Do inflammation and relational motivation coordinate having better sex? The interplay between C-reactive protein and relational approach motivation on sexual well-being.

Much evidence on heightened inflammation and social behavior focuses on social withdrawal. Building on recent theory (Muscatell and Inagaki, 2021), we focused instead on the socially affiliative experience of sex. We investigated the interplay between immunology and motivation on sexual well-being among 158 individuals in romantic relationships.

Sleep quality impacts the link between reactivity to uncertain threat and anxiety and alcohol use in youth.

Individual differences in reactivity to unpredictable threat (U-threat) have repeatedly been linked to symptoms of anxiety and drinking behavior. An emerging theory is that individuals who are hyper-reactive to U-threat experience chronic anticipatory anxiety, hyperarousal, and are vulnerable to excessive alcohol use via negative reinforcement processes. Notably, anxiety and alcohol use commonly relate to disruptions in sleep behavior and recent findings suggest that sleep quality may impact the link between reactivity to U-threat and psychiatric symptoms and behaviors.

Can inflammation predict social media use? Linking a biological marker of systemic inflammation with social media use among college students and middle-aged adults.

Drawing on recent evidence that inflammation may promote social affiliative motivation, the present research proposes a novel perspective that inflammation may be associated with more social media use. In a cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative sample, Study 1 (N = 863) found a positive association between C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of systemic inflammation, and the amount of social media use by middle-aged adults. Study 2 (N = 228) showed that among college students CRP was prospectively associated with more social media use 6 weeks later.

Everyday perceptions of safety and racial disparities in hair cortisol concentration.

Objective: Black-White disparities in physiological stress during adolescence are increasingly evident but remain incompletely understood. We examine the role of real-time perceptions of safety in the context of everyday routines to gain insight into the sources of observed adolescent racial differences in chronic stress as measured by hair cortisol concentration (HCC).

Method: We combined social survey, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and hair cortisol data on 690 Black and White youth ages 11-17 from wave 1 of the Adolescent Health and Development in Context (AHDC) study to investigate racial differences in physiological stress.

Everyday co-presence with a romantic partner is associated with lower C-reactive protein.

Social relationships are an important driver of health, and inflammation has been proposed as a key neurobiological mechanism to explain this effect. Behavioral researchers have focused on social relationship quality to further explain the association, yet recent research indicates that relationship quality may not be as robust a predictor as previously thought. Here, building on animal models of social bonds and recent theory on close relationships, we instead investigated merely being in the physical presence of one's romantic partner.

Social Media Use and Its Link to Physical Health Indicators.

Social media use has become an integral part of many young adults' daily lives. Although much research has examined how social media use relates to psychological well-being, little is known about how it relates to physical health. To address this knowledge gap, the present research investigated how the amount of social media people use relates to various indices of physical health.

Perceived social support-giving moderates the association between social relationships and interleukin-6 levels in blood.

Although positive social relationships are assumed to relate to lower levels of chronic systemic inflammation, the empirical evidence on this association is mixed. This study examines whether perceived social support-giving (i.e.

Social media use and systemic inflammation: The moderating role of self-esteem.

Social media use has become an important part of social life. However, little is known about its relation to physical health. Extending prior work on social media use and psychological well-being, the present research investigated how social media use is associated with a key indicator of health, systemic inflammation.

Racial and Economic Adversity Differences in Stress Markers and Immune Function Among Urban Adolescents.

Background: Exposure to racism and associated adversities, such as poverty, is hypothesized to contribute to racial inequities in health via stress and immune pathways. Furthermore, the effects of adversity may be more salient during sensitive developmental periods. Our study examined racial differences in stress and immune biomarkers during adolescence and the effects of exposure to economic adversity at distinct developmental time periods and cumulatively in accounting for potential racial differences.

Exposure to police-related deaths and physiological stress among urban black youth.

Background: Emerging evidence indicates that exposure to police-related deaths is associated with negative health and wellbeing outcomes among black people. Yet, no study to date has directly examined the biological consequences of exposure to police-related deaths for urban black youth.

Methods And Findings: We employ unique data from the 2014-16 Adolescent Health and Development in Context (AHDC) study - a representative sample of youth ages 11 to 17 residing in the Columbus, OH area.

Structural and Social Determinants of Health Factors Associated with County-Level Variation in Non-Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication Treatment.

Background: Non-adherence to antihypertensive medication treatment (AHM) is a complex health behavior with determinants that extend beyond the individual patient. The structural and social determinants of health (SDH) that predispose populations to ill health and unhealthy behaviors could be potential barriers to long-term adherence to AHM. However, the role of SDH in AHM non-adherence has been understudied.

Preliminary Evidence That CD38 Moderates the Association of Neuroticism on Amygdala-Subgenual Cingulate Connectivity.

CD38 genetic variation has been associated with autism spectrum disorders and social anxiety disorder, which may result from CD38's regulation of oxytocin secretion. Converging evidence has found that the rs3796863 A-allele contributes to increased social sensitivity compared to the CC genotype. The current study examined the moderating role of CD38 genetic variants (rs3796863 and rs6449182) that have been associated with enhanced (or reduced) social sensitivity on neural activation related to neuroticism, which is commonly elevated in individuals with social anxiety and depression.

A Social Analgesic? Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Reduces Positive Empathy.

Acetaminophen - a potent physical painkiller that also reduces empathy for other people's suffering - blunts physical and social pain by reducing activation in brain areas (i.e. anterior insula and anterior cingulate) thought to be related to emotional awareness and motivation.

Perceived social support and chronic inflammation: The moderating role of self-esteem.

Objective: Social support is one of the strongest psychosocial predictors of physical health. However, is this the case for everyone? On the basis of recent research suggesting that self-esteem can moderate the psychological effects of social support, the present research investigated whether self-esteem would moderate the health benefits of social support.

Method: A national sample of middle-aged adults (N = 949) completed self-report questionnaires on perceived social support, self-esteem, sociodemographic information, and health related behaviors.

Acetaminophen influences social and economic trust.

Acetaminophen has long been assumed to selectively alleviate physical pain, but recent research has started to reveal its broader psychological effects. Building on this work, we find suggestive evidence that acetaminophen affects the basic social process of trust across a national survey and five lab experiments. In a national community sample (MIDUS II), acetaminophen usage was negatively associated with neighborhood trust and feelings of social integration.

Stereotype threat, trait perseveration, and vagal activity: evidence for mechanisms underpinning health disparities in Black Americans.

Black Americans (BAs) are at an elevated risk for morbidity and mortality in comparison to White Americans (WAs). Racial stressors are a common occurrence in American culture and is theorized to contribute to these disparities. When race-focused, stereotype threat (ST) is considered to be a factor that is detrimental to health in BAs; however few studies have directly investigated the impact of a ST manipulation on physiological function.

Integrative pathways linking close family ties to health: A neurochemical perspective.

The quality of one's familial life, for better or worse, has been linked to physical health. Such associations are evident across a number of acute and chronic conditions and highlight the widespread impact that close relationships have on physical health. However, the field currently lacks a complete understanding of the integrative biological pathways underlying the association between close relationships and disease risk.

Common variant in OXTR predicts growth in positive emotions from loving-kindness training.

Ample research suggests that social connection reliably generates positive emotions. Oxytocin, a neuropeptide implicated in social cognition and behavior, is one biological mechanism that may influence an individual's capacity to extract positive emotions from social contexts. Because variation in certain genes may indicate underlying neurobiological differences, we tested whether several SNPs in two genes related to oxytocin signaling would show effects on positive emotions that were context-specific, depending on sociality.

From painkiller to empathy killer: acetaminophen (paracetamol) reduces empathy for pain.

Simulation theories of empathy hypothesize that empathizing with others' pain shares some common psychological computations with the processing of one's own pain. Support for this perspective has largely relied on functional neuroimaging evidence of an overlap between activations during the experience of physical pain and empathy for other people's pain. Here, we extend the functional overlap perspective to the neurochemical level and test whether a common physical painkiller, acetaminophen (paracetamol), can reduce empathy for another's pain.

Nonsynonymous HTR2C polymorphism predicts cortisol response to psychosocial stress II: Evidence from two samples.

The 5-HT2C receptor is the primary serotonin receptor located in the corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) neurons of the hypothalamus. These neurons initiate the signaling cascade that culminates in cortisol release. Therefore, genetic variation in the 5-HT2C receptor gene (HTR2C) is a prime candidate for affecting cortisol reactivity to stress.