Psychoneuroendocrinology最新文献

{"title":"Social buffering of the cortisol stress response during the Minnesota Imaging Stress Test in Children","authors":"Bonny Donzella,&nbsp;Zachary Miller,&nbsp;Nikola C. Tsakonas,&nbsp;Kathleen M. Thomas,&nbsp;Megan R. Gunnar","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107760","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107760","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>To understand neural underpinnings of individual differences in physiological stress responding, most notably of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenocortical system, but also of the autonomic system, it is essential to rely on an imaging task that reliably elevates cortisol and measures of the autonomic nervous system activity, such as salivary alpha amylase. When the question also involves neural activity related to social stress buffering, it requires a task that shows differential stress responses as a function of varying social buffering partners. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the Minnesota Imaging Stress Test in Children (MISTiC) with social buffering conditions fulfilled these requirements.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>180 children ages 11 through 15 years (92 female) had salivary cortisol and salivary alpha amylase (sAA) samples taken during the MISTiC, a socially evaluative stressor modeled after the Trier Social Stress Test. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three social buffering conditions: Alone-No Buffer, Parent-as-Buffer, and Researcher-as-Buffer. Buffers interacted briefly with participants audiovisually at multiple points. Saliva samples for cortisol determination were taken 3 times during the hour preceding the MISTiC with the last serving as the pretest (T0) sample. Saliva was then collected post MISTiC at 25, 35, 45, 55, and 65 min after T0. The T0, 25, and 35 samples were assayed for sAA.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>61 % of participants showed a significant increase in cortisol in response to the stressor (i.e., 115 % or greater) with roughly the same showing an increase in sAA. Change from T0 was analyzed for cortisol yielding a significant trials by condition interaction (p &lt; .05). Post-hoc tests showed a significant difference between the Parent-as-Buffer and both the Alone-No Buffer and the Researcher-as-Buffer conditions, thus indicating that parents were still effective buffers for the cortisol response in this age range. The only significant effect for sAA was a trials effect, p &lt; .001 with the same being true for self-ratings of stress, p &lt; .001. Puberty (pre/early vs mid/late) did not moderate the response of social buffering condition on cortisol or sAA.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The MISTiC is effective in elevating cortisol, sAA and perceived stress. For cortisol, the method used for buffering yielded significant differences by buffer type, suggesting that this paradigm is appropriate for assessing the neural systems underlying the social buffering of stress. Contrary to our prior work, pubertal stage did not moderate the effectiveness of the parent in buffering the child’s cortisol response.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107760"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effects of the chemical relaxer lye on hair cortisol concentrations","authors":"Carrie L. Burnett,&nbsp;Kelci Crandall,&nbsp;Damon M. Osbourn,&nbsp;Tony W. Buchanan","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107750","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107750","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The analysis of hair cortisol is a common tool in stress research. External factors such as chemical hair treatments can impact the integrity of hair cortisol. The use of chemical relaxers is more common among racialized populations who experience high chronic stress and are underrepresented in stress research. Methods: 15 participants who identify as Black or Latinx were recruited to give a hair sample. The commonly used hair relaxer, lye, was applied to hair samples using a novel in vitro methodology to examine its impact on cortisol concentration. Results: Bayesian multilevel model estimated a small group effect (M = 0.53, 95 % CI [–8.57, 9.32]), with only 55 % of the posterior distribution favoring higher cortisol in untreated samples, indicating no meaningful difference. Conclusion: The lack of effect of lye hair relaxer on cortisol supports the inclusion of participants who use this treatment in research and reinforces the utility of hair-based stress research in populations disproportionately affected by chronic stress. Addressing representation in stress research is essential, and these findings are a critical step toward developing more inclusive and equitable methodological practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107750"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The relationship between chronic stress, co-occurring conditions, sleep, and autistic features including severity using hair cortisol concentration.","authors":"Natali Yu Chan ,&nbsp;James Rufus John ,&nbsp;Nisha E. Mathew ,&nbsp;Anne Masi ,&nbsp;Lin Kooi Ong ,&nbsp;Valsamma Eapen ,&nbsp;Ping-I. Lin ,&nbsp;Adam K. Walker","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107769","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107769","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and objective</h3><div>Autism is highly heterogeneous and reliance on behavioural assessments alone may not provide sufficient insight into the unique characteristics of autistic individuals. Biomarkers, like hair cortisol concentration (HCC), may help unravel mechanisms underlying clinical variation in autism and support diagnostic measures, especially in young children who may not be able to effectively communicate their distress. We examined the relationship between HCC and autistic traits along with commonly co-occurring conditions including sleep disturbances in autistic children compared to non-autistic children.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted a cross-sectional analysis utilising data from the Australian Autism Biobank comprising clinical and biological samples from Australian children aged 2–17 years. Primary analysis included multivariable linear regression analyses to identify significant associations with HCC after controlling for key sociodemographic covariates, including child’s intelligence quotient (IQ).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The study included 307 autistic children, 158 non-autistic siblings, and 124 unrelated non-autistic children. The commonly reported co-occurring conditions were global developmental delay (8.5 %), intellectual disability (6.1 %), and otitis media (6.1 %). Higher severity of autistic traits and in particular social affect issues, co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), internalising, and maladaptive behaviours were significantly associated with lower normalised HCC. Higher sleep anxiety and IQ were associated with higher HCC. Regarding sociodemographic factors, older age and higher family income were associated with lower HCC.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The findings indicate the clinical value of HCC as a viable biomarker to identify subgroups based on co-occurring medical and mental health conditions. Further research to elucidate the link to individual and family/environmental factors as potential sources of stress is needed to offer targeted supports.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107769"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mixed evidence for stress effects on cortisol-testosterone coupling in Syrian refugee and Jordanian non-refugee adolescents","authors":"Delaney J. Glass ,&nbsp;Jessica Godwin ,&nbsp;Josefin Koehn ,&nbsp;Rana Dajani ,&nbsp;Kristin Hadfield ,&nbsp;Catherine Panter-Brick ,&nbsp;Melanie Martin","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107757","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107757","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Pubertal development is governed by the HPA and HPG axes. Co-upregulation of the HPA/HPG during adolescence is hypothesized to produce positive cortisol–testosterone coupling to promote developmental demands of puberty, then attenuate post-puberty. However, effects of trauma and poverty-related stress on hormonal coupling are less substantiated.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We analyzed cross-sectional biological, sociodemographic, and displacement/poverty-related stress data from Syrian refugee and Jordanian non-refugee adolescents living in Northern Jordan (n = 768). We quantified free cortisol and free testosterone from dried bloodspots using mass spectrometry. We used Bayesian hierarchical models to assess the hypothesis that cortisol and testosterone are positively coupled during puberty but de-couple at later stages, and that patterns of hormonal coupling and de-coupling would vary by refugee status and indicators of early life stressors.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We report some evidence for the hypothesis that cortisol and testosterone are coupled during pubertal ages 10–19. Positive hormonal coupling was most consistent among Syrian females with relatively higher lifetime trauma, distress/insecurity, household wealth, and mental health and resilience scores and Jordanian males, counterintuitively, with lower lifetime trauma, household wealth, mental health, and resilience scores.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our study contributes to understanding HPA and HPG patterning and integration across a wide range of adolescent ages among adolescents affected by conflict and poverty related stressors. Our findings offer limited support for the underlying hormonal coupling hypothesis, underscoring how growing bodies may be sensitive to environmental conditions at the extremes and that life history patterning varies with socioecological conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107757"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146019545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chemotherapy-induced estradiol reduction is associated with less relief of pre-chemotherapy anxiety in breast cancer patients","authors":"Ángela del Águila ,&nbsp;Lindsay D. Strehle ,&nbsp;Seth Adarkwah Yiadom ,&nbsp;Sagar D. Sardesai ,&nbsp;Nicole O. Williams ,&nbsp;Margaret E. Gatti-Mays ,&nbsp;Daniel G. Stover ,&nbsp;Preeti K. Sudheendra ,&nbsp;Robert Wesolowski ,&nbsp;Stephanie M. Gorka ,&nbsp;Rebecca R. Andridge ,&nbsp;Leah M. Pyter","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107749","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107749","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Chemotherapy-induced apoptosis of mature ovarian follicles in breast cancer patients likely results in decreased circulating estradiol (E₂), although this is rarely measured. Outside of cancer, sudden E₂ reductions (e.g., post-childbirth) are associated with increased anxiety and depressive symptoms. About half of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy report anxiety and depressive symptoms, which is a major reason for discontinuing or changing chemotherapy treatment. This study examined the relationship between E₂ reductions and anxiety/depressive symptoms, during chemotherapy. As a secondary outcome, intolerance of uncertainty was also assessed. Blood samples and patient-reported questionnaires were collected from 77 breast cancer patients. Plasma E₂ concentrations were quantified using ELISA. Chemotherapy-induced reductions in circulating E₂ were associated with less relief from pre-chemotherapy anxiety symptoms and intolerance of uncertainty during chemotherapy, regardless of age and menopausal status. Conversely, participants whose E₂ concentrations did not decrease experienced relief from pre-chemotherapy anxiety symptoms and intolerance of uncertainty during chemotherapy. Similar trends were observed for depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that monitoring circulating E₂ levels may provide valuable mechanistical insights into patients’ psychological responses during chemotherapy and could inform more personalized approaches to supportive care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107749"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146030503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Considerations and practical recommendations for identifying perimenopause in longitudinal research","authors":"Megan E. Huibregtse ,&nbsp;Linzie Taylor ,&nbsp;Trinidi Prochaska ,&nbsp;Amanda R. Arnold ,&nbsp;C. Neill Epperson ,&nbsp;E. Britton Chahine ,&nbsp;Alicia K. Smith ,&nbsp;Abigail Powers ,&nbsp;Vasiliki Michopoulos ,&nbsp;Jennifer S. Stevens","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107748","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107748","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Approximately half of the global population will live to experience the menopausal transition, which is associated with significant quality of life concerns and economic costs. Due to research and funding inequities, there exist significant gaps in knowledge about the menopausal transition and how to improve health outcomes. One tool that is needed to push women’s health research forward is the ability to prospectively and accurately identify reproductive stage throughout the female lifespan. In the current paper we review the current criteria for reproductive staging and historical research methods of determining stage, including retrospective and prospective approaches. We discuss important considerations surrounding recall intervals, limitations of the 2011 Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop + 10 (STRAW+10) criteria, and data privacy concerns. We provide recommendations for the design and execution of future studies, including digital data processing algorithms that can clearly implement operational definitions of STRAW+ 10 reproductive stages. Standardizing STRAW+ 10 terminology and validating methods to collect, process, and analyze prospectively tracked vaginal bleeding data will facilitate more precise and reliable reproductive staging that are critically needed to increase our understanding of how perimenopause increases risk for adverse health outcomes and develop novel interventions to increase quality of life during reproductive aging.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107748"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Maternal prenatal depression and anxiety and steroid hormones in amniotic fluid","authors":"Tiina Seikku ,&nbsp;Marius Lahti-Pulkkinen ,&nbsp;Polina Girchenko ,&nbsp;Verna Salo ,&nbsp;Kati Heinonen ,&nbsp;Taru Tukiainen ,&nbsp;Ellie Phelan ,&nbsp;Margaux Billen ,&nbsp;Joanna P. Simpson ,&nbsp;Rebecca M. Reynolds ,&nbsp;Natalie Z.M. Homer ,&nbsp;Katri Räikkönen","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107758","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107758","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Maternal prenatal depression and anxiety (PDA) have been associated with increased risks of adverse birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. While fetal exposure to too high or low levels of steroid hormones has been proposed as a potential biological mechanism underlying these effects, few studies have directly investigated this hypothesis using fetal tissue samples, and the existing studies have been limited to examining cortisol, cortisone or testosterone. We studied associations between PDA and steroid hormones in amniotic fluid by measuring a panel of 17 steroid hormones – including progestogens, mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids, androgens and estrogens – and their substrate-to-product ratios in 173 women with singleton pregnancies undergoing amniocentesis during second trimester. The fetuses had no chromosomal abnormalities. We defined any PDA as meeting at least one of the following criteria: reported symptoms above clinical cut off (CES-D ≥ 20 or STAI state or trait anxiety ≥ 40) during pregnancy, lifetime diagnosis (ICD-10 codes F31–33, F41–43), and/or lifetime medication purchases (ATC-codes N06A, N05B). Elastic net regression identified two glucocorticoid metabolites, 20α-dihydrocortisol and 5β-tetrahydrocortisol, with lower amniotic fluid levels in fetuses of mothers with PDA compared to those without PDA (unadjusted mean difference −0.37 SD units, 95 % CI: [−0.68, −0.07]; and −0.40 SD units, 95 % CI: [−0.70, −0.10], respectively). The model with both steroids remained significant after adjusting for maternal age, body mass index, education, smoking during pregnancy, parity, gestational age at amniocentesis and fetal sex, and in sensitivity analyses excluding mothers with diabetes and hypertensive disorders (p-values &lt; .05) and was not moderated by fetal sex (p-value &gt; .40). PDA was not significantly associated with any substrate-to-product ratios of the steroids, used as proxies of steroid hormone metabolizing enzymes, after correction for multiple testing. This study provides support for the prenatal programming hypothesis of PDA influencing fetal environment through suboptimal levels of steroid hormones and highlights the need to expand to a comprehensive panel of steroid metabolism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107758"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146019581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Altered placental expression of neurotransmitter and stress-related molecules in first-episode psychosis during pregnancy: Implications for cytoarchitecture and function","authors":"Cielo García-Montero ,&nbsp;Óscar Fraile-Martinez ,&nbsp;Diego Liviu Boaru ,&nbsp;Patricia de Castro-Martinez ,&nbsp;Diego De Leon-Oliva ,&nbsp;Beatriz García-González ,&nbsp;Isabel Pérez-González ,&nbsp;Coral Bravo ,&nbsp;Juan A.De Leon-Luis ,&nbsp;Raul Diaz-Pedrero ,&nbsp;Laura Lopez-Gonzalez ,&nbsp;Silvestra Barrena-Blázquez ,&nbsp;Julia Bujan ,&nbsp;Natalio García-Honduvilla ,&nbsp;Miguel Ángel Alvarez-Mon ,&nbsp;Marta Presa ,&nbsp;Guillermo Lahera ,&nbsp;Melchor Alvarez-Mon ,&nbsp;Miguel A. Saez ,&nbsp;Miguel A. Ortega","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107751","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107751","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>First-episode psychosis during pregnancy (FEP-PW) is a rare but serious condition that intersects maternal mental health and placental-fetal biology. While psychosis is characterized by disruptions in perception and cognition, its impact on placental neuroendocrine signaling and fetal development remains poorly understood. The placenta, as a key mediator of intrauterine environment, expresses receptors involved in neurotransmission and stress response, potentially linking maternal psychopathology to fetal neurodevelopmental risk.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study investigates the expression of five critical neuroendocrine and stress-related molecules—dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2), serotonin receptor 1B (HTR1B), glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1), 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (HSD11B2), and melatonin receptor 1B (MTNR1B)—in placental tissue from women with FEP-PW compared to healthy pregnant controls (HC-PW).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Using a prospective case-control design, placental samples from 22 FEP-PW and 20 HC-PW women were analyzed. Gene expression was quantified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and protein localization and abundance assessed via immunohistochemistry (IHC).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Significant alterations in placental gene and protein expression were observed in FEP-PW placentas: DRD2, NR3C1, and HSD11B2 were markedly upregulated (all p &lt; 0.001 at gene and protein levels), whereas HTR1B and MTNR1B were significantly downregulated compared to controls (p &lt; 0.05, p &lt; 0.01 respectively at gene level and p &lt; 0.01, p &lt; 0.001 at protein level). These findings indicate dysregulated dopaminergic, serotonergic, glucocorticoid, and melatonin signaling pathways in the placenta associated with maternal psychosis.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our results provide novel evidence of distinct placental molecular adaptations in FEP-PW, reflecting heightened maternal stress and disrupted neurohormonal environments. These alterations may contribute to adverse placental function and influence fetal neurodevelopmental trajectories, underscoring the placenta’s role as a critical mediator in the maternal-placental-fetal axis in psychiatric disorders. Further research is needed to clarify the functional consequences and explore these molecules as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets in perinatal psychiatry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107751"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"C-reactive protein predicts aggression in adolescent depression: Non-suicidal self-injury moderation and immunomodulatory shift","authors":"Xiaoyuan Han ,&nbsp;Xin Yu ,&nbsp;Xinyuan Hu ,&nbsp;Hailiang Huang ,&nbsp;Guofeng Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiangyu Chen ,&nbsp;Ming Cha ,&nbsp;Lingming Hu ,&nbsp;Ningning Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107756","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107756","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents is frequently accompanied by aggression and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), yet reliable biomarkers for predicting these behavioral risks remain limited. This study employed a combined cross-sectional and longitudinal design to investigate the role of peripheral inflammatory markers in aggression among 214 adolescent inpatients with MDD and 60 healthy controls. We found that C-reactive protein (CRP) emerged as notable independent predictor of aggressive behavior, showing a high area under the curve (AUC=0.91) in this sample, suggesting its potential discriminatory performance that warrants further validation. Notably, NSSI significantly moderated the CRP-aggression link, with a stronger association observed in patients without NSSI. Furthermore, sex-specific IL-6 elevations were identified in female NSSI⁺ patients. Longitudinal analyses revealed a dynamic \"immunomodulatory shift,\" where systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) transitioned from positive to negative predictors of aggression over time. These preliminary findings highlight the potential of CRP as a clinically accessible indicator for aggression risk and underscore the temporal complexity of immune–behavior interactions in adolescent depression. These preliminary findings remain to be verified through independent cohorts in future studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107756"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146011824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Linking allostatic load, heart rate variability and brain functional networks and structures in healthy men","authors":"Juan M. Solano-Atehortua ,&nbsp;Gabriel Castrillón ,&nbsp;Jazmin X. Suarez-Revelo ,&nbsp;Juan D. Sánchez-López ,&nbsp;Daniel A. Vargas-Tejada ,&nbsp;Hawkins-Caicedo Valentina ,&nbsp;Juan C. Calderón ,&nbsp;Jaime Gallo-Villegas ,&nbsp;Yedselt V. Ospina-Serrano ,&nbsp;Juan D. Caicedo-Jaramillo ,&nbsp;Ana L. Miranda-Angulo","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107759","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107759","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>The allostatic load index (ALI) measures the cumulative physiological burden exerted on the body by chronic stress known as allostatic load (AL). The relationship between ALI and heart rate variability (HRV), as well as the brain moderation effect on this relationship in healthy individuals, is underexplored.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In this cross-sectional study of 88 healthy men (21–40 years) from Medellín, Colombia, we calculated two ALIs composed of four and seven biomarkers (ALI-4 and ALI-7) using a quartile-based risk summation method. Functional and structural neuroimaging metrics were derived from magnetic resonance imaging. Multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the associations between the ALIs and HRV metrics derived from a 24-hour Holter. Exploratory interaction models tested whether the functional connectivity strength (FCS) of default mode (DMN), salience (SN) and control subnetworks (CEN), their cortical thickness as well as the volume of subcortical structures, moderated the ALI–HRV association.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>ALI-7 was positively associated with the LF/HF ratio (β = 0.09, <em>p</em> = 0.004, 95 % CI = 0.03–0.15). Exploratory interactions suggested that ALI-7’s association with the standard deviation of the NN intervals (SDNN) was moderated by the FCS in the posterior DMN and by cortical thickness in the anterior SN. However, none of these interactions remained significant after false discovery rate correction.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>In healthy men, higher ALI was associated with reduced HRV as indicated by higher LF/HF ratio. Larger studies, including women, are needed to confirm the predictive value of ALI-7 and to elucidate the brain moderation effect on the AL-HRV relationship.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107759"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146019517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}