homicide rate (p &lt; .01), controlling for age, being a current smoker, being married, being unemployed, and perceived stress, violence exposure, and fear of crime measures.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>HCC was significantly higher for Black men residing in neighborhoods with high violence. The study highlights how Black men, particularly those in segregated urban areas, experience disproportionate exposure to social stressors such as neighborhood violence. The study findings demonstrate that multiple social positions compound exposure to systemic inequities, which results in elevated risk of mental and physical health conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"178 ","pages":"Article 107478"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143937000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Announcement: 55th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE)","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107486","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107486","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"177 ","pages":"Article 107486"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143941767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}