Aging is associated with a natural dysregulation in immune functioning which may be amplified when it occurs in the context of chronic stress. Family dementia caregiving provides an excellent model to study the impact of chronic stress on... more
Aging is associated with a natural dysregulation in immune functioning which may be amplified when it occurs in the context of chronic stress. Family dementia caregiving provides an excellent model to study the impact of chronic stress on immune functioning among older individuals. Empirical data suggest that the stress of caregiving dysregulates multiple components of innate and adaptive immunity. Elderly caregivers have poorer responses to vaccines, impaired control of latent viruses, exaggerated production of inflammatory mediators and accelerated cellular aging, compared to noncaregiving older adults. The chronic stress-induced immune dysregulation observed among older caregivers appears to be of sufficient magnitude to impact health. Furthermore, evidence suggests that chronic stress leads to premature aging of the immune system.
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Les techniques d’imagerie cérébrale ont permis des avancées considérables dans l’étude du sommeil chez l’humain. Cependant, les études par imagerie cérébrale dans l’insomnie primaire demeurent peu nombreuses, particulièrement en regard de... more
Les techniques d’imagerie cérébrale ont permis des avancées considérables dans l’étude du sommeil chez l’humain. Cependant, les études par imagerie cérébrale dans l’insomnie primaire demeurent peu nombreuses, particulièrement en regard de la prévalence importante de ce trouble du sommeil dans la population générale. Cette revue examine la contribution des études d’imagerie cérébrale fonctionnelle et structurelle à la compréhension de l’insomnie primaire. Les études d’imagerie fonctionnelle au cours du sommeil appuient la théorie de l’hyperactivation dans l’insomnie. D’autres études fonctionnelles ont révélé des altérations dans le traitement cérébral des processus cognitifs et émotionnels dans l’insomnie primaire. Les résultats des études structurelles suggèrent des modifications neuroanatomiques, particulièrement dans l’hippocampe, le cortex cingulaire antérieur et le cortex orbitofrontal. Cependant, ces résultats ne sont pas concordants d’une étude à l’autre. Quelques études spect...
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Fatigue is a notable clinical problem in cancer survivors, and understanding its pathophysiology is important. This study evaluated relationships between fatigue and both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity in breast... more
Fatigue is a notable clinical problem in cancer survivors, and understanding its pathophysiology is important. This study evaluated relationships between fatigue and both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity in breast cancer survivors. Norepinephrine and heart rate variability (HRV) were evaluated at rest, as well as during and after a standardized laboratory speech and mental arithmetic stressor. The participants, 109 women who had completed treatment for stage 0-IIIA breast cancer within the past two years, were at least two months post surgery, radiation or chemotherapy, whichever occurred last. Women who reported more fatigue had significantly higher norepinephrine and lower HRV before and after the stressor than their less fatigued counterparts. Fatigue was not related to treatment or disease variables including treatment type, cancer stage, time since diagnosis, and time since treatment. Importantly, the relationship between HRV and cancer-related fatigue wa...
Research Interests: Research Design, Breast Cancer, Fatigue, Autonomic Nervous System, Heart rate variability, and 13 moreHumans, Survivors, Female, Heart rate, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Norepinephrine, Middle Aged, Carcinoma, Adult, Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia, Cancer Survivor, Sympathetic Nervous System, and Cancer Related Fatigue
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Research Interests: Animal Studies, Wound Healing, Cytokines, Social Support, Oxytocin, and 17 moreMarriage, Relationship Quality, Humans, Stress response, Female, Blood sampling, Male, Young Adult, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Interpersonal Relations, Marital Quality, Aged, Middle Aged, Adult, Blister, Tumor Necrosis Factor–α (TNF), and Health Outcome
Different aspects of personal relationships including social integration, social support, and social conflict have been related to inflammation. This article summarizes evidence linking the quality and quantity of relationships with gene... more
Different aspects of personal relationships including social integration, social support, and social conflict have been related to inflammation. This article summarizes evidence linking the quality and quantity of relationships with gene expression, intracellular signaling mechanisms, and inflammatory biomarkers, and highlights the biological and psychological pathways through which close relationships impact inflammatory responses. Relationship conflict and lower social support can effectively modulate proinflammatory cytokine secretion both directly (via CNS/neural/endocrine/immune biobehavioral pathways), and indirectly, by promoting depression, emotional stress responses, and detrimental health behaviors. Accordingly, thorough assessments of health behaviors and attention to key methodological issues are necessary to identify the contributions of relationships to inflammation, and thus we highlight procedural issues to be considered in the design of studies. Despite some notable methodological challenges, the evidence suggests that learning more about how close relationships influence inflammation will provide important new insights into the ways that relationships impact health.