Do Children with High Callous-Unemotional Traits Have Attentional Deficits to Emotional Stimuli? Evidence from a Multi-Method and Multi-Informant Study.

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits in children and adolescents are linked to severe and persistent antisocial behavior. Based on past empirical research, several theoretical models have suggested that CU traits may be partly explained by difficulties in correctly identifying others' emotional states as well as their reduced attention to others' eyes, which could be important for both causal theory and treatment. This study tested the relationships among CU traits, emotion recognition of facial expressions and visual behavior in a sample of 52 boys referred to a clinic for conduct problems (Mage = 10.

Influence of footshock number and intensity on the behavioral and endocrine response to fear conditioning and cognitive fear generalization in male rats.

Foot-shock paradigms have provided valuable insights into the neurobiology of stress and fear conditioning. An extensive body of literature indicates that shock exposure can elicit both conditioned and unconditioned effects, although delineating between the two is a challenging task. This distinction holds crucial implications not only for the theoretical interpretation of fear conditioning, but also for properly evaluating putative preclinical models of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involving shock exposure.

Animal models of PTSD: Comparison of the neuroendocrine and behavioral sequelae of immobilization and a modified single prolonged stress procedure that includes immobilization.

A single exposure to some stressors results in long-lasting consequences reminiscent of those found in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but results are very often controversial. Although there is no consensus regarding the best animal models of PTSD, the single prolonged stress (SPS) model, consisting of sequential exposure within the same day to various stressors (typically restraint, forced swim, and ether), has gained acceptance. However, results, particularly those related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, are inconsistent and there is no evidence that SPS is clearly distinct from models using a single severe stressor.

Differential Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal Response to Stress among Rat Strains: Methodological Considerations and Relevance for Neuropsychiatric Research.

The hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, particularly glucocorticoids (GCs), play a critical role in the behavioral and physiological consequences of exposure to stress. For this reason, numerous studies have described differences in HPA function between different rodent strains/lines obtained by genetic selection of certain characteristics not directly related to the HPA axis. These studies have demonstrated a complex and poorly understood relationship between HPA function and certain relevant behavioral characteristics.

The relationship between sex, personality traits, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis.

The aim of our study was to examine whether there are sex-based differences in the relationship between personality traits and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis measures. A total of 106 healthy volunteers (56.6% women; age: 48.

Stress-related biomarkers and cognitive functioning in adolescents with ADHD: Effect of childhood maltreatment.

Our study aimed to explore whether stress-related hormones (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal [HPA] axis hormones and prolactin) are associated with poorer cognitive functioning in adolescents with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to test the potential moderating effect of childhood maltreatment. Seventy-six adolescents with ADHD were studied. The ADHD rating scale (ADHD-RS) and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) were administered.

Male long-Evans rats: An outbred model of marked hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal hyperactivity.

Rat and mouse strains differ in behavioral and physiological characteristics, and such differences can contribute to explain discrepant results between laboratories and better select the most appropriate strain for a particular purpose. Differences in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are particularly important given the pivotal role of this system in determining consequences of exposure to stressors. In this regard, Long-Evans (LE) rats are widely used in stress research, but there is no specific study aiming at thoroughly characterizing HPA activity in LE versus other extensively used strains.

Non-communicable diseases among women survivors of intimate partner violence: Critical review from a chronic stress framework.

A neurobiological framework of chronic stress proposes that the stress-response system can be functionally altered by the repeated presentation of highly stressful situations over time. These functional alterations mainly affect brain processing and include the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and associated processes. In the present critical review, we translate these results to inform the clinical presentation of women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV).

Individual differences in the neuroendocrine response of male rats to emotional stressors are not trait-like and strongly depend on the intensity of the stressors.

Biological response to stressors is critical to understand stress-related pathologies and vulnerability to psychiatric diseases. It is assumed that we can identify trait-like characteristics in biological responsiveness by testing subjects in a particular stressful situation, but there is scarce information on this issue. We then studied, in a normal outbred population of adult male rats (n = 32), the response of well-characterized stress markers (ACTH, corticosterone and prolactin) to different types of stressors: two novel environments (open-field, OF1 and OF2), an elevated platform (EP), forced swim (SWIM) and immobilization (IMO).

The Role of Sleep Quality, Trait Anxiety and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Measures in Cognitive Abilities of Healthy Individuals.

Sleep plays a crucial role in cognitive processes. Sleep and wake memory consolidation seem to be regulated by glucocorticoids, pointing out the potential role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the relationship between sleep quality and cognitive abilities. Trait anxiety is another factor that is likely to moderate the relationship between sleep and cognition, because poorer sleep quality and subtle HPA axis abnormalities have been reported in people with high trait anxiety.

Adaptability to acute stress among women survivors of intimate partner violence: protocol for a mixed-methods cross-sectional study in a laboratory setting (BRAW study).

Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most common and alarming form of violence against women, affecting around 30% of all women around the world. Using an integrative methodology, we approach IPV as a form of chronic exposure to severe stress that alters the stress-response system of exposed women. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that sustained exposure to IPV in women confers a vulnerability-to-stress profile characterised by higher neuroendocrine and behavioural responsiveness associated with a selective attentional processing bias towards threat.

Acute exposure of rats to a severe stressor alters the circadian pattern of corticosterone and sensitizes to a novel stressor: Relationship to pre-stress individual differences in resting corticosterone levels.

Traumatic events have been proposed to be associated with hypo-activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, but data in animal models exposed to severe stressors are controversial and have important methodological concerns. Individual differences in resting or stress levels of corticosterone might explain some of the inconsistencies. We then studied this issue in male rats exposed to 2 h immobilization on boards (IMO), a severe stressor.

Modulation of KDM1A with vafidemstat rescues memory deficit and behavioral alterations.

Transcription disequilibria are characteristic of many neurodegenerative diseases. The activity-evoked transcription of immediate early genes (IEGs), important for neuronal plasticity, memory and behavior, is altered in CNS diseases and governed by epigenetic modulation. KDM1A, a histone 3 lysine 4 demethylase that forms part of transcription regulation complexes, has been implicated in the control of IEG transcription.

Focusing attention on biological markers of acute stressor intensity: Empirical evidence and limitations.

ARMARIO, A, J. Labad and R. Nadal.

Sex-specific association between the cortisol awakening response and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in healthy individuals.

Background: Previous studies have shown associations between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity (HPA). We aimed to investigate the association between obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms and HPA axis functionality in a non-clinical sample and to explore whether there are sex differences in this relationship.

Methods: One hundred eighty-three healthy individuals without any psychiatric diagnosis (80 men, 103 women; mean age 41.

Neuropeptide-S-receptor deficiency affects sex-specific modulation of safety learning by pre-exposure to electric stimuli.

Neuropeptide S (NPS) is a neuropeptide involved in the regulation of fear. Because safety learning is impaired in patients suffering from anxiety-related psychiatric disorders, and polymorphisms of the human neuropeptide S receptor (NPSR) gene have also been associated with anxiety disorders, we wanted to investigate whether NPSR-deficiency interferes with safety learning, and how prior stress would affect this type of learning. We first investigated the effect of pre-exposure to two different types of stressors (electric stimuli or immobilization) on safety learning in female and male C57Bl/6 mice, and found that while stress induced by electric stimuli enhanced safety learning in males, there were no differences in safety learning following immobilization stress.

Controllability affects endocrine response of adolescent male rats to stress as well as impulsivity and behavioral flexibility during adulthood.

Exposure to stress during adolescence exerts a long-term impact on behavior and might contribute to the development of several neuropsychiatric disorders. In adults, control over stress has been found to protect from the negative consequences of stress, but the influence of controllability at early ages has not been extensively studied. Here, we evaluated in a rodent model the effects of repeated exposure in adolescent male rats to controllable versus uncontrollable foot-shock stress (CST or UST, respectively).

Early life stress in rats sex-dependently affects remote endocrine rather than behavioral consequences of adult exposure to contextual fear conditioning.

Exposure to electric foot-shocks can induce in rodents contextual fear conditioning, generalization of fear to other contexts and sensitization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to further stressors. All these aspects are relevant for the study of post-traumatic stress disorder. In the present work we evaluated in rats the sex differences and the role of early life stress (ELS) in fear memories, generalization and sensitization.

Clinical correlates of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis measures in individuals at risk for psychosis and with first-episode psychosis.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis alterations in at-risk mental states (ARMS) resemble those observed in established psychosis but are less consistent. We aimed to explore HPA axis abnormalities in both first-episode psychosis (FEP) and ARMS patients, while controlling for psychopathological symptoms. We studied 21 ARMS, 34 FEP patients and 34 healthy subjects.

Brain c-fos expression patterns induced by emotional stressors differing in nature and intensity.

Regardless of its particular nature, emotional stressors appear to elicit a widespread and roughly similar brain activation pattern as evaluated by c-fos expression. However, their behavioral and physiological consequences may strongly differ. Here we addressed in adult male rats the contribution of the intensity and the particular nature of stressors by comparing, in a set of brain areas, the number of c-fos expressing neurons in response to open-field, cat odor or immobilization on boards (IMO).

Sex-dependent impact of early-life stress and adult immobilization in the attribution of incentive salience in rats.

Early life stress (ELS) induces long-term effects in later functioning and interacts with further exposure to other stressors in adulthood to shape our responsiveness to reward-related cues. The attribution of incentive salience to food-related cues may be modulated by previous and current exposures to stressors in a sex-dependent manner. We hypothesized from human data that exposure to a traumatic (severe) adult stressor will decrease the attribution of incentive salience to reward-associated cues, especially in females, because these effects are modulated by previous ELS.

Sex differences in the relationship between prolactin levels and impaired processing speed in early psychosis.

Introduction: Hyperprolactinaemia is commonly observed in people with psychotic disorders due to D2 receptor blockade by antipsychotic drugs, although it may also exist in drug-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis. Recent studies suggest that hyperprolactinaemia may have a negative impact on cognitive function in people with early psychosis. We aimed to explore whether there are sex differences in the association between prolactin levels and cognitive performance in early psychosis patients.