{"title":"Chemogenetic inhibition of corticotropin releasing hormone neurons in the paraventricular nucleus attenuates traumatic stress-induced deficit of NREM sleep, but not REM sleep in mice.","authors":"Andrey Kostin, Natalia Suntsova, Sunil Kumar, Irma Gvilia","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2465393","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2465393","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Present study was aimed to elucidate the role of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) neurons located in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) in the mechanisms of stress-induced insomnia. Experiments were done in the rodent model of traumatic stress, mice exposure to the predator (rat) odor. Sleep changes associated with this model of stress were first assessed in adult male C57BL/6J wild-type mice (<i>n =</i> 12). The effect of chemogenetic silencing of CRH neurons within the PVN on traumatic stress-induced insomnia was examined in adult male CRH-ires-Cre mice using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD) technology. Animals received bilateral injections of inhibitory DREADD vector AAV-hSyn-DIO-hM4Di-mCherry (<i>n =</i> 10) or control AAV-hSyn-DIO-mCherry virus (<i>n =</i> 10) into the PVN during surgery. The DREADD was activated by intraperitoneal injection of clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) prior to the induction of traumatic stress. The exposure of mice to rat odor induced strong long-lasting suppression of both non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stages in both experiments. Selective suppression of CRH neurons within the PVN alleviated acute insomnia by significantly increasing the time spent in NREM sleep but it did not counteract the stress-induced deficit in REM sleep. These findings suggest a specific role for CRH-secreting neurons within the PVN in the suppression of NREM sleep during acute insomnia caused by predator odor stress, whereas REM sleep suppression is controlled by a different mechanism.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"28 1","pages":"2465393"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143433941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sex differences in the murine HPA axis after acute and repeated restraint stress.","authors":"Isabella Flor Nalepa, Vibeke Nielsen, Tanja Esther Wolf, Chadi Touma, Morten Grupe, Ayodeji A Asuni, Cecilia Ratner","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2447079","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2447079","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chronic stress and stress-related mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD) constitute some of the leading causes of disability worldwide with a higher prevalence in women compared to men. However, preclinical research into stress and MDD is heavily biased toward using male animals only. Aberrant activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been linked to the development of MDD and several animal models of MDD have been established based on HPA axis dysregulation. In the present study, we compared stress biomarkers and behavior of male and female mice after acute and chronic restraint stress to investigate potential effects of sex differences in the stress response. Further, the validity of the interrupted repeated restraint stress (IRRS) model as an animal model for the HPA axis disturbances seen in MDD was assessed. After acute stress, female mice showed increased corticosterone secretion and changes in molecular markers suggesting increased HPA axis feedback sensitivity. Acute stress-induced signs of anxiety-like behavior were observed in male mice only suggesting that female mice may be more resilient to the anxiogenic effects of acute stress. Males and females responded similarly to IRRS with no sustained perturbations in HPA axis biomarkers. The IRRS model did not adequately translate to the changes reported in MDD with HPA axis overactivity and more severe perturbation models are likely needed. However, in alignment with previous studies, these data support that there are important sex differences in the HPA axis and that these may contribute to the etiology of stress-related psychiatric disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"28 1","pages":"2447079"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143015785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Krysten P O'Hara, Savanna M King, Rachel D Penrod, Jennifer A Rinker, Patrick J Mulholland
{"title":"Profiling of research domain criteria-based behaviors following single prolonged stress in male C57BL/6J mice.","authors":"Krysten P O'Hara, Savanna M King, Rachel D Penrod, Jennifer A Rinker, Patrick J Mulholland","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2538466","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2538466","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects approximately one in 11 people throughout their lifetime yet current treatment options, such as behavioral therapies or pharmaceuticals, suffer from low medical adherence and often fail to fully address all the symptoms. Therefore, it is necessary to better understand maladaptive behaviors in PTSD to guide new treatments. Single-prolonged stress (SPS) is a rodent model of stress that parallels certain human neurophysiological and neurobehavioral changes occurring in PTSD. SPS is a single-day sequential stressor exposure-restraint stress, group forced swim, predator odor exposure, and isoflurane until loss of consciousness-followed by 7 days of stress incubation. Here, we investigated multiple cohorts of male C57BL/6J mice early after SPS and stress incubation (8-10 days) on behavioral tasks (elevated plus maze (EPM), three-chamber sociability, cost-benefit conflict (CBC), home cage behavior, scent avoidance and defensive burying tasks) that test multiple PTSD-related symptoms. Behavioral assessment included efforts to replicate published findings (i.e., EPM) and introducing newer tasks (i.e., CBC) that have not yet been tested in the SPS mouse model. While most of these tasks and standardized metrics failed to capture behavioral differences in SPS-treated male C57BL/6J mice, we did observe deficits in social novelty preference in the stressed mice. These studies add to a growing literature on inconsistencies in behavioral outcomes produced by the mouse SPS paradigm that could be potentially explained by mouse strain or procedural differences. Overall, this study demonstrated that behavior in male C57BL/6J mice were not affected after SPS apart from social novelty preference.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"28 1","pages":"2538466"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12989816/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144762246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marta Jaskólska, Iga Kościńska-Shukla, Dawid Jaskólski, Alessandro Viti, Marcin Ziętkiewicz, Michał Chmielewski
{"title":"Chronic stress resulting from stressful life events and its role in the onset of primary Sjögren's syndrome: a comparative analysis using the modified Holmes-Rahe stress scale.","authors":"Marta Jaskólska, Iga Kościńska-Shukla, Dawid Jaskólski, Alessandro Viti, Marcin Ziętkiewicz, Michał Chmielewski","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2447868","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2447868","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent years brought considerable attention to the connection between chronic stress and the development of autoimmune diseases. However, little is still known about the impact of prolonged stress reactions on the onset and course of primary Sjögren Syndrome (pSS). This study aimed to seek for associations between chronic stress, resulting from stressful life events, and pSS. In the study, 50 patients with diagnosed pSS, as well as 50 control patients with osteoarthritis underwent an assessment. Modified Holmes-Rahe (H-R) stress scale was used in order to evaluate the impact of stressful events within 12 months prior to the diagnosis. Patients with pSS had a significantly higher total score on H-R stress scale within one-year preceding the disease diagnosis (152 ± 66.3 vs 50 ± 54.6; <i>p</i> <math><mrow><mo><</mo></mrow></math> 0.001). Additionally, the pSS patients more commonly than the controls reported a subjectively perceived correlation between stressful events and the occurrence of disease symptoms (50% vs 12%; <i>p</i> <math><mrow><mo><</mo></mrow></math> 0.001). Moreover, the H-R score at the time of the assessment correlated with the disease activity. The results support the view that pSS belongs to the group of diseases which pathogenesis is closely related to stressful life events. The novelty of this work lies in focus on both the correlation of stress on the onset of autoimmune disease as well as the activity of previously diagnosed disorder. Our data contributes to finding evidence-based medicine (EBM) arguments to what has until recently been merely a thematic observation-the harmfulness of negative stress on individual's health status.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"28 1","pages":"2447868"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142967302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emma Woodward, Sydney Fitzcharles, Laurence Coutellier
{"title":"The effects of prepubertal ovariectomy and chronic stress on activity of brain limbic regions in adult mice.","authors":"Emma Woodward, Sydney Fitzcharles, Laurence Coutellier","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2514494","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2514494","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Women are twice as likely than men to develop an anxiety disorder after stress exposure stress, a sex-specific vulnerability that arises after puberty. This suggests that pubertal hormones could contribute to the central changes induced by stress and leading to behavioral deregulations. The main brain regions involved in stress-induced psychopathologies are part of the limbic system, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the ventral hippocampus (vHipp). Changes in their activity are often reported after stress, contributing to appearance of behavioral symptoms. We aimed at determining whether female pubertal hormones modulate the effects of chronic stress on activity of these limbic regions to identify a potential mechanism underlying the female vulnerability to stress-induced pathologies. Prepubertal adolescent female mice underwent ovariectomy (OVX) or sham surgery. In late adolescence, they started 4 weeks of unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS). We used immunohistochemistry to quantify FosB/ΔFosB, a marker of chronic activity, in the PFC, BLA, and vHipp. Prepubertal OVX increased activity of the PFC and decreased activity of the BLA and vHipp, while UCMS had little impact. The PFC was more significantly impacted by both OVX and UCMS, with each of these manipulations increasing number of FosB/ΔFosB+ cells, however without interactive effects. Correlation analyses indicate that level of activity in the PFC and vHipp correlates with measures of anxiety. However, the gonadal status influences strongly these relationships. Our data indicate that pubertal hormones could play a role in the regulation of anxiety through their long-lasting impact on the limbic system.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"28 1","pages":"2514494"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144235909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Electroacupuncture improves sleep deprivation-induced cognitive impairment by suppressing hippocampal inflammatory response in mice.","authors":"Guoyan Li, Jingbo Liu, Kejing Zhang","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2502742","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2502742","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sleep deprivation (SD) is known to induce neurocognitive dysfunction, with hippocampal inflammation emerging as a critical mediator. Electroacupuncture has shown efficacy in modulating inflammation in neurological disorders, but its potential in mitigating SD-induced cognitive impairment remains underexplored. Using a murine model, we investigated the effects of electroacupuncture on hippocampal inflammation and cognitive function following SD treatment. BALB/c mice underwent sleep disruption using a multiple-platform apparatus and were subsequently treated with electroacupuncture. Cognitive function was assessed using the Morris Water Maze and Y-maze tests. Electroacupuncture treatment significantly ameliorated SD-induced cognitive impairment, as evidenced by improved performance in spatial memory tasks. Additionally, electroacupuncture attenuated hippocampal inflammation, characterized by reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, MCP-1 and TNF-α) and increased expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Mechanistically, electroacupuncture suppressed microglial activation and inhibited the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway within the hippocampus. Electroacupuncture has therapeutic potential in mitigating SD-induced cognitive dysfunction by modulating hippocampal inflammation, which offers a promising non-pharmacological approach for preserving cognitive function in sleep-deprived individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"28 1","pages":"2502742"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144120382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jamie L Scholl, Joshua T Rogers, Na Feng, Gina L Forster, Michael J Watt, Jazmine D W Yaeger, Michael W Buchanan, Christopher A Lowry, Kenneth J Renner
{"title":"Corticosterone rapidly modulates dorsomedial hypothalamus serotonin and behavior in an estrogen- and progesterone-dependent manner in adult female rats: potential role of organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3).","authors":"Jamie L Scholl, Joshua T Rogers, Na Feng, Gina L Forster, Michael J Watt, Jazmine D W Yaeger, Michael W Buchanan, Christopher A Lowry, Kenneth J Renner","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2457765","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2025.2457765","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Previous studies have shown that corticosterone rapidly alters extracellular serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) concentrations in the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) of adult male rats, suggesting a role for corticosterone actions in the DMH in regulation of physiological and behavioral responses. Whether or not corticosterone also rapidly alters extracellular serotonin concentrations in the DMH of female rats, and the dependence of this effect on ovarian hormones, is not known. To determine the effects of 17β-estradiol (E<sub>2</sub>), progesterone (P), and corticosterone on extracellular concentrations of serotonin in the DMH, corticosterone and/or P were delivered into the DMH of ovariectomized rats via reverse microdialysis in E<sub>2</sub>-primed rats. Combined, but not separate, delivery of corticosterone and P into the DMH rapidly and transiently increased extracellular 5-HT concentrations, a result that was dependent upon circulating E<sub>2</sub>. This effect of corticosterone on DMH 5-HT was replicated by local perfusion of the organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3) competitive inhibitor normetanephrine. Intra-DMH infusions of either corticosterone or normetanephrine also reversibly suppressed lordosis responses in E<sub>2</sub> + P-primed females. These results suggest that ovarian hormones in combination with corticosterone modulate OCT3-mediated 5-HT clearance in the DMH, potentially representing an adaptive mechanism that allows sexually receptive females to respond rapidly to acute stressors.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"28 1","pages":"2457765"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11801257/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143081966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nawshaba Nawreen, Kristen Oshima, James Chambers, Marissa Smail, James P Herman
{"title":"Inhibition of prefrontal cortex parvalbumin interneurons mitigates behavioral and physiological sequelae of chronic stress in male mice.","authors":"Nawshaba Nawreen, Kristen Oshima, James Chambers, Marissa Smail, James P Herman","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2361238","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2361238","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chronic stress leads to hypofunction of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), mechanisms of which remain to be determined. Enhanced activation of GABAergic of parvalbumin (PV) expressing interneurons (INs) is thought to play a role in stress-induced prefrontal inhibition. In this study, we tested whether chemogenetic inhibition of mPFC PV INs after chronic stress can rescue chronic stress-related behavioral and physiological phenotypes. Mice underwent 2 weeks of chronic variable stress (CVS) followed by a battery of behavioral tests known to be affected by chronic stress exposure, e.g. an open field (OF), novel object recognition (NOR), tail suspension test (TST), sucrose preference test (SPT), and light dark (LD) box. Inhibitory DREADDs were actuated by 3 mg/kg CNO administered 30 min prior to each behavioral test. CVS caused hyperactivity in the OF, reduced sucrose preference in the SPT (indicative of enhanced anhedonia), and increased anxiety-like behavior in the LD box. Inhibition of PV IN after stress mitigated these effects. In addition, CVS also resulted in reduced thymus weight and body weight loss, which were also mitigated by PV IN inhibition. Our results indicate that chronic stress leads to plastic changes in PV INs that may be mitigated by chemogenetic inhibition. Our findings implicate cortical GABAergic INs as a therapeutic target in stress-related diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"27 1","pages":"2361238"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11725266/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141499605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sydney Rowson, Mandakh Bekhbat, Sean Kelly, Molly M Hyer, Samya Dyer, David Weinshenker, Gretchen Neigh
{"title":"Chronic adolescent stress alters GR-FKBP5 interactions in the hippocampus of adult female rats.","authors":"Sydney Rowson, Mandakh Bekhbat, Sean Kelly, Molly M Hyer, Samya Dyer, David Weinshenker, Gretchen Neigh","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2312467","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2312467","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chronic stress exposure during development can have lasting behavioral consequences that differ in males and females. More specifically, increased depressive behaviors in females, but not males, are observed in both humans and rodent models of chronic stress. Despite these known stress-induced outcomes, the molecular consequences of chronic adolescent stress in the adult brain are less clear. The stress hormone corticosterone activates the glucocorticoid receptor, and activity of the receptor is regulated through interactions with co-chaperones-such as the immunophilin FK506 binding proteins 5 (FKBP5). Previously, it has been reported that the adult stress response is modified by a history of chronic stress; therefore, the current study assessed the impact of chronic adolescent stress on the interactions of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) with its regulatory co-chaperone FKBP5 in response to acute stress in adulthood. Although protein presence for FKBP5 did not differ by group, assessment of GR-FKBP5 interactions demonstrated that adult females with a history of chronic adolescent stress had elevated GR-FKBP5 interactions in the hippocampus following an acute stress challenge which could potentially contribute to a reduced translocation pattern given previous literature describing the impact of FKBP5 on GR activity. Interestingly, the altered co-chaperone interactions of the GR in the stressed female hippocampus were not coupled to an observable difference in transcription of GR-regulated genes. Together, these studies show that chronic adolescent stress causes lasting changes to co-chaperone interactions with the glucocorticoid receptor following stress exposure in adulthood and highlight the potential role that FKBP5 plays in these modifications. Understanding the long-term implications of adolescent stress exposure will provide a mechanistic framework to guide the development of interventions for adult disorders related to early life stress exposures.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"27 1","pages":"2312467"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11067065/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140337607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Salivary testosterone and cortisol response in acute stress modulated by seven sessions of mindfulness meditation in young males.","authors":"Yaxin Fan, Yifen Cui, Rongxiang Tang, Amar Sarkar, Pranjal Mehta, Yi-Yuan Tang","doi":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2316041","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10253890.2024.2316041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Stress is an established risk factor for negative health outcomes. Salivary cortisol and testosterone concentrations increase in response to acute psychosocial stress. It's crucial to reduce stress for health and well-being through evidence-based interventions. Body-mind interventions such as meditation and Tai Chi have shown reduced cortisol levels but mixed results in testosterone concentration after stress. To address this research gap, we conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial to examine the modulating effects of a short-term (seven 20-minute sessions) mindfulness meditation on testosterone and cortisol in response to acute stress. Using one form of mindfulness meditation - Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) and an active control-relaxation training (RT), we assessed salivary cortisol and testosterone concentrations at three stages of stress intervention - rest, stress, and an additional 20-min IBMT or RT practice. We found increased cortisol and testosterone concentrations after acute stress in both groups, but testosterone rise was not associated with cortisol rise. Moreover, an additional practice immediately after stress produced higher testosterone concentrations in the IBMT group than the RT group, whereas cortisol concentration increased in the RT group than in the IBMT group at the same time point. These findings indicate that brief mindfulness intervention modulates a dual-hormone profile of testosterone and cortisol in response to acute stress presumably via the co-regulation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal and hypothalamus-pituitary-testicular axes.</p>","PeriodicalId":51173,"journal":{"name":"Stress-The International Journal on the Biology of Stress","volume":"27 1","pages":"2316041"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139914028","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}