Browsing by Subject "stress"

Depression has a tendency to be transmitted from parents to their children. Both environmental and genetic factors contribute to the development of depressive symptoms, but the mechanisms in the intergenerational transmission of depression are still largely unknown. It has been suggested that one possible pathway in the intergenerational transmission of depression risk might be interplay between genetic and environmental factors, so that the individual's genetic makeup might alter his/her sensitivity to the effects of adverse environmental circumstances. Because several psychiatric disorders have been indicated to stem partially from the same genetic background, it is possible that in addition to parental depression, other parental mental disorders might also increase the risk of depression in offspring. In the present study, I studied whether parental history of psychopathology is associated with offspring depression and whether stressful life events have different consequences on the children with and without parental history of psychiatric disorders. In the present study, the data from the ongoing prospective study of Young Finns was used (n=2428). At the baseline in 1980, the participants(offspring) were derived from six different age cohorts. The participants' age range was 3-18 years at that time. Parental history of psychopathology was assessed in 1980 and 1983, and stressful life events (move, school change, parental death, parental divorce) were assessed in 1980. Offspring depressive symptoms were measured in 1992, 1997, 2001, 2007 and 2012 using Beck Depression Inventory. The association between parental psychopathology and offspring depression and the effect of stressful life events on this relationship was examined using multilevel regression modeling. This made it possible to examine the developmental trajectories of offspring depression. Parental history of psychopathology was associated with higher depression level in offspring, but it had no effect on the age-related trajectories of offspring depression. Parental psychopathology seemed to create a long-term risk of offspring depression but it did not expose the children to adverse developmental course of depressive symptoms. The children with parental history of psychopathology were not more sensitive to stressful life events compared with the children whose parents had not suffered from psychiatric disorders. However, it has to be taken into account that single stressful experiences may not represent a stressful environment very well.

Objectives. Exposure to maternal stress during pregnancy has been associated with a variety of adverse outcomes in the offspring, ranging from restrictions on fetal growth to long-term psychological impairments. Growing evidence suggests that prenatal maternal stress may also play a role in the onset of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, results from previous studies have not been uniform and methodological shortcomings may have impacted the findings. The aim of this study is to examine whether exposure to prenatal maternal stress is associated with higher levels of ADHD symptoms in the children, and whether the associations are timing-specific and independent of postnatal maternal and paternal stress. Methods. The current study sample consisted of 2,304 mother-child dyads participating in the PREDO project who were recruited from maternity clinics at 12 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks of gestation. The women filled out a reliable and valid stress self-report questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), every two weeks throughout pregnancy, a total of 14 times. Child ADHD symptoms were reported by the mothers at child age of 1–5 years with the Conners' 10-item scale, concurrently with a repeated assessment of maternal stress. Paternal stress was evaluated with the PSS at child age of six months. The associations between prenatal stress and child ADHD symptoms were analyzed statistically using multiple linear regression, controlling for multiple sociodemographic and perinatal confounders and for postnatal levels of maternal and paternal stress. Results and conclusions. Prenatal maternal stress was associated with significantly higher levels of ADHD symptoms in the offspring. Mid- to late-pregnancy stress had the strongest associations with child ADHD symptoms, while early-pregnancy stress showed a slightly weaker, yet significant, effect. The associations between prenatal stress and child ADHD symptoms were partially mediated by postnatal maternal stress. Nevertheless, even after controlling for postnatal maternal stress, the independent effects of prenatal stress remained significant. Adjusting for postnatal paternal stress had no impact on the effect sizes. The sex of the child moderated the association between first trimester prenatal stress and child ADHD symptoms, so that prenatal stress during the first trimester independently predicted higher levels of ADHD symptoms among boys, whereas, among girls, no significant associations were found for early-pregnancy stress after postnatal maternal stress was accounted for. Overall, the current findings are in line with the fetal programming hypothesis and highlight the importance of prenatal environmental factors in the etiology of childhood ADHD.

Organisationer strävar till att stöda sina anställda till att må bra och prestera på ett önskat sätt som gynnar organisationens framgång. Med den så kallade HR-verksamheten erbjuder organisationer verktyg och olika åtgärder för att personalen ska klara av sina arbetsuppgifter och trivas i arbetsmiljön. Denna kvantitativa studie undersöker samband mellan anställdas upplevelser om fyra olika HR-praxis och teamprestation samt hur sambanden påverkas av engagemang och stress. De fyra HR-praxis som studeras är rekrytering, belöning, skolning och utvecklingssamtal. Då tidigare studier om HR-praxis ofta talar om ett optimistiskt eller pessimistiskt perspektiv då man studerar verksamhetens effekter, kommer också denna avhandling att behandla dessa två perspektiv. Data till avhandlingen har samlats in i oktober år 2017 genom en enkätundersökning i ett multinationellt företag. Anställda i företaget har besvarat påståenden om nöjdhet med de fyra verksamhetsområden samt subjektiva upplevelser om teamprestation, engagemang och stress. Med fyra medierande analyser studeras upplevelser om varje praxis skilt och sambanden mellan teamprestation undersöks via de medierande variablerna stress och engagemang, som representerar anställdas välmående i modellen. Resultaten visade att det finns positivt samband mellan upplevelser om HR-praxis och teamprestation via engagemang. Å andra sidan fanns det också signifikanta samband mellan upplevelser om HR-praxis och teamprestation via stress, men dessa var negativa. Det innebär att verksamheten ökar på upplevelser om teamprestation via engagemang, men försämrar upplevelser om teamprestation via stress. Därmed stöder resultaten det optimistiska perspektivet som menar att både individen och organisationen gynnas av en välfungerande HR-praxis. Avhandlingen bidrar med mer kunskap om betydelsen av verksamheten för organisatorisk framgång och välmående anställda.

Faculty: Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences Degree programme: Master’s Programme in Neuroscience Study track: Neuroscience Author: Emma-Helka Erkkilä Title: The brain physiology of stress and the effects of burnout on executive functions Level: Master’s thesis Month and year: 08/2022 Number of pages: 35 Keywords: executive functions, emotion, cognition, stress, burnout Supervisor or supervisors: Docent Kaisa Hartikainen and Lic.Med. Mia Pihlaja Where deposited: Helsinki University Library Additional information: Abstract: BACKGROUND- Burnout as a result of prolonged and excessive stress may impair higher order cognitive functions of the brain such as executive functions and their efficiency. This Master's thesis examines the effects of chronic stress on the brain, more specifically the effects of burnout on executive functions. The aim of this study was to specifically research the effects of burnout on executive and emotional functions and their interaction. The research was conducted at the Behavioral Neurology Research Unit, Tampere University Hospital as part of Sustainable Brain Health project funded by the European Social Fund. MATERIAL AND METHODS- 54 voluntary examinees of whom 51 were analyzed. The examinees were divided into two groups based on BBI-15 survey (27 suffering from burnout and 24 control subjects without burnout). The examinees performed a computer-based Executive reaction time (RT) test, during which a 64-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. In additions all examinees received alternating transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) and placebo stimulation. From the Executive RT test, we obtained objective measures reflecting the efficiency of executive functions (RT and total errors) and specific executive functions such as working memory, inhibition and attention. Additionally, the emotional stimulus included in the test enabled the assessment of the emotional functions and the interaction between emotional and executive functions. The EEG and tVNS results were not in the scope of this master’s thesis, and they will be reported later on. RESULTS- The results of this thesis are preliminary. Distinct positive correlation was observed between burnout assessment based on the BBI-15 survey and the results of the BRIEF-A self-report which measures the subjective experience of challenges in executive functions in daily life. There was no statistically significant (p<0.05) difference between the groups in RTs or errors made in the Executive function RT test. Instead, the groups differed on how the threatening emotional stimulus affected the accuracy of responses. Subjects suffering from burnout made less errors with a threatening emotional stimulus compared to a neutral stimulus and vice versa the control subjects made more errors with the threatening emotional stimulus compared to neutral. This difference was statistically significant (p=0,025). DISCUSSION- Challenges experienced in everyday executive functions were linked with burnout. However, RTs and errors in the Executive reaction time test did not correlate with the severity of the burnout nor were the self-evaluated problems in executive functions depicted in the test performance. Instead, the subjects suffering from burnout differed from the control group in how the threatening stimulus affected the accuracy of responses in the test. It is possible that the subjects suffering from burnout benefit from the increase in arousal caused by the threatening emotional stimulus which was shown as improved accuracy of responses when there was a threatening stimulus, whereas the control group's accuracy of responses was disrupted by the threatening stimulus. We speculate that if the control group’s baseline level of arousal was optimal then the threatening emotional stimulus may have increased arousal to suboptimal level causing decrease in performance. Subjectively experienced challenges in executive functions and objective changes in the interaction between emotions and the executive functions were observed in the study. In conclusion, burnout causes changes in executive functions.

Belastning och stress är aktuella utmaningar i dagens arbetsliv och stressforskning utgör ett centralt forskningsämne. Ett diskursivt perspektiv på stress och stresshantering är underrepresenterat i forskningen kring arbetet inom barnskyddet. Syftet med denna avhandling är att studera hur professionella på barnhem diskursivt konstruerar stress och stresshantering samt deras subjektspositionering. Studien söker svar på frågorna: Hur konstruerar handledare diskursivt stress i sitt arbete på barnhem? Hur konstruerar handledare diskursivt stresshantering? Vilka tolkningsrepertoarer och subjektspositioner kan identifieras i de diskursiva konstruktionerna? Materialet bestod av 17 semistrukturerade intervjuer som utförts med handledare på två barnhem inom den tredje sektorn i södra Finland, och metodansatsen var kritisk diskurspsykologi (CDP). Ur materialet växte två dominerande stressdiskurser och subjektspositioner fram: en passiverande stressdiskurs och en aktiverande stresshanteringsdiskurs. Spänningar mellan de två positionerna passiv/aktiv identifierades samt den resurssvaga/mottagande och den resursstarka/handlingskraftiga handledaren. Genom att använda sig av tolkningsrepertoarer identifierar eller disidentifierar sig handledarna med de påbjudna subjektspositionerna men saknar möjlighet att helt motsätta sig de diskursiva konstruktionerna. Implikationerna för handledarnas agentskap är att en begränsning till en individuell nivå sker: Handledarna ställs inför valen att antingen acceptera att arbetet är stressigt och tungt, hantera stressen själv eller att byta bransch. Handledaren har inte möjlighet att ändra organiseringen av arbetet. För att flera handledare skulle stanna i branschen föreslås ökad satsning på förbättrade arbetsstrukturer, arbetshälsan och arbetsskyddet, samt föreslås fortbildning i positiv psykologi. Förslag ges för vidareforskning.

Många flyktingar och krishanterare utsätts för traumatisk stress som lever kvar i deras minnen och påverkar dem och deras omgivning långt efter att de traumatiska händelserna inträffat. Detta kan obehandlat leda till onödigt lidande hos subjektet och för de närstående men även på makronivå som ett samhälleligt fenomen. Den här litteraturstudiens syfte är att redogöra för hur trauma och stress relaterar till livshistorien och utreda huruvida narrative exposure therapy kunde användas systematiskt inom kontexten för flyktingkriser och krishanteringsoperationer. Jag granskar här huvuddelen av den tillgängliga litteraturen och utgår sedan ifrån Elbert och Schauers (2002) teori om den dualistiska representationen av traumatiska minnen för att redogöra för hur den narrativa identitetskonstruktionen fungerar och vad den teoretiska bakgrunden för NET är. Efter det behandlar jag systematiskt den tillämpade forskning som gjorts om NET, och avslutar med att diskutera dess effekt och implementeringsmöjligheter inom kontexten för den här litteraturstudiens syfte. I ljuset av den tillgängliga litteraturen NET har flera potentiella användningsområden inom krishantering och hemförlovning av personal och flyktingar och har visat sig vara effektiv även med strama resurstillgångar. Trots sin potential är empirin kring NET ännu inte stadigt förankrad jämfört med konventionella metoder. Dock är den teoretiska referensramen i sig själv intressant och själva metoden inbjuder till djupare forskning inom området.

This study investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of direct angiotensin II (ANG) receptor type 2 (AGTR2) agonist Compound 21 (C21). The blockade of ANG receptor type 1 (AGTR1) by AGTR1 antagonists has long been associated with antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the therapeutic effects of the AGTR1 antagonists are partially dependent on enhancing the signaling through neuroprotective AGTR2. This suggests that as a specific AGTR2 agonist C21 could be used as a potential therapeutic tool to treat mood disorders that would greatly benefit from new effective treatments. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophic that binds to tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TRKB). This study aimed to test how C21 affects BDNF:TRKB signaling that has been shown to regulate the therapeutic effects of different antidepressants that act on mood disorders. In vitro effects of C21 on BDNF:TRKB signaling were investigated with ELISA in the cortical cell cultures. Acute AGTR2 stimulation significantly elevated the amount of surface TRKB whereas a prolonged treatment of C21 for three consecutive days induced activation of TRKB. Similarly, combined treatment of C21 and a non-therapeutic treatment of BDNF induced TRKB activation, further linking the AGTR2 stimulation by this compound to the BDNF:TRKB signaling. In vivo effects of C21 on conditioned and unconditioned fear were investigated in mice by using contextual fear conditioning and elevated plus-maze (EPM) respectively. The therapeutic effect of C21 protected mice from conditioned fear but failed to provide similar results for unconditioned fear in the EPM. Interestingly, these stress-protective effects of AGTR2 stimulation were lost in the BDNF-deficient animals. To conclude, AGTR2 stimulation by C21 elevates the amount of surface TRKB that enhances the BDNF:TRKB signaling similar to antidepressants, which further leads to the therapeutic, stress-protective effects. Furthermore, these AGTR2-induced effects were absent without exposure to stress or when BDNF was diminished, indicating that both fear conditioning and BDNF are crucially involved. This study suggests that the AGTR2 is indeed a potential therapeutic target for treating mood disorders, and that in the future C21 could be translated for this use. To achieve this result, the cell types that regulate this effect need to be identified.

Entrance to academic studies does not automatically lead to commitment in one’s studies. There may be differences in student commitment across different learning environments. In the present study, combinations of problems in studying medical students experience were investigated in a lecture-based learning environment (n = 246) and in a problem-based learning environment (n = 231). Also differences between the combinations in task avoidance and differences between the combinations in academic achievement were investigated in each learning environment. Medical students were classified in different learning environments by K-means cluster analysis by cases into groups based on the following variables: exhaustion, lack of self-regulation, lack of interest and distress. Three groups of commitment among medical students were identified in the lecture-based learning environment: committed, carefree and dysfunctional students. The profiles were related to task avoidance but not to study success. The committed students expressed less task avoidance than the carefree students and the dysfunctional students. The latter two groups of medical students did not differ from each other in this case. Also three groups of commitment among medical students were identified in the problem-based learning environment: committed, committed carefree and dysfunctional students. The profiles were related to task avoidance and study success. The dysfunctional students expressed more task avoidance than the committed carefree students and the committed students. The latter two groups of medical students did not differ from each other in this case. The committed students and the committed carefree students gained better grades than the dysfunctional students. However, the former two groups of medical students did not differ from each other in this case. The implications of the study for research are discussed.

Psychrotrophic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a versatile role in research, food, farming and medicinal applications, but also play a role as a source of food spoilage. The effects of temperature changes has yet to be studied in depth. In this study, to analyze in a transcriptome level, cold and heat shock stress to spoilage lactic acid bacteria, a time-dependent RNA-seq for Lactococcus piscium with a temperature of 0 °C and 28 °C was conducted. The data of protein regulation during the experiment shows that Lactococcus piscium has the essential machinery to survive against different types of environmental stress. I observed known heat shock related genes and stress related genes to be present in the regulated response of both temperature extremes. Cold shock upregulation is observed after 35 minutes, which could indicate that the metabolic response at cold temperatures is related to growth rate. With a clear downregulation of pathways of energy consumption and an adaptation in terms of RNA being more prominent that at 28 ºC. Certain surface, cell wall and transport proteins are noticeable more upregulated at 0 ºC in addition to a downregulation of energy related proteins, which in correlation with its growth curve, we can assume it is part of a mechanism of protection against cold environments, in comparison with the regulation of proteins at 28 ºC. This gives an insight of a well controlled preservation mechanism that Lactococcus piscium exhibits that can be linked to its environment. The findings of this research offer new understandings into the survival skills of Lactococcus piscium to a cold and heat shock. Future studies should focus on analyzing the regulation and function of possible new genes for the response to heat stress, as well as the specific function of proteins related to temperature stress in the events where change of temperature plays a constant role in the environment.

Domesticated horses have been used for various tasks over their thousands of years of shared history with humans. To be able to perform these tasks every horse needs to learn the needed skills, and this requires systematic training. Training of adult horses has been studied for a long time and comparisons between the efficacy of different training methods have been done. There have also been some studies comparing how much and when young foals need to be handled for them to grow into easily trainable adults. From adult horses it is known that emotional state affects cognitive processes and with that also their learning efficiency and speed. The early stages of training young horses have not been studied very well. There is no clear picture about how young horses feel during training and how that affects their learning. In my thesis I studied young horses’ emotional states while learning new tasks and how that affects their learning. I followed the early training of 19 young horses (11 one-year-olds and 8 two- and three-year-olds) by videotaping five training sessions and collecting saliva samples before and after three of those sessions to analyse cortisol and oxytocin. From the videos I analysed how fast horses responded to trainer’s asks and how unfocused they were. From the hormone samples I measure the change in cortisol and oxytocin levels during training. Salivary cortisol has been widely used to measure acute stress. Oxytocin on the other hand is a newer indicator for positive emotions. To the best of my knowledge salivary oxytocin has never been used in horses. My data showed that the horses learned the required tasks: they became quicker at their responses and focused better during the course of training. Because my data was quite small and individual variation in the hormone levels was high, the results might have been affected by these factors. Linear mixed effect models showed that higher oxytocin levels before training session predicted quicker responses during training and lower levels after training predicted lower focusedness. Bigger increase in cortisol levels during training compared to the before level explained quicker responses and better focusedness, but higher levels before training resulted to lower focusedness and slower responses. This is in line with previous studies of adult horses, that showed that horses in a better emotional state and with less stress learn faster and are more interested in working with humans. This shows that it is important to not only focus on physical wellbeing but also mental wellbeing from early on in horses’ life.