Psychoneuroendocrinology最新文献

{"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":"2026-04-01","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":"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":"2026-04-01","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":"Receiving caregiver support and its association with hair hormones in people living with Alzheimer’s disease: The role of caregivers’ perspective taking","authors":"Meng Huo ,&nbsp;Kyungmin Kim ,&nbsp;Casey K. Brown ,&nbsp;Megan Gilligan ,&nbsp;Wen Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107746","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107746","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Receiving support in later life is often experienced as stressful, but for people living with dementia (PLWD) support is an unavoidable necessity for daily functioning. The current study examined the association between receiving support in this unique context and PLWD’s hair cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and DHEA-to-cortisol ratio, which serve as non-invasive, objective physiological measures that may reflect longer-term HPA-axis activity related to stress. Further, we explored whether caregivers’ perspective taking—their ability to understand PLWD’s thoughts and feelings—moderated associations between support receipt and hair hormones. Participants included 58 couples managing mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (<em>M</em>_age = 77.60 for PLWD; <em>M</em>_age = 75.48 for caregivers). PLWD self-reported the frequency of emotional and practical support received from their spousal caregivers. Hair samples were collected from the posterior vertex to assess cortisol and DHEA concentrations and were assayed using enzyme immunoassay (EIA) method. Caregivers reported their own perspective taking and both spouses’ demographic characteristics. Multiple regressions showed that receiving more frequent emotional support and less frequent practical support from spousal caregivers were associated with higher hair cortisol concentrations in PLWD. Yet, these associations were only evident if caregivers had greater perspective taking. In addition, caregiver perspective taking exacerbated the negative association between receiving emotional support and the DHEA-to-cortisol ratio. By using hair hormones, this study offers preliminary insights into PLWD’s stress-related physiological processes in the context of intensive caregiving. Findings refine our understanding of the benefits and costs of caregivers' perspective taking and inform caregiver interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107746"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145981972","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 effect of timing and tempo of adrenarche on depression and anxiety in adolescence: A prospective cohort analysis","authors":"Dongmei Luo ,&nbsp;Susan M. Sawyer ,&nbsp;Hanafi Mohamad Husin ,&nbsp;S. Ghazaleh Dashti ,&nbsp;Nandita Vijayakumar","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107776","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107776","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>A considerable proportion of life-time depression and anxiety emerges during childhood and adolescence. Some research has shown that pubertal maturity is associated with depression and anxiety. While most research has focused on gonadarche, the earlier phase of adrenarche remains less explored and understood. We aimed to examine the effects of timing and tempo of adrenarche on incidence and chronicity of depression and anxiety during adolescence.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Data were from the Child to Adult Transition Study (CATS), a longitudinal population-based cohort from Melbourne, Australia. CATS recruited Grade 3 students in 2012, who were followed up annually across adolescence. Adrenarchal timing was modelled as the level of adrenal hormones (DHEA, DHEAS, and testosterone) relative to peers at age 9 and tempo as the adrenal hormone progression rate relative to peers between 9 and 12. Incidence and chronicity of common mental disorders were defined using self-reported depressive and anxiety symptoms collected annually from age 12–18. G-computation was used to adjust for confounding. Missing data were handled via multiple imputation using chained equations.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The study comprised 667 females and 572 males. Depression incidence (76 % females, 44 % males) and chronicity (34 % females, 7 % males) and anxiety incidence (69 % females, 36 % males) and chronicity (29 % females, 7 % males) were more common in female adolescents than males. Regardless of using DHEA, DHEAS, or testosterone as the index for adrenarche, the risk ratios for the association between timing and tempo of adrenarche and the incidence and chronicity of depression or anxiety were close to null and 95 % confidence intervals were inconclusive.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study did not identify a meaningful effect of adrenarchal timing and tempo on depression and anxiety in adolescents, suggesting that individual differences in adrenarche may not influence risk for later significant mental health difficulties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107776"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146133037","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":"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":"2026-04-01","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":"Sex-specific associations between loneliness and hair cortisol among older African American adults","authors":"Katherine Knauft ,&nbsp;Jacqueline Rodriguez-Stanley ,&nbsp;Kristin M. Davis ,&nbsp;Lance M. Rappaport ,&nbsp;Francesca Luca ,&nbsp;Nataria T. Joseph ,&nbsp;Christopher G. Engeland ,&nbsp;Samuele Zilioli","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107755","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107755","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Loneliness has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which disproportionately affects African American adults. Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as measured by long-term accumulation of cortisol in hair, may be one pathway through which loneliness increases cardiovascular disease risk. However, the relationship between loneliness and hair cortisol levels among African American adults has not yet been explored. Further, both loneliness and cortisol activity differ across age and sex. To better understand the association between loneliness and HPA axis activity among middle-aged and older African American adults, the present study examined the degree to which age and sex interacted with loneliness to predict hair cortisol concentrations. Data were obtained from 340 African American adults (<em>M</em>_age = 66.06, <em>SD</em> = 5.46, range = 55–75; 87.1 % female), who provided hair samples and reported their loneliness level as a part of The Heart of Detroit Study. Results showed that sex significantly moderated the association between loneliness and hair cortisol. Loneliness was positively associated with hair cortisol concentrations in male, but not female, participants. These findings suggest that sex-specific associations may exist between loneliness and hair cortisol.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107755"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145963371","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":"Mediating role of maternal cortisol in the association between maternal serum creatinine and fetal cortisol exposure","authors":"Ziyan Lin ,&nbsp;Zhiqi Zhang ,&nbsp;Guoping Yang ,&nbsp;Nan Wang ,&nbsp;Jinfu Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107772","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107772","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Cortisol is the principal glucocorticoid regulated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and plays a crucial role in maintaining pregnancy and promoting fetal growth and development. Renal function is a key determinant of cortisol exposure. Given that serum creatinine serves as a key biomarker of renal function, it is plausible that maternal creatinine levels contribute to the regulation of fetal cortisol exposure, although the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study was designed to (1) examine the association between maternal serum creatinine and umbilical cord blood cortisol levels, (2) assess the potential mediating role of maternal cortisol in this relationship, and (3) investigate corresponding changes in the protein expression of placental 11β-HSD1 and 11β-HSD2.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study employed a paired maternal–fetal design. At delivery, maternal serum, umbilical cord blood, and placental tissue were collected simultaneously from 103 mother–newborn pairs. Cortisol and cortisone levels in maternal and cord blood were measured, and protein expression of 11β-HSD1 and 11β-HSD2 in placental tissue was analyzed. Correlation and mediation analyses were performed to assess the relationships among maternal serum creatinine, maternal cortisol, and cord blood cortisol.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Each unit increase in maternal serum creatinine was associated with a significant decrease in cord blood cortisol levels. Maternal cortisol levels were positively correlated with cord blood cortisol. Mediation analysis showed that maternal cortisol mediated 31.75 % of the association between maternal creatinine and cord blood cortisol. In the high-creatinine conditions, placental expression of 11β-HSD1 was significantly decreased, while expression of 11β-HSD2 was increased.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Maternal cortisol showed evidence of partial mediation in the association between maternal renal function and fetal cortisol exposure. This observational finding highlights a potential link between maternal renal function and fetal glucocorticoid exposure and provides a basis for future studies to investigate the role of placental glucocorticoid regulation and fetal HPA axis development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107772"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146133085","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":"Phase-dependent cytokine signatures in alcohol use disorder: A systematic review of psychoneuroimmune links to withdrawal severity and return to drinking","authors":"Svetlana Sokolova,&nbsp;Valentin Skryabin,&nbsp;Sergei Pozdniakov,&nbsp;Valentina Ivanchenko,&nbsp;Natalia Vinokurova,&nbsp;Liliya Ardamatskaya,&nbsp;Anton Masyakin","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107771","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107771","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Neuroimmune dysregulation is increasingly implicated in alcohol use disorder (AUD), yet the clinical utility of cytokine biomarkers remains unclear.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To synthesise evidence linking pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines to AUD severity, withdrawal symptoms, and return-to-drinking risk, with emphasis on temporal staging and translational implications.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 and PROSPERO (CRD420251060888). Six databases and grey literature sources were searched from January 1, 2000 to October 31, 2025 (updated for revision). Eligible studies assessed IL-6, IL-1β, IL-10, TNF-α, or CRP in adults with AUD or alcohol withdrawal, and reported correlations with validated clinical severity scales (e.g., AUDIT, CIWA-Ar) or relapse outcomes. Risk of bias, evidence certainty (GRADE), and heterogeneity were systematically evaluated.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Thirteen studies (N = 1458) were included across active drinking/non-treatment-seeking samples, early abstinence/withdrawal (≤14 days), and post-detoxification/treatment-follow-up contexts where acute withdrawal was absent or not the primary focus. In early abstinence, IL-6 tended to be higher in AUD/AWS than controls; however, the pooled estimate was large but imprecise and highly heterogeneous (random-effects Hedges’ g =1.21, 95 % CI −0.08–2.50; 2 studies; I²≈91 %). Higher baseline CRP was associated with lower subsequent alcohol use and weaker cue-reactivity in individual cohorts, but findings were heterogeneous and not pooled. For return-to-drinking outcomes, a single study provided extractable IL-1β group data comparing participants who returned to drinking with those who maintained abstinence; the single-study standardized effect was non-significant (Hedges’ g=0.40, 95 % CI −0.12–0.92). Lower IL-17RB expression was associated with reduced relapse-free survival in a single study and should be considered preliminary. Methodological variability and incomplete control for hepatic/metabolic confounding limited pooling for several cytokines.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Evidence supports phase-dependent cytokine signals in AUD, with IL-6 most consistently elevated during early abstinence and CRP showing pragmatic translational potential but substantial methodological heterogeneity. Evidence for IL-1β and IL-17RB as relapse-related markers remains preliminary due to limited extractable and non-uniform outcome reporting. Standardised, sex-stratified longitudinal studies with rigorous control for hepatic/metabolic factors and CNS validation are warranted.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107771"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079488","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":"Stress protection by your group – increasing group size reduces physiological stress contagion","authors":"Theresa Dorn ,&nbsp;Alisa Auer ,&nbsp;Lisa-Marie Walther ,&nbsp;Christine Sauter ,&nbsp;Elisabeth Bandle ,&nbsp;Petra H. Wirtz","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background &amp; objectives</h3><div>Stress contagion refers to the spread of stress from one person to another. We previously established a standardized, controlled experimental paradigm to study stress contagion in humans. While stress contagion effects have been characterized on a physiological level, potential modulating factors are beginning to be understood. Using our paradigm, we tested for the first time whether the number of observers, i.e. observer group size, modulates physiological stress contagion in stress observers.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Our experimental condition comprised three groups of stress observers varying in group sizes of two (“Group 1”, n = 30), three (“Group 2”, n = 31), or more observers (“Group 3”, n = 31), with each group observing one stressed participant. The data assessment comprised up to 5 healthy young male participants, with one participant randomly assigned to undergo an adapted version of the Trier Social Stress Test (“TSST participants”, n = 57) and the remaining participants observing him disguised as panel member(s) (“stress observers”, n = 92) in addition to one panel confederate. We repeatedly assessed salivary cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase, and heart rate.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The TSST induced significant increases in all physiological parameters under study (<em>p</em> ´ s &lt; =.025) without reactivity differences between TSST participants of the three experimental groups (<em>p</em> ´ s &gt; =.23). When comparing the physiological reactivity to direct stress observation, the stress-observer-groups significantly differed in terms of cortisol (<em>p</em> = .029) with overall higher reactivity in smaller observer groups. Further analyses confirmed a linear effect in terms of higher reactivity with lower observer group size (<em>p</em> = .046). There were no group-by-time interactions in salivary alpha-amylase and heart rate reactivity.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>Our results suggest that when directly observing stress in other individuals, observer group size has a differential effect on physiological stress contagion systems. While we found evidence for modulating effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity in terms of higher cortisol stress contagion reactivity with lower observer group size, observer group size did not relate to the sympathetic–adrenal–medullary axis. Potential implications remain to be elucidated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":"186 ","pages":"Article 107747"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039020","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":"2026-04-01","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}