Psychosocial stress and cortisol stress reactivity predict breast milk composition.

We studied a sample of 146 Polish, exclusively breastfeeding mothers and their healthy born on time infants to explore the effect of perinatal psychosocial stress on breast milk composition. Maternal perinatal stress was assessed using Recent Life Changes Questionnaire summarizing stressful events from the previous six months. Stress reactivity was determined by administering the cold pressor test and measuring cortisol in saliva samples taken during the test.

Pupillary and Microsaccadic Responses to Cognitive Effort and Emotional Arousal During Complex Decision Making.

A large body of literature documents the sensitivity of pupil response to cognitive load (1)and emotional arousal (2). Recent empirical evidence also showed that microsaccade characteristics and dynamics can be modulated by mental fatigue and cognitive load (3). Very little is known about the sensitivity of microsaccadic characteristics to emotional arousal.

Cognitive costs of reproduction: life-history trade-offs explain cognitive decline during pregnancy in women.

Life-history theory predicts that access to limited resources leads to trade-offs between competing body functions. Women, who face higher costs of reproduction when compared to men, should be especially vulnerable to these trade-offs. We propose the 'cognitive costs of reproduction hypothesis', which states that energy trade-offs imposed by reproduction may lead to a decline in maternal cognitive function during gestation.

Individual differences in decisiveness: ERP correlates of response inhibition and error monitoring.

The aim of the current study was to examine whether and how self-reported decisiveness is associated with response inhibition and performance monitoring. We hypothesized that these two cognitive control mechanisms, both of which are often associated with decision making, would differ in individuals varying in decisiveness. We focused on ERP correlates and behavioral measures of inhibition and error processing in the stop-signal task.

Neural Signatures of Rational and Heuristic Choice Strategies: A Single Trial ERP Analysis.

In multi-attribute choice, people use heuristics to simplify decision problems. We studied the use of heuristic and rational strategies and their electrophysiological correlates. Since previous work linked the P3 ERP component to attention and decision making, we were interested whether the amplitude of this component is associated with decision strategy use.

Neural Underpinnings of Decision Strategy Selection: A Review and a Theoretical Model.

In multi-attribute choice, decision makers use decision strategies to arrive at the final choice. What are the neural mechanisms underlying decision strategy selection? The first goal of this paper is to provide a literature review on the neural underpinnings and cognitive models of decision strategy selection and thus set the stage for a neurocognitive model of this process. The second goal is to outline such a unifying, mechanistic model that can explain the impact of noncognitive factors (e.

The color red attracts attention in an emotional context. An ERP study.

The color red is known to influence psychological functioning, having both negative (e.g., blood, fire, danger), and positive (e.

Trait anxiety moderates the association between estradiol and dominance in women.

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between self-assessed social dominance trait and levels of free basal sex steroids: estradiol and testosterone, in reproductive age women. Polish urban women aged 24-35 (N = 72) filled in Trait Dominance-Submissiveness Scale (TDS) and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). They also gave a single blood sample during the follicular phase of the following menstrual cycle.

Temperament and ovarian reproductive hormones in women: evidence from a study during the entire menstrual cycle.

Personality and temperament were hypothesized to function as important factors affecting life history strategies. Recent research has demonstrated the association between temperamental traits and reproduction in humans, however, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. This study presents evidence for an association between temperamental traits and woman's fecundity, as indicated by levels of ovarian steroid hormones during the menstrual cycle.