- Email: [email protected]
Endocrine response to social challenges in women: A case study with female soccer players
Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 27 (2006) 134–138 www.elsevier.com/locate/yfrne
ICN 2006 Conference Abstracts
Psychoneuroendocrinology A decrease in the plasma DHEA to cortisol ratio during smoking abstinence predicts relapse Ann M. Rasmusson a,b, Ran Wu c, Prashni Paliwal d, George M. Anderson e, Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin c a Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA b VA National Center for PTSD, Clinical Neuroscience Division, West Haven, CT, USA c Department of Psychiatry and Transdiscipliniary Tobacco Use Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA d Department of Psychiatry and Division of Women’s Behavioral Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA e Child Study Center, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA E-mail address: [email protected] (A.M. Rasmusson) Rationale: Several studies suggest that women have more difficulty than men with smoking cessation. Many smoking withdrawal symptoms are also symptoms of depression, a disorder with an increased incidence and prevalence in women. In depression, dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is common with high baseline cortisol levels and diminished glucocorticoid negative feedback often reported. Studies have also reported a negative relationship between depressive symptoms and plasma levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or its sulfated metabolite, DHEAS. Recent studies suggest, however, that the ratio between DHEA(S) and cortisol may better predict mood and cognition than levels of either steroid alone. We thus hypothesized that smoking cessation-induced changes in the plasma DHEA(S) to cortisol ratio would correlate with changes in depressive symptoms and predict relapse in a gender-specific manner. Methods: Subjects were healthy non-medicated men and women, aged 39 ± 12 years, who smoked, on average, 22 cigarettes per day. Subjects participated in a 4-week smoking cessation program that employed contingency management techniques to reinforce abstinence during the first week only. Self-reported depressive (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale: CESD) and
doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2006.03.273
withdrawal symptoms, as well as plasma steroid levels were measured before (Day 0) and after 8 days (Day 8) of biochemically verified smoking abstinence. Relapse status at Day 15 was then determined. Results: Women and men did not differ by age, ethnicity, number of cigarettes smoked per day, cotinine level, smoking dependence scores, or pre-quit depressive symptoms. In the 63 subjects who maintained abstinence for 8 days, there was a trend for CESD scores to change differently between Day 0 and Day 8 in those who subsequently relapsed (n = 21) versus those who maintained abstinence: F (1, 59) = 3.45, p = 0.07, increasing in the relapsed subjects. Of the 25 subjects with complete plasma steroid data, 9 relapsed. There was an association between Day 15 relapse status and the change in the plasma DHEA/cortisol ratio between Day 0 and Day 8 of abstinence: F (1, 20) = 10.82, p = 0.0035. The ratio was slightly higher at baseline and dropped by Day 8 in the subjects who relapsed between Day 8 and 15, but remained stable in the subjects who maintained abstinence. Changes in the DHEA/cortisol ratio predicted changes in depressive and withdrawal symptoms in the women only. Conclusion: A decrease in the plasma DHEA/cortisol ratio during 8 days of smoking abstinence was associated with relapse over the following week. Further research is needed to fully characterize sex-specific relationships between abstinence-induced changes in neuroactive steroid levels, depressive symptoms, and relapse. Such research may lead to new interventions for refractory smoking dependence. (Supported by the Yale Interdisciplinary Research Scholar Program on Women & Drug Abuse via the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) & NIDA 1K12DA14038-01, the Yale Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center: P50DA13334, and a VA Merit Award to Dr. Rasmusson.) doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2006.03.274
Endocrine response to social challenges in women: A case study with female soccer players Rui F. Oliveira, Taˆnia Oliveira, Maria J. Gouveia, Pedro L. Almeida Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada, Lisboa, Portugal
Abstracts / Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 27 (2006) 134–138
Individuals interact with each other frequently and these interactions modulate subsequent interactions among them and with other group members. Thus, individuals must fine-tune the expression of their social behavior to the social environment in which they live, and hormones may be seen as physiological mediators of the modulation of social behavior by social context. Androgens are one of the major endocrine candidates to play such a mediator role since, apart from playing a major role in male reproduction, they also respond to social interactions. In male humans it has been shown that testosterone (T) increases in anticipation of a sports contest and that T levels remain high in winners and decrease to baseline values in losers. Here, we investigated if an androgen response to a social challenge is also present in females. We have collected saliva from and administered questionnaires to female soccer players both before and after the final match of the Portuguese Female soccer league. The variation in T levels was positive in the winners and negative in the losers and there was a significant difference in the T variation over the game between the winners and the losers. T levels measured at the same hour in a neutral day (i.e., the same week day but without a game) showed no significant variation in both teams. Since the androgen response has been associated with mood or status changes, we have also collected data on mood changes using the POMS inventory. There were significant differences in all the POMS subscales between winners and losers, with positive mood changes observed in winners and negative changes observed in losers. Comparing T levels between the neutral and the match day also indicate an anticipation effect present in playsers of both teams (i.e., increase T levels before the dtart of the game). Taken together these results suggest that androgens also respond to social challenges in human females and that mood changes may play a key role as psychological moderators of this response. doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2006.03.275
Gonadal hormones modulate place preference performance through reductions in RGS proteins J.L. Sharifi, J.I. Koenig Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Women and female rats have increased sensitivity and vulnerability to the effects of psychostimulants. The molecular events leading to enhanced behavioral responses to stimulants in females is unclear but studies have shown that regulators of G-protein signaling-9 (RGS9) is an important modulator of behavioral responses to cocaine and amphetamine. Previously, we reported that estradiol reduces RGS9 mRNA expression in the nucleus accumbens. The present studies were designed to deter-
135
mine whether estradiol effects on RGS9 underlie the enhanced sensitivity of females to amphetamine and whether or not progesterone would modulate this effect. Female Sprague–Dawley rats were ovariectomized (OVX) and replaced with 17-beta estradiol (80 lg/kg) or vehicle. Estradiol-treated females had enhanced amphetamine conditioned place preference (CPP) as compared to OVX females treated with vehicle. Progesterone administration (2.5 mg/kg) potentiates the estradiol effect in females. In situ hybridization histochemistry and Western blotting reveal an inverse correlation between RGS9 protein expression in the NAc shell and the hormonal enhancement of CPP. The role of estrogen receptor alpha and beta are now being evaluated. These data provide insight into the mechanism by which estrogen and/or sex modulate mesoaccumbal dopamine receptor signaling with potential relevance for addictive behaviors. (Supported by NIH Grant # F31 DA017027-01.) doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2006.03.276
Effect of estradiol benzoate microinjected into median raphe nucleus on anxiety in the conditioned fear test Telma Gonc¸alves Carneiro Spera de Andrade, Viviane Avanzi de Lima Paulista State University, UNESP Assis, Sa˜o Paulo, Brazil Serotonin has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety disorders. Gender differences in serotonergic functions have been observed in animal models of anxiety. Several studies have shown changes in the serotonergic activity correlated to the phases of the female hormonal cycle, and that ovarian hormones act on the synthesis, liberation, reuptake, and catabolism of 5-HT. Clinical studies have reported marked emotional alterations with periods of increased anxiety, during low-estrogen phases of the hormonal cycle. Estrogen replacement improves those symptoms and it also increases serotonergic neurotransmission. In the same direction, experimental studies in rodents using animal models of anxiety have shown anxiety reduction during estrogenic phases of the hormonal cycle as well as after estrogen administration. It seems that estrogen replacement increases serotonergic neurotransmission, influencing the sensitivity of 5-HT1A receptors in several brain areas, especially in the hippocampus and raphe nuclei. The existence of estrogen receptors (ER) in cellular bodies of the median raphe neurones has been demonstrated. This nucleus is the main source of ascending serotonergic pathways in the brain and has been involved in the genesis of emotional disturbances, such as anxiety and depression. Injection of estradiol into the MRN impairs the 5-HT innervation of the hippocampus, which is critical for the process of behavioral inhibition that is supposed to underlie anxiety. Recently, the microinjection of the estradiol benzoate into MRN occasioned an anxiolytic effect in the elevated plus-
ICN 2006 Conference Abstracts
Psychoneuroendocrinology A decrease in the plasma DHEA to cortisol ratio during smoking abstinence predicts relapse Ann M. Rasmusson a,b, Ran Wu c, Prashni Paliwal d, George M. Anderson e, Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin c a Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA b VA National Center for PTSD, Clinical Neuroscience Division, West Haven, CT, USA c Department of Psychiatry and Transdiscipliniary Tobacco Use Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA d Department of Psychiatry and Division of Women’s Behavioral Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA e Child Study Center, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA E-mail address: [email protected] (A.M. Rasmusson) Rationale: Several studies suggest that women have more difficulty than men with smoking cessation. Many smoking withdrawal symptoms are also symptoms of depression, a disorder with an increased incidence and prevalence in women. In depression, dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is common with high baseline cortisol levels and diminished glucocorticoid negative feedback often reported. Studies have also reported a negative relationship between depressive symptoms and plasma levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or its sulfated metabolite, DHEAS. Recent studies suggest, however, that the ratio between DHEA(S) and cortisol may better predict mood and cognition than levels of either steroid alone. We thus hypothesized that smoking cessation-induced changes in the plasma DHEA(S) to cortisol ratio would correlate with changes in depressive symptoms and predict relapse in a gender-specific manner. Methods: Subjects were healthy non-medicated men and women, aged 39 ± 12 years, who smoked, on average, 22 cigarettes per day. Subjects participated in a 4-week smoking cessation program that employed contingency management techniques to reinforce abstinence during the first week only. Self-reported depressive (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale: CESD) and
doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2006.03.273
withdrawal symptoms, as well as plasma steroid levels were measured before (Day 0) and after 8 days (Day 8) of biochemically verified smoking abstinence. Relapse status at Day 15 was then determined. Results: Women and men did not differ by age, ethnicity, number of cigarettes smoked per day, cotinine level, smoking dependence scores, or pre-quit depressive symptoms. In the 63 subjects who maintained abstinence for 8 days, there was a trend for CESD scores to change differently between Day 0 and Day 8 in those who subsequently relapsed (n = 21) versus those who maintained abstinence: F (1, 59) = 3.45, p = 0.07, increasing in the relapsed subjects. Of the 25 subjects with complete plasma steroid data, 9 relapsed. There was an association between Day 15 relapse status and the change in the plasma DHEA/cortisol ratio between Day 0 and Day 8 of abstinence: F (1, 20) = 10.82, p = 0.0035. The ratio was slightly higher at baseline and dropped by Day 8 in the subjects who relapsed between Day 8 and 15, but remained stable in the subjects who maintained abstinence. Changes in the DHEA/cortisol ratio predicted changes in depressive and withdrawal symptoms in the women only. Conclusion: A decrease in the plasma DHEA/cortisol ratio during 8 days of smoking abstinence was associated with relapse over the following week. Further research is needed to fully characterize sex-specific relationships between abstinence-induced changes in neuroactive steroid levels, depressive symptoms, and relapse. Such research may lead to new interventions for refractory smoking dependence. (Supported by the Yale Interdisciplinary Research Scholar Program on Women & Drug Abuse via the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) & NIDA 1K12DA14038-01, the Yale Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center: P50DA13334, and a VA Merit Award to Dr. Rasmusson.) doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2006.03.274
Endocrine response to social challenges in women: A case study with female soccer players Rui F. Oliveira, Taˆnia Oliveira, Maria J. Gouveia, Pedro L. Almeida Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada, Lisboa, Portugal
Abstracts / Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 27 (2006) 134–138
Individuals interact with each other frequently and these interactions modulate subsequent interactions among them and with other group members. Thus, individuals must fine-tune the expression of their social behavior to the social environment in which they live, and hormones may be seen as physiological mediators of the modulation of social behavior by social context. Androgens are one of the major endocrine candidates to play such a mediator role since, apart from playing a major role in male reproduction, they also respond to social interactions. In male humans it has been shown that testosterone (T) increases in anticipation of a sports contest and that T levels remain high in winners and decrease to baseline values in losers. Here, we investigated if an androgen response to a social challenge is also present in females. We have collected saliva from and administered questionnaires to female soccer players both before and after the final match of the Portuguese Female soccer league. The variation in T levels was positive in the winners and negative in the losers and there was a significant difference in the T variation over the game between the winners and the losers. T levels measured at the same hour in a neutral day (i.e., the same week day but without a game) showed no significant variation in both teams. Since the androgen response has been associated with mood or status changes, we have also collected data on mood changes using the POMS inventory. There were significant differences in all the POMS subscales between winners and losers, with positive mood changes observed in winners and negative changes observed in losers. Comparing T levels between the neutral and the match day also indicate an anticipation effect present in playsers of both teams (i.e., increase T levels before the dtart of the game). Taken together these results suggest that androgens also respond to social challenges in human females and that mood changes may play a key role as psychological moderators of this response. doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2006.03.275
Gonadal hormones modulate place preference performance through reductions in RGS proteins J.L. Sharifi, J.I. Koenig Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Women and female rats have increased sensitivity and vulnerability to the effects of psychostimulants. The molecular events leading to enhanced behavioral responses to stimulants in females is unclear but studies have shown that regulators of G-protein signaling-9 (RGS9) is an important modulator of behavioral responses to cocaine and amphetamine. Previously, we reported that estradiol reduces RGS9 mRNA expression in the nucleus accumbens. The present studies were designed to deter-
135
mine whether estradiol effects on RGS9 underlie the enhanced sensitivity of females to amphetamine and whether or not progesterone would modulate this effect. Female Sprague–Dawley rats were ovariectomized (OVX) and replaced with 17-beta estradiol (80 lg/kg) or vehicle. Estradiol-treated females had enhanced amphetamine conditioned place preference (CPP) as compared to OVX females treated with vehicle. Progesterone administration (2.5 mg/kg) potentiates the estradiol effect in females. In situ hybridization histochemistry and Western blotting reveal an inverse correlation between RGS9 protein expression in the NAc shell and the hormonal enhancement of CPP. The role of estrogen receptor alpha and beta are now being evaluated. These data provide insight into the mechanism by which estrogen and/or sex modulate mesoaccumbal dopamine receptor signaling with potential relevance for addictive behaviors. (Supported by NIH Grant # F31 DA017027-01.) doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2006.03.276
Effect of estradiol benzoate microinjected into median raphe nucleus on anxiety in the conditioned fear test Telma Gonc¸alves Carneiro Spera de Andrade, Viviane Avanzi de Lima Paulista State University, UNESP Assis, Sa˜o Paulo, Brazil Serotonin has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety disorders. Gender differences in serotonergic functions have been observed in animal models of anxiety. Several studies have shown changes in the serotonergic activity correlated to the phases of the female hormonal cycle, and that ovarian hormones act on the synthesis, liberation, reuptake, and catabolism of 5-HT. Clinical studies have reported marked emotional alterations with periods of increased anxiety, during low-estrogen phases of the hormonal cycle. Estrogen replacement improves those symptoms and it also increases serotonergic neurotransmission. In the same direction, experimental studies in rodents using animal models of anxiety have shown anxiety reduction during estrogenic phases of the hormonal cycle as well as after estrogen administration. It seems that estrogen replacement increases serotonergic neurotransmission, influencing the sensitivity of 5-HT1A receptors in several brain areas, especially in the hippocampus and raphe nuclei. The existence of estrogen receptors (ER) in cellular bodies of the median raphe neurones has been demonstrated. This nucleus is the main source of ascending serotonergic pathways in the brain and has been involved in the genesis of emotional disturbances, such as anxiety and depression. Injection of estradiol into the MRN impairs the 5-HT innervation of the hippocampus, which is critical for the process of behavioral inhibition that is supposed to underlie anxiety. Recently, the microinjection of the estradiol benzoate into MRN occasioned an anxiolytic effect in the elevated plus-