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Stressful Experiences (stressful + experience)
Selected Abstracts"Juvenile stress" alters maturation-related changes in expression of the neural cell adhesion molecule L1 in the limbic system: Relevance for stress-related psychopathologiesJOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010M.M. Tsoory Abstract L1 is critically involved in neural development and maturation, activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, and learning processes. Among adult rats, chronic stress protocols that affect L1 functioning also induce impaired cognitive and neural functioning and heightened anxiety reminiscent of stress-induced mood and anxiety disorders. Epidemiological studies indicate that childhood trauma is related predominantly to higher rates of both mood and anxiety disorders in adulthood and is associated with altered limbic system functioning. Exposing rats to stress during the juvenile period ("juvenile stress") has comparable effects and was suggested as a model of induced predisposition for these disorders. This study examined the effects of juvenile stress on rats aversive learning and on L1 expression soon after exposure and in adulthood, both following additional exposure to acute stress and in its absence. Adult juvenile-stressed rats exhibited enhanced cued fear conditioning, reduced novel-setting exploration, and impaired avoidance learning. Furthermore, juvenile stress increased L1 expression in the BLA, CA1, DG, and EC both soon after the stressful experience and during adulthood. It appears that juvenile stress affects the normative maturational decrease in L1 expression. The results support previous indications that juvenile stress alters the maturation of the limbic system and further support a role for L1 regulation in the mechanisms that underlie the predisposition to exhibit mood and/or anxiety disorders in adulthood. Furthermore, the findings support the "network hypothesis," which postulates that information-processing problems within relevant neural networks might underlie stress-induced mood and anxiety disorders. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Stress reverses plasticity in the pathway projecting from the ventromedial prefrontal cortex to the basolateral amygdalaEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 10 2006Mouna Maroun Abstract We have previously shown that high-frequency stimulation to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) induces long-term potentiation (LTP) in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and that prior exposure to inescapable stress inhibits the induction of LTP in this pathway [Maroun & Richter-Levin (2003)J. Neurosci., 23, 4406,4409]. Here, we show that the reciprocal pathway projecting from the vmPFC to the BLA is resistant to the induction of LTP. Conversely, long-term depression (LTD) is robustly induced in the BLA in response to low-frequency stimulation to the vmPFC. Furthermore, prior exposure to inescapable stress reverses plasticity in this pathway, resulting in the promotion of LTP and the inhibition of LTD. Our findings suggest that, under normal and safe conditions, the vmPFC is unable to exert excitatory synaptic plasticity over the BLA; rather, LTD, which encodes memory of safety in the BLA, is favoured. Following stressful experiences, LTP in the BLA is promoted to encode memory of fear. [source] Management of flood victims: Chainat Province, central ThailandNURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 1 2010Anchaleeporn Wisitwong rn Abstract This article focuses on the processes of flood management and the experiences of flood victims in Chainat Province, central Thailand, so as to develop knowledge about the future handling of such disasters. A phenomenological qualitative approach was used to describe the processes of providing assistance to flood victims. In-depth interviews and observation were used to collect the data. Criterion sampling was used to select 23 participants. Content analysis of the data revealed that some flood victims could predict flooding based on prior experiences, so they prepared themselves. The data revealed six themes that demonstrated that those who could not predict how floods would impact on them were unprepared and suffered losses and disruption to their daily life. Damaged routes meant people could not go to work, resulting in the loss of income. There was a lack of sanitary appliances and clean drinking water, people were sick, and experienced stress. At the community level, people helped one another, making sandbags and building walls as a defense against water. They formed support groups to enable the processing of stressful experiences. However, later, the water became stagnant and contaminated, creating an offensive smell. The government provided assistance to cut off electricity services, food and water, toilets and health services, and water drainage. In the recovery phase, the victims needed money for investment, employment opportunities, books for children, extra time to pay off loans, reconnection of electricity, surveys of damage, and pensions to deal with damage and recovery. [source] Are cortisol profiles a stable trait during child development?AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Mark V. Flinn Exposure to stressful experiences can increase vulnerability to adverse health outcomes. A potential neuroendocrine mechanism mediating the link between stress and health is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system, with a key role attributed to the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol. Retrospective and cross sectional clinical studies of humans and experimental studies with nonhuman primates and rodents suggest that traumatic experiences during critical periods in development may have permanent effects on HPA regulation, which in turn can have deleterious effects on health. Here I report results from a continuous 20-year study (1988,2009) of children in a rural community on Dominica. Sequential data on cortisol levels, social stressors, and health in naturalistic, everyday conditions are examined to assess developmental trajectories of HPA functioning. Saliva aliquots were assayed for cortisol in concert with monitoring of growth, morbidity, and social environment. Analyses here include data from 1989 to 1999 for 147 children aged 3,16 years with >100 saliva samples each. Cortisol values were standardized by elapsed time since wake-up. Results do not support the hypothesis that traumatic stress during childhood causes permanent general elevation of cortisol levels. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Language use predicts phenomenological properties of Holocaust memories and healthAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 9 2009Adriel Boals Twenty Holocaust survivors gave extensive interviews about their experiences in the Holocaust and their lives since. This study affords a rare opportunity to explore language use and trauma using a within-subjects design. Consistent with past research which has shown that cognitive word use typically increases when describing stressful experiences, participants used a higher percentage of cognitive words when describing their Holocaust experiences, in comparison to describing non-Holocaust experiences. Four years after the interviews, participants completed memory questionnaires in relation to their Holocaust experiences and measures of physical health and cognitive functioning. The extent to which participants used an elevated use of insight words when describing their Holocaust experiences 4 years earlier was related to lower ratings of visceral emotional reactions, less avoidance and better lifetime physical health. The results are discussed in terms of how use of cognitive words when describing traumatic memories reflects adaptive psychological and coping processes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Modulation of synaptic plasticity by stress and antidepressantsBIPOLAR DISORDERS, Issue 3 2002Maurizio Popoli Recent preclinical and clinical studies have shown that mechanisms underlying neuronal plasticity and survival are involved in both the outcome of stressful experiences and the action of antidepressants. Whereas most antidepressants predominantly affect the brain levels of monoamine neurotransmitters, it is increasingly appreciated that they also modulate neurotransmission at synapses using the neurotransmitter glutamate (the most abundant in the brain). In the hippocampus, a main area of the limbic system involved in cognitive functions as well as attention and affect, specific molecules enriched at glutamatergic synapses mediate major changes in synaptic plasticity induced by stress paradigms or antidepressant treatments. We analyze here the modifications induced by stress or antidepressants in the strength of synaptic transmission in hippocampus, and the molecular modifications induced by antidepressants in two main mediators of synaptic plasticity: the N -methyl- D -aspartate (NMDA) receptor complex for glutamate and the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II). Both stress and antidepressants induce alterations in long-term potentiation of hippocampal glutamatergic synapses, which may be partly accounted for by the influence of environmental or drug-induced stimulation of monoaminergic pathways projecting to the hippocampus. In the course of antidepressant treatments significant changes have been described in both the NMDA receptor and CaM kinase II, which may account for the physiological changes observed. A central role in these synaptic changes is exerted by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which modulates both synaptic plasticity and its molecular mediators, as well as inducing morphological synaptic changes. The role of these molecular effectors in synaptic plasticity is discussed in relation to the action of antidepressants and the search for new molecular targets of drug action in the therapy of mood disorders. [source] Cognitive-behavioral stress management improves stress-management skills and quality of life in men recovering from treatment of prostate carcinomaCANCER, Issue 1 2004Frank J. Penedo Ph.D. Abstract BACKGROUND The current study evaluated the efficacy of a 10-week, group-based, cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) intervention relative to a half-day seminar in improving quality of life (QoL) among men who were treated for localized prostate carcinoma (PC) with either radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiation therapy. METHODS Ninety-two men were assigned randomly to either the 10-week CBSM group intervention or a 1-day seminar (control group). The intervention was designed to improve QoL by helping participants to identify and effectively manage stressful experiences and was focused on the treatment-related sequelae of PC. RESULTS A hierarchical regression model was used to predict postintervention QoL. The final model, including all predictors and relevant covariates (i.e., income, baseline QoL, ethnicity, and group condition), explained 62.1% of the variance in QoL scores. Group assignment was a significant predictor (, = , 0.14; P = 0.03) of QoL after the 10-week intervention period, even after controlling for ethnicity, income, and baseline QoL. Post-hoc analyses revealed that individuals in the CBSM intervention condition showed significant improvements in QoL relative to men in the 1-day control seminar. Improved QoL was mediated by greater perceived stress-management skill. CONCLUSIONS A 10-week cognitive-behavioral group intervention was effective in improving the QoL in men treated for PC, and these changes were associated significantly with intervention-associated increases in perceived stress-management skills. Cancer 2004;100:192,200. © 2003 American Cancer Society. [source] Domestic abuse experienced by young people living in families with alcohol problems: results from a cross-european studyCHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 6 2008Richard Velleman Abstract This paper presents findings from the European Union (EU) DAPHNE project ALC-VIOL (2005,07). The project involved ten EU states (Germany, Austria, England, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, Poland and Spain). The research involved interviews with young people aged 12,18 from Germany, Poland, Spain, England and Malta on their experiences of living with parental alcohol misuse and parental violence. The children all had parents involved in treatment for alcohol problems. The study highlights the stressful experiences these children underwent, the effects on them, their coping strategies, and the support that they received and/or wished for, and underlines the need for a more coherent approach to help these children. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||