Biological sensitivity to context: The interactive effects
of stress reactivity and family adversity on socio — emotional behavior and school readiness
We teach a curriculum that is designed to support social and emotional learning and cultivate awareness
of stress reactivity in children and adolescents.
Frequent, strong, or prolonged stress responses early in life are thus able to «set» a relatively lower threshold for future stress responses and to promote a high degree
of stress reactivity.23 So although stress reactivity may be genetically predisposed, it is nonetheless shaped by early individual experiences as well.
At baseline, behavioral signs
of stress reactivity in children's peer entry behavior were significantly associated with parent ratings of child internalizing behavior (r = 0.37, P <.001), child dysregulation (r = 0.30, P =.004), and 2 different indices of disruptive behavior during parent - child play interactions (r = 0.45, P <.001; r = 0.35, P =.008).40 The peer entry procedure appears to be stressful in general and to elicit more signs of stress in children with mental health problems.
Early adversity and the development
of stress reactivity and regulation.
In addition to the basic substrates
of stress reactivity and regulation, patterns of exchange in the early caregiving relationship form the template for the child's emerging expectations of the self and others.6, 8 Over time, relationships with siblings, peers, and other adults may further canalize or challenge these early relational schemas.
An evolutionary — developmental theory of the origins and functions
of stress reactivity
Not exact matches
But in infants whose mothers had reported that there was a lot
of arguing at home, the fMRI showed flares
of activity in regions
of the brain associated with emotion,
stress reactivity, and self - regulation.
Maternal care, gene expression, and the transmission
of individual differences in
stress reactivity across generations.
For example, even a few minutes
of separation in rats causes lifelong changes in
stress response and
stress reactivity (e.g., Levine, 2005; Porges, 2011).
Early life
stress dampens
stress responsiveness in adolescence: Evaluation
of neuroendocrine
reactivity and coping behavior.Psychoneuroendocrinology.
The study, published in the journal G3: Genes Genomes Genetics, adds to a growing body
of evidence suggesting that domestication alters animals»
reactivity to
stress.
In a Depression and Anxiety study that surveyed youth following the terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston marathon, adolescents with lower levels
of sympathetic
reactivity (the flight or fight response) before the attack developed posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms only following high exposure to media coverage
of the attack.
Traumatric
stress reactivity promotes excessive alcohol drinking and alters the balance
of prefrontal cortex - amygdala activity.
In different experiments we will examine the effects
of exogenous (intranasal oxytocin) and endogenous (providing social support) oxytocin on fear and reward related brain activation patterns, functional connectivity,
stress reactivity and trauma - related psychopathology symptoms.
Impact
of antenatal synthetic glucocorticoid exposure on endocrine
stress reactivity in term - born children
Prenatal
stress selectively alters the
reactivity of the hypothalamic - pituitary adrenal system in the female rat
She works on honey bees, examining the role
of dopamine in associative olfactory learning and the impact
of Varroa and its associated viruses on
stress reactivity in bees.
A role for the androgen metabolite, 5alpha - androstane - 3beta, 17 beta - diol, in modulating oestrogen receptor beta - mediated regulation
of hormonal
stress reactivity..
There were also several studies that reported changes in physiological and cognitive outcomes including increased heart rate variability, decreased cortisol concentration, improved respiratory muscle and abdominal strength, greater flexibility, improved planning and execution
of cognitive tasks, and even declines in physiological
stress reactivity.
Lipoic acid, an antioxidant used in the treatment
of diabetic neuropathy, to improve blood vessel
reactivity and decrease oxidative
stress in people with high cholesterol
Randomized Controlled Trial
of Mindfulness Meditation for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Effects on Anxiety and
Stress Reactivity.
Caffeine increases the
reactivity of the body to the
stress of everyday life and increased levels
of stress negatively affect weight loss.
After reviewing the benefits
of mindfulness practices — like reduced
stress, boosted working memory, and lowered emotional
reactivity — it was no longer a nice - to - have, but rather a necessity.
Environmental enrichment reverses the effects
of maternal separation on
stress reactivity.
Additionally, dog ownership was found to be tied to lower «
reactivity to
stress,» and faster recovery
of blood pressure following a stressful event.
Evidence - Based Review
of Surgical Treatment for Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture Beyond Culture: Unraveling the Role
of Bacteria in Gastrointestinal Disease Feline Pancreatitis Understanding Intestinal Microbiota - A Role for Probiotics Repair
of Oro - Nasal Fistulae Canine Mast Cell Tumors Feline IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease): Diets, Bacteria, Diagnosis Addressing Behavioral Welfare
of Dogs and Cats at Home and at the Veterinary Clinic Evidence - Based Approach to Management
of Chronic Kidney Disease Diagnosis and Management
of Feline Hyperthyroidism The Effect
of Stress, Fear, and Anxiety on Behavioral Health and Welfare Diagnosis and Management
of Feline Diabetes Diagnostic Approach to Lameness MRSA in the Veterinary Environment Canine and Feline Demodicosis Understanding and Working with
Reactivity in Dogs Feline Friendly Handling
At Calm K9, I work with folks whose dogs demonstrate habitual symptoms
of imbalance such as aggression, shyness, fearfulness, selective listening, pushiness, poor leash manners, barking, whining, hyperactivity,
stress,
reactivity to other people or dogs, and more.
A similar sample size
of 34 subjects was sufficient to demonstrate the impact
of TM on blood pressure and cardiovascular
reactivity to
stress in adolescents [29].
Variations in heritability
of cortisol
reactivity to
stress as a function
of early familial adversity among 19 month - old twins
Maternal care, gene expression, and the transmission
of individual differences in
stress reactivity across generations
[00:03:53] Well so there's a couple
of things to kind
of unpack in there so you are exactly right that we know that children who have been exposed to repeated complex trauma we do see changes in their ongoing brain development and brain chemistry and I am no neuroscientist however we know that for example the simple way to think about it is that those are kids who may have changes as you said in their
stress response their
reactivity so they may be kids who you know sort
of fight or flight in sort
of a simplistic way is changed so that they may react in an overexaggerated way or they may also have sort
of an inappropriately low response to danger.
This pervasive pattern
of stress response system hyporesponsivity is inconsistent with patterns observed in the rodent literature following maternal deprivation (1 ⇓ — 3, 46) and challenges some prevailing conceptual models
of early - life adversity and
stress response system development, which argue that adverse environments should lead to elevated physiological
reactivity (47, 48).
Stress paradigms in rodent models have been associated with elevated anxiety and contrasting alterations in neuronal morphology in the hippocampus and amygdala, with dendritic atrophy observed in the hippocampus and increased dendritic arborization in the amygdala.12, 13 Developing rodents deprived of maternal nurturance show decreased hippocampal volume and altered stress reactivity.14 An epigenetic mechanism for this effect has been elaborated.15 Importantly, controlled trials that have randomized institutionalized toddlers to early therapeutic foster care vs institutionalization have documented the deleterious effects of early relative deprivation on cognitive outco
Stress paradigms in rodent models have been associated with elevated anxiety and contrasting alterations in neuronal morphology in the hippocampus and amygdala, with dendritic atrophy observed in the hippocampus and increased dendritic arborization in the amygdala.12, 13 Developing rodents deprived
of maternal nurturance show decreased hippocampal volume and altered
stress reactivity.14 An epigenetic mechanism for this effect has been elaborated.15 Importantly, controlled trials that have randomized institutionalized toddlers to early therapeutic foster care vs institutionalization have documented the deleterious effects of early relative deprivation on cognitive outco
stress reactivity.14 An epigenetic mechanism for this effect has been elaborated.15 Importantly, controlled trials that have randomized institutionalized toddlers to early therapeutic foster care vs institutionalization have documented the deleterious effects
of early relative deprivation on cognitive outcomes.16
Children exposed to institutional rearing exhibited reduced SNS activation to social stressors, blunted vagal withdrawal to a nonsocial stressor, and blunted cortisol
reactivity, indicating a consistent pattern
of reduced engagement
of stress response systems to environmental challenges following early psychosocial deprivation.
Cross-sectional evidence suggests that maternal IPV is associated with decreased lung function19 and increased child asthma risk in early development20 as well as children's behavioral and physiological
stress reactivity and emotional and behavioral development.21 - 23 However, while mothers experiencing IPV show increased levels
of stress, they do not always show deficient parenting.
While no other studies, to our knowledge, have explored the buffering effects
of the caregiving environment in the
stress - asthma association, animal studies have shown that environmental enrichment can reverse the effects
of early
stress experiences on
stress reactivity.51 Laviola et al52 and Morley - Fletcher et al53 have shown that environmental enrichment eliminates the outcomes
of prenatal
stress on corticosterone response and
reactivity to an immune - suppressive agent.
In humans, parental social support has been shown to be inversely associated with asthma prevalence among children.55 Furthermore, maternal sensitivity has been shown to modify the effects
of prenatal
stress experiences on infant
stress reactivity.56
Together, the patterns
of blunted
stress reactivity among children who remained in institutional care might lead to heightened risk for multiple physical and mental health problems.
Intervention effects were evident for cortisol and parasympathetic nervous system
reactivity only among children placed in foster care before age 24 and 18 months, respectively, providing experimental evidence
of a sensitive period in humans during which the environment is particularly likely to alter
stress response system development.
Rhesus and squirrel monkeys exposed to prolonged early - life maternal deprivation exhibit elevated basal levels
of cortisol (7 ⇓ — 9), enhanced glucocorticoid feedback sensitivity (10), and heightened cortisol
reactivity to social
stress in some studies (11, 12), but lower basal cortisol and reduced cortisol
reactivity in others (9, 13, 14).
We found strong evidence for causal effects
of the caregiving environment on ANS
reactivity to social
stress.
In humans, both the HPA system and the autonomic nervous system show developmental changes in infancy, with the HPA axis becoming organized between 2 and 6 months
of age and the autonomic nervous system demonstrating relative stability by 6 to 12 months
of age.63 The HPA axis in particular has been shown to be highly responsive to child - caregiver interactions, with sensitive caregiving programming the HPA axis to become an effective physiological regulator
of stress and insensitive caregiving promoting hyperreactive or hyporeactive HPA systems.17 Several animal models as well as human studies also support the connection between caregiver experiences in early postnatal life and alterations
of autonomic nervous system balance.63 - 65 Furthermore, children who have a history
of sensitive caregiving are more likely to demonstrate optimal affective and behavioral strategies for coping with
stress.66, 67 Therefore, children with histories
of supportive, sensitive caregiving in early development may be better able to self - regulate their physiological, affective, and behavioral responses to environmental stressors and, consequently, less likely to manifest disturbed HPA and autonomic
reactivity that put them at risk for
stress - related illnesses such as asthma.
First, anxious - avoidant pairings exhibited high
stress reactivity in anticipation
of a relationship conflict, a pattern that may take a toll on health over time (e.g., by increasing one's susceptibility to illness or risk factors for disease, such as high blood pressure or inflammatory compounds).
Consistent with the anxious - avoidant dynamics discussed above, couples with an anxious wife and an avoidant husband showed heightened
stress reactivity in anticipation
of the conflict; that is, their cortisol levels skyrocketed when being reminded
of the upcoming relationship stressor.
After reviewing the benefits
of mindfulness practices — like reduced
stress, boosted working memory, and lowered emotional
reactivity — it was no longer a nice - to - have, but rather a necessity.
Separation from the mother in rodents induces physiological and behavioural responses including vocalisation and searching behaviour, corticosterone hormone release and inhibition
of metabolism related to growth and later
stress reactivity [129, 130].
Conscientiousness and
Stress Exposure and
Reactivity: A Prospective Study
of Adolescent Females.
Promoting Resilience and Reducing Secondary Trauma Among Child Welfare Staff (PDF - 1116 KB) ACS - NYU Children's Trauma Institute Describes a project to mitigate the impact
of secondary traumatic
stress among child protective staff in New York City, and thereby increase staff job satisfaction, resilience, optimism, self - care and social support, and decrease staff attrition,
stress reactivity and burnout.
Some studies22, 23 also suggest that a genetic predisposition toward
stress or threat hyporesponsivity or a lack
of emotional
reactivity facilitates the development
of aggressive behavior.