Gestational diabetes mellitus impacts between 3-10% of pregnancies, and increases the risk of pregnancy complications and lifelong health effects for mother and child (Bellamy, Casas, Hingorani, & Williams, 2009; Ross, 2006; Ryser Rüetschi et al., 2016). About half of cases occur without an evident risk factor (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 1994; Dode & Santos, 2009). The present study was designed to examine possible psychophysiological connections linking psychological stress and stress reactivity, the magnitude of an individual’s response to stress, to blood sugar metabolization during mid-pregnancy between 24-28 weeks gestation. Participants were recruited from Sanford Health in Fargo, where patients underwent routine Oral Glucose Tolerance Testing (OGTT) a diagnostic assessment in which higher results indicate less blood sugar metabolization. They also completed a Virtual Trier Social Stress Task while psychological and physiological markers of stress reactivity were assessed. Additionally, maternal stress and stress reactivity were assessed using psychosocial questionnaires. There was support for proposed psychophysiological connections, including models in which positive associations between OGTT and maternal stress and anxiety were moderated by psychological stress reactivity. Results suggest that both the presence of stress and a women’s responses to that stress are influential over blood glucose metabolization during pregnancy. Continuing research in this area may have implications for improving outcomes of women at higher risk of GDM and other adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes.

Stress is one of life’s greatest health threats and increases susceptibility to mental illness. Physical activity and mindfulness are lifestyle factors that are protective against mental health concerns. Critically, those with high levels of physical activity also tend to have high levels of trait mindfulness—the tendency to be more mindful in everyday life. However, the relationship between physical activity and mindfulness, and their impact on acute stress and mental health, remains unclear. The current study aimed to explore this association between physical activity and mindfulness, and their relative impact on acute stress reactivity and mental health. Specifically, we examined whether trait mindfulness accounted for unique variance after controlling for physical activity. In a sample of young adult participants (N = 50) we first assessed their physical activity, trait mindfulness, and mental health and then exposed them to the Trier Social Stress Test, during which we recorded using heart rate, blood pressure, salivary cortisol samples, and state anxiety. Hierarchical linear regression revealed a distinct pattern, such that physical activity was more strongly associated with acute stress (heart rate and state anxiety reactivity), whereas trait mindfulness was more strongly associated with mental health even after controlling for physical activity. The results suggest that physical activity and trait mindfulness may work via synergistic mechanisms to enhance wellbeing with physical activity reducing stress reactivity and trait mindfulness improving overall mental health. / Thesis / Master of Science in Kinesiology

Increased stress levels due to parenting have been shown to correlate to harsher parenting responses towards children (Belsky, 1984). Mindfulness, however, suggests the ability to focus on the present moment in a nonjudgmental and nonreactive manner. Similarly, parents with increased mindfulness have reported more open dialogue and warmth with their child (Williams & Wahler, 2010). Few studies have examined an ecologically valid test measuring the constructs of stress reactivity together with parent and child observed interaction. This study examined the moderating role of mindfulness and its effect on the relationship between parenting stress reactivity and parent response to child. Thirty-nine mother and child dyads participated in a validated activity-based parent-child interaction task designed to measure the level of maternal criticism directed toward child via behavioral coding. Mother's heart rate (HR) was monitored to determine the physiological measure of stress reactivity. Mothers also completed self-report forms to indicate levels of mindfulness, perceived stress-reactivity and parenting feelings. Results demonstrated significant main effects for parent self-reported levels of stress reactivity to social challenges and mindful non-reactivity on self-reported parent negative feelings; however, these main effects were better accounted by mother depression, stress, and child age. Mindfulness significantly predicted in-lab levels of mother critical response to child. Additionally, results indicated a significant interaction between mindfulness and perceived stress reactivity, such that mindfulness predicted less criticism toward the child in parents who reported low stress reactivity. Given the low sample size and subsequent low power, results should be viewed with caution. / Master of Science

A significant body of research has identified the deleterious effects of stress on psychological well-being (e.g., Tataro, Luecken, & Gunn, 2004). Religiosity and religious coping have been identified as variables that may impact a person’s experience with stress (Ano & Vasconcelles, 2005). Aukst-Margetic and Margetic (2005) suggest that the connection between stress, religious variables, and well-being can be understood through the frame of psychoimmunodocrinological research, which examines the relationship between neurohormonal functioning (e.g., cortisol level) with psychological factors that may impact health. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether acute stress reactivity, as measured by changes in cortisol levels in response to a laboratory stressor, is related to religiosity, religious coping, and psychological well-being such as depression and anxiety. Another purpose of this study was to attempt to replicate and extend Tataro, Luecken, & Gunn (2005), which found evidence that higher religiosity and composite religiosity/spirituality was associated with lower cortisol level after exposure to acute stress. Results indicated that cortisol level was not significantly related to gender, self-rated religiousness, spirituality, frequency of prayer, or forgiveness. In addition, cortisol reactivity was not significantly related to measures of psychological well-being, although negative religious coping significantly predicted depression, and state and trait forms of anxiety. Limitations, practical implications, as well suggestions for future research are discussed.

Our laboratory has previously shown that exposure to social disruption (SDR) the week prior to Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) infection exacerbates disease course, resulting in increased infection-related sickness behaviors, motor impairment, CNS viral titers, and CNS inflammation. These adverse effects of SDR were prevented by ICV infusion of a neutralizing antibody to IL-6 during the stress exposure period. These findings suggest that stress-induced increases in IL-6 are necessary to exacerbate acute TMEV infection, but the exact mechanism remains unknown. This thesis tested the hypotheses that SDR up-regulates central cytokine expression, exacerbates TMEV infection through cross-sensitization of virus-induced cytokine expression, and that social rank modulates the effect of SDR. In Experiment 1, Balb/cJ mice underwent the 0, 1, or 6 SDR sessions and were then sacrificed 0, 2, or 12 hours post SDR. Experiment 2 subjects received ICV infusions of either IL-6 neutralizing antibody or its vehicle before each of six 2 h SDR sessions or the control condition, the week prior to infection. In Experiment 3 mice were tested for pre-existing social rank prior to SDR and infection. Results indicate that (1) SDR increases virus-induced IL-6, IL-1B, and CD11b mRNA expression in brain,that these SDR-induced increases and acute TMEV exacerbation are prevented by ICV infusion of the IL-6 neutralizing antibody during the stress exposure period, and that (2) social rank does not modulate affects of SDR but baseline anxiety does. These findings suggest that SDR exacerbates acute TMEV infection through cross-sensitization of virus-induced cytokine expression and that baseline anxiety is a significant modulator of SDR.

abstract: This study investigated the potential influences of a marital interaction involving affectionate touch and/or positive relationship-focused conversation on physiological reactivity to a subsequent laboratory stress task, and whether depressive symptoms moderated these relations. It was hypothesized that 1) the stress task would cause cardiac sympathetic activation and cardiac parasympathetic withdrawal; and that physical affection and/or positive conversation would 2) reduce sympathetic activation as indicated by cardiac interbeat interval (IBI), cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP), and finger pulse transit time (FPTT) and 3) reduce parasympathetic withdrawal (as indicated by respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) in response to stress. Further, we expected that, compared to those lower in reported depressive symptoms, those higher in depressive symptoms 4) would show blunted cardiovascular activation in response to stress across experimental conditions; and after engaging in a positive marital exchange, 5) would demonstrate a smaller interaction-related reduction in stress-related sympathetic activation; but 6) show no difference in interaction-related reduction of stress-related parasympathetic withdrawal. Participants were 183 married couples who were at least moderately happy in their marriages and in generally good health. Participants completed a measure of depression (among other questionnaires) in an online survey, then attended a 3-hour laboratory session. After measuring baseline physiology with spouses in separate rooms, couples were then randomly assigned to either touch (while sitting quietly, then hug), talk (positive conversation, but no touch), both (touch while talking, then hug), or neither (sit quietly without touching or talking). Next, participants separately performed a stress-inducing speech task about their spouses’ strengths and weaknesses. Physiological indicators were recorded throughout the stress task. While positive conversation reduced husbands’ stress-related parasympathetic withdrawal, it predicted greater stress-related activation in wives’ PEP response. Stress reactivity (as indicated by FPTT) was reduced in husbands with lower depressive symptoms when the marital exchange included only touch or only talk, whereas for husbands with more depressive symptoms, there were no effects of the marital interaction. For wives, depressive symptoms predicted blunted cardiovascular activation regardless of positive interaction condition, as illustrated by smaller stress-related reduction in FPTT responses. Furthermore, higher self-reported depressive symptoms predicted larger interaction-related decreases in stress-related IBI responses in wives who experienced spousal touch. This study builds on previous work and is the first to explore how depressive symptoms may influence the relations between affectionate touch and stress reactivity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2018

Heart rate variability as a measure of cardiovascular health and autonomic activity correlates with psychological resiliency but is not consistently related to trait extraversion, a strong predictor of emotional well-being. This study intends to clarify research findings about trait extraversion and heart rate variability by identifying the context and nature of the relationship between extraversion and physiological responses. As a secondary analysis of data from a study comparing biofeedback and compassionate breathing, extraversion scores were compared with heart rate variability data at three different points including prior to a stressor, during exposure to a stressor, and recovery to a stressor to determine the influence of extraversion on stress reactivity and stress recovery. In our sample population of 80 participants who were mostly young and in good health determined by self-report, the average extraversion score 79.14. Linear regression was used to compare differences at each time point and data was analyzed for significance at p=.05; a post-hoc power analysis revealed β = .81, 1 – β. There were no significant findings between extraversion and heart rate variability at any time point. The results of this study support no relationship between extraversion, health, and stress-resiliency.

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, and as a consequence of dysregulated communication via the gut-brain axis, is highly comorbid with mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. With no known cure, IBS patients must manage their symptoms through lifestyle factors. Physical activity is one such lifestyle factor that reduces GI symptoms and improves mental health; however, it remains unclear whether physical activity buffers against the acute worsening of IBS symptoms following a stressor. Method: To investigate this, we evaluated the stress reactivity and recovery of 9 IBS patients and 13 healthy controls following exposure to acute stress. We exposed participants to an electronic Trier Social Stress Test (e-TSST) and measured changes in psychological stress (state anxiety), physiological stress (sympathovagal balance, where higher LF/HF ratio indicates greater stress system activation), and GI symptom severity before, during and every 20 minutes for one hour after. Physical activity was measured using the Stanford Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall questionnaire and quantified as weekly energy expenditure. Results: IBS patients had higher state anxiety (p = .05), LF/HF ratio (p = .01) and GI symptom severity (p = .01) than healthy controls. Although the e-TSST did not exacerbate these group differences, higher state anxiety at baseline (p = .03) and higher LF/HF ratio in response to an acute stressor (p < .001) were associated with more severe GI symptoms within the first 20 minutes following the e-TSST. Importantly, IBS patients who were more physically active experienced less severe GI symptoms during that same timeframe (p = .03). Conclusion: Physical activity may be a promising lifestyle factor for lessening GI symptom severity in response to an acute stressor. / Thesis / Master of Science in Kinesiology

The daughters of women with a history of depression are at heightened risk for a range of mental health problems. The present study investigated emotion regulation, cortisol reactivity to stress, and interpersonal competence as potential indicators of risk in adolescent girls at high versus low risk for depression. Participants were a community sample of 47 girls and their mothers (27 high risk and 20 low risk). Mothers and daughters had been interviewed to assess diagnostic history as part of a previous longitudinal study. In the current study, daughters completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to this psychosocial stressor. Both mothers and daughters completed self-report questionnaires and daughters were re-assessed using the Depressive Disorders module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. High risk mothers were also interviewed to assess the timing and chronicity of their depressive episodes during their daughters’ lifetime. High and low risk girls had equivalent ratings of self-reported stress following the TSST-C, but different physiological responses. Girls at high risk for depression showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST-C whereas low risk girls showed a normal cortisol response. High risk status for depression predicted a blunted cortisol response to stress, which predicted difficulties with emotion regulation; difficulties with emotion regulation in turn predicted a greater number of self-reported depressive symptoms. These results suggest that maternal depression may act as a stressor that compromises stress-response system functioning in daughters and produces related difficulties with emotion regulation.

The daughters of women with a history of depression are at heightened risk for a range of mental health problems. The present study investigated emotion regulation, cortisol reactivity to stress, and interpersonal competence as potential indicators of risk in adolescent girls at high versus low risk for depression. Participants were a community sample of 47 girls and their mothers (27 high risk and 20 low risk). Mothers and daughters had been interviewed to assess diagnostic history as part of a previous longitudinal study. In the current study, daughters completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and cortisol samples were collected before and after exposure to this psychosocial stressor. Both mothers and daughters completed self-report questionnaires and daughters were re-assessed using the Depressive Disorders module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. High risk mothers were also interviewed to assess the timing and chronicity of their depressive episodes during their daughters’ lifetime. High and low risk girls had equivalent ratings of self-reported stress following the TSST-C, but different physiological responses. Girls at high risk for depression showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST-C whereas low risk girls showed a normal cortisol response. High risk status for depression predicted a blunted cortisol response to stress, which predicted difficulties with emotion regulation; difficulties with emotion regulation in turn predicted a greater number of self-reported depressive symptoms. These results suggest that maternal depression may act as a stressor that compromises stress-response system functioning in daughters and produces related difficulties with emotion regulation.