- Resilience, Mental Health, Brain Activity, Autonomic Activity, Arousal, Emotions, and 23 morePsychophysiology, Cardiovascular Physiology, Positive Psychology, Depression, Subjective Well-Being, Mood Disorders (Psychology), Baroreflex, Blood Pressure, Circadian Blood Pressure, Mood, Hypertension, Circadian Rhythms, Heart rate variability, Asymmetry, Heart rate, Baroreflex Sensitivity, Psychology, Emotion, Physiology, Buddhism, Stress, Mindfulness, and Meditationedit
- Background: MD/PhD, leading researcher at Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Research interests: psy... moreBackground: MD/PhD, leading researcher at Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Research interests: psychophysiology, biological psychiatry and psychology, psychosomatic, neuroscience. health and aging resiliency, preventive medicine, mobile health, biometrics, epigenetic, and emotional AI. Professional interests: 1) health as an integrative somatic and mental wellbeing conceptedit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Fibromyalgia is a long-term pain disorder that has been related to autonomic dysfunctions and reduced cardiovascular reactivity. We aimed to assess the dynamic short-term cardiovascular responses to postural changes in fibromyalgia.... more
Fibromyalgia is a long-term pain disorder that has been related to autonomic dysfunctions and reduced cardiovascular reactivity. We aimed to assess the dynamic short-term cardiovascular responses to postural changes in fibromyalgia. Thirty-eight women with fibromyalgia and thirty-six healthy women underwent the "Chronic Pain Autonomic Stress Test". Electrocardiogram, blood pressure and impedance cardiography were continuously recorded during active standing and lying down. Second-by-second values were derived over the first 30 s of each posture. Lower reactivity during the beginning of each position was observed in fibromyalgia sufferers compared to healthy women, with smaller responses seen during stand up in heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, and pre-ejection period, and smaller changes during lying down in heart rate, cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. The magnitude of the autonomic adjustments to postural changes was inversely associated with the severity of clinical pain. These findings indicate an early impaired autonomic cardiovascular response to orthostatic and clinostatic challenges in fibromyalgia, suggesting less autonomic flexibility and adaptability to situational demands and challenges. Short-term second-by-second cardiovascular measures may be useful in the clinical assessment of fibromyalgia.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Objective measures of pain severity remain ill defined, although its accurate measurement is critical. Reciprocal baroreflex mechanisms of blood pressure (BP) control were found to impact differently on pain regulation, and thus their... more
Objective measures of pain severity remain ill defined, although its accurate measurement is critical. Reciprocal baroreflex mechanisms of blood pressure (BP) control were found to impact differently on pain regulation, and thus their asymmetry was hypothesized to also connect to chronic pain duration and severity.
Research Interests:
Hypothesis Previous studies provide evidence that glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) should not be considered as interchangeable alternatives in the diagnosis of the same type 2 diabetes, but as indicators of... more
Hypothesis Previous studies provide evidence that glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) should not be considered as interchangeable alternatives in the diagnosis of the same type 2 diabetes, but as indicators of its different pathogenetic subtypes. This study was conducted to determine whether a particularly high amount of glucose in either HbA1c form or in fasting plasma would be found in diabetic patients genetically predisposed for either intensive cognitive or intensive muscle metabolic activity, respectively. Methods HbA1c and FPG levels, polymorphisms of genes indicating the predisposition to different cognitive activity (the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2/ANKK1)), muscle activity (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1A(PPARGC1A))), and vascular regulation of general metabolic activity (the angiotensin 1 converting enzyme (ACE)) were assessed in diabetic patients and nondiabetic controls. Results DRD2/ANKK1 polymorphism...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Objective markers of chronic pain severity are needed when examining and treating patients with chronic pain whose suffering may be overstated or underestimated. This study tested a hypothesis that the strength of cardiovascular (CV)... more
Objective markers of chronic pain severity are needed when examining and treating patients with chronic pain whose suffering may be overstated or underestimated. This study tested a hypothesis that the strength of cardiovascular (CV) reactivity in response to a social evaluative threat and orthostatic challenge is a reliable index of severity of pain-related complaints. Measurement of CV reactivity and response styles in 34 men and 16 women with chronic pain from different bodily injuries, were retrieved from a larger database of patients. Measurement of CV reactivity in response to a postural challenge was repeated twice (sessions 1 and 2) on the same day of a medical examination which includes a psychosocial evaluation . A decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) from session 1 to session 2 was found in subjects with low pain severity scores, but not in those with high pain severity scores. High scores for pain catastrophizing/ magnification and pain-related emotional distress we...
Research Interests: Chronic Pain, Adolescent, Low back pain, Biological Sciences, Humans, and 15 moreBlood Pressure, Female, Male, Heart rate, Cardiovascular Reactivity, Posture, Middle Aged, Adult, Baroreflex Sensitivity, Pain Catastrophizing, Severity of Illness Index, Disability Evaluation, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, Catastrophization, and Medical and Health Sciences
A major challenge presently is not only to identify the genetic polymorphisms increasing risk to diseases, but to also find out factors and mechanisms, which can counteract a risk genotype by developing a resilient phenotype. The... more
A major challenge presently is not only to identify the genetic polymorphisms increasing risk to diseases, but to also find out factors and mechanisms, which can counteract a risk genotype by developing a resilient phenotype. The objective of this study was to examine acquired and innate vagal mechanisms that protect against physical challenges and haemorrhages in 19 athletes and 61 non-athletes. These include examining change in heart rate variability (HF-HRV; an indicator of vagus activity) in response to orthostatic challenge, platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), and single-nucleotide polymorphisms in genes that encode several coagulation factors, PAI-1, and MTHFR. Individual differences in PLT and MPV were significant predictors, with opposite effects, of the profiles of the HF-HRV changes in response to orthostasis. Regular physical training of athletes indirectly (through MPV) modifies the genetic predisposing effects of some haemostatic factors (PAI-1 and MTHFR) ...
Research Interests:
The present review examines the origin and physiological background of the asymmetry of some of oscillating processes in the cardiovascular system including the asymmetry of fluctuations of heart rhythm, level of blood pressure, and... more
The present review examines the origin and physiological background of the asymmetry of some of oscillating processes in the cardiovascular system including the asymmetry of fluctuations of heart rhythm, level of blood pressure, and baroreflex sensitivity. The possible role of this asymmetry and its arousal-related transposition in mechanisms supporting health resilience against adversity and stressors is discussed in terms of integrative physiology and the chaos theory and contrasted to mechanisms of adaptation to adversity and stressors. It also discusses the possibility of neuroplastic restructuring of processes maintaining asymmetry and balance between the body’s resilience and its adaptive properties for applications of such restructuring in sports training and epigenetic control for maturating, aging, or involution process of systems and organs of the body.
Research Interests:
From the standpoint of the social and behavioral sciences, hypertension has attracted a great deal of attention. It forms the backbone of the growing fields of health psychology and behavioral medicine. The evidence is supportive of the... more
From the standpoint of the social and behavioral sciences, hypertension has attracted a great deal of attention. It forms the backbone of the growing fields of health psychology and behavioral medicine. The evidence is supportive of the role and significance of psychosocial factors in the etiology, course, and treatment of hypertension. This knowledge has the potential for deepening our understanding of the mechanisms involved in hypertension, improving the effectiveness of both drug and non-drug treatment, and facilitating efforts for prevention. There is great need for further systematic research and especially for theoretical and empirical integration of psychosocial and biological knowledge of the disorder.
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT The importance of certain neurotrophic proteins found in maternal blood and milk for breastfed infants has remained ambiguous. This study was conducted to present evidence of the impact of an induced deficit of active S100B... more
ABSTRACT The importance of certain neurotrophic proteins found in maternal blood and milk for breastfed infants has remained ambiguous. This study was conducted to present evidence of the impact of an induced deficit of active S100B protein on neonate development. Newborn mice from two groups of mothers, immunized or sham-immunized against S100B, were subjected to various behavioral tests, and the development of their morphological characteristics was recorded from birth until weaning. Morphological problems, including weight gain and fur coating, a delay in the maturation of neurobehavioral systems and a deficit in neuromotor functions, including visual abilities, somato-sensory and posture reactions, muscular strength, locomotion, and fear/orienting processes, were observed in pups of immunized mothers. The S100B protein of external or internal origin in infants may be considered to be a specific factor that determines neuro- and morphological development and a risk-avoidance ('homeward-bent' or fearful) phenotype. The suppression of activity of the S100B protein results in a slower neonatal development and the formation of a risk-tolerant (fearless) phenotype of the offspring. This study thus considers the mechanism of neuroplastic regulation on the extent of sensation-seeking or risk-taking (homeless-like or fearless) and sensation- or risk-avoidance (home-bound or fearful) features in individual phenotypes. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Chronic Pain, Adolescent, Medicine, Electrocardiography, Biological Sciences, and 15 moreHumans, Blood Pressure, Female, Heart rate, Young Adult, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Mood Disorders, Middle Aged, Adult, Baroreflex, Statistics as Topic, Severity of Illness Index, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and Medical and Health Sciences
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Preliminary findings support the potential of yoga as a complementary treatment of depressed patients who are taking anti-depressant medications but who are only in partial remission. The purpose of this article is to present further data... more
Preliminary findings support the potential of yoga as a complementary treatment of depressed patients who are taking anti-depressant medications but who are only in partial remission. The purpose of this article is to present further data on the intervention, focusing on individual differences in psychological, emotional and biological processes affecting treatment outcome. Twenty-seven women and 10 men were enrolled in the study, of whom 17 completed the intervention and pre-and post-intervention assessment data. The intervention consisted of 20 classes led by senior Iyengar yoga teachers, in three courses of 20 yoga classes each. All participants were diagnosed with unipolar major depression in partial remission. Psychological and biological characteristics were assessed pre-and post-intervention, and participants rated their mood states before and after each class. Significant reductions were shown for depression, anger, anxiety, neurotic symptoms and low frequency heart rate var...
Research Interests:
Summary The present review is the result of a systematic attempt to collect and analyze all the available contemporary data on neurological and psychophysiological aspects of EEG changes in heroin addicts. These data offer valuable... more
Summary The present review is the result of a systematic attempt to collect and analyze all the available contemporary data on neurological and psychophysiological aspects of EEG changes in heroin addicts. These data offer valuable objective insights into clinically significant encephalopathic and/or disintegrative processes in these patients. Thirteen computer EEG studies published since 1995 have been analyzed. It can be concluded that the sensitivity of computer EEGs to heroininduced brain alterations is comparable with other contemporary neuroimaging techniques. In any case, precise recommendations for their use in regular medical practice must await further extensive research in this field.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Background: Recent studies have shown that depressive disorder is associated with impaired baroreceptor or baroreflex sensitivity, which is proposed to be a predisposing factor for sudden death in patients with manifest cardiac disease.... more
Background: Recent studies have shown that depressive disorder is associated with impaired baroreceptor or baroreflex sensitivity, which is proposed to be a predisposing factor for sudden death in patients with manifest cardiac disease. These studies have not evaluated the afferent and efferent components of the cardiac baroreflex loop or other baroreflex mechanisms that regulate target processes (cardiac metabolism and blood pressure variability) related to the impairment. The objective of this study was to gain more insight into autonomic functioning in depressive disorder to more fully examine the potential basis for increased cardiac mortality. Methods: The subjects were 28 women and men with unipolar major depression who were taking antidepressant medications and who were in partial remission and free of cardiovascular or other serious disease, and 28 healthy control subjects matched for sex, age, and ethnicity. The two samples were compared for negative affective dispositions ...
Situational or persistent body fluid deficit (i.e., de- or hypo-hydration) is considered a significant health risk factor. Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) has been suggested as an alternative to less reliable subjective and biochemical... more
Situational or persistent body fluid deficit (i.e., de- or hypo-hydration) is considered a significant health risk factor. Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) has been suggested as an alternative to less reliable subjective and biochemical indicators of hydration status. The present study aimed to compare various BIA models in the prediction of direct measures of body compartments associated with hydration/osmolality. Fish (n = 20) was selected as a biological model for physicochemically measuring proximate body compartments associated with hydration such as water, dissolved proteins, and non-osseous minerals as the references or criterion points. Whole-body and segmental/local impedance measures were used to investigate a pool of BIA models, which were compared by Akaike Information Criterion in their ability to accurately predict the body components. Statistical models showed that ‘volumetric-based’ BIA measures obtained in parallel, such as distance2/Rp, could be the best approach in pre...
A lack of personalized approaches in non-medication pain management has prevented these alternative forms of treatment from achieving the desired efficacy. One hundred and ten female patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and 60... more
A lack of personalized approaches in non-medication pain management has prevented these alternative forms of treatment from achieving the desired efficacy. One hundred and ten female patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and 60 healthy women without chronic pain were assessed for severity of chronic or retrospective occasional pain, respectively, along with alexithymia, depression, anxiety, coping strategies, and personality traits. All analyses were conducted following a ‘resource matching’ hypothesis predicting that to be effective, a behavioral coping mechanism diverting or producing cognitive resources should correspond to particular mechanisms regulating pain severity in the patient. Moderated mediation analysis found that extraverts could effectively cope with chronic pain and avoid the use of medications for pain and mood management by lowering depressive symptoms through the use of distraction mechanism as a habitual (‘out-of-touch-with-reality’) behavior. However, intro...
A thirst sensation as an evolutionary developed signal for behavioural compensating the lost water balance is frequently compromised at present by palatable additions and stimulants in food and drinks. This situation aggravates the risks... more
A thirst sensation as an evolutionary developed signal for behavioural compensating the lost water balance is frequently compromised at present by palatable additions and stimulants in food and drinks. This situation aggravates the risks for people’s health but many suggested indicators of hydration status are not precise due to lacking a reference to individual homeostatic setpoints. The present study was conducted using a wearable device measuring bioimpedance in three samples with an ambulatory and two laboratory protocols (4016, 13, and 29 subjects) with different successive sessions of circadian and interventional modulations of hydration status with control of contemporary short-term body mass changes as a reference of the status change. Results showed high concordance of short-term fluctuations in body mass and a skin reactance component of the bioimpedance measurements. Circadian components of this bioimpedance measure are suggested as the individual reference to track indiv...
Research Interests:
Previous clinical and elderly population studies have found that affective well-being can be assessed by clino-orthostatic cardiovascular reactivity. This study explored this relationship in a young healthy sample, and with respect to... more
Previous clinical and elderly population studies have found that affective well-being can be assessed by clino-orthostatic cardiovascular reactivity. This study explored this relationship in a young healthy sample, and with respect to cognitive appraisals of well-being. Four successive readings of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) after lying down (clinostatic probe) followed by four successive readings after standing up (orthostatic probe) were obtained from 52 healthy students along with questionnaire-reported well-being. Analyses indicated that a deeper drop of systolic BP (SBP) and mean arterial (MAP) pressure during supine was related to higher positive mood, but higher and more stable orthostatic MAP and HR response were related to lower negative mood. A higher diastolic BP while standing upright and lower SBP in general were associated with higher optimism and higher global life satisfaction, respectively. The findings confirm previous results and indicate that cognitive appraisals of well-being are also related to BP regulation.
Research Interests: Psychology, Biological Psychology, Cognitive Science, Mental Health, Health and Wellness Tourism, and 15 moreHappiness and Well Being, Wellbeing, Psychological Well Being, Affect, Humans, Blood Pressure, Well Being, Female, Male, Heart rate, Health and Wellbeing, Adult, Subjective Well Being, Personal Satisfaction, and Neurosciences
Research Interests: Job Satisfaction, Comparative Study, Employment, Activities of Daily Living, Affect, and 15 moreCortisol, Humans, Epinephrine, Circadian Rhythm, Female, Menstrual Cycle, Middle Aged, Arousal, Longitudinal Studies, Adult, Luteinizing Hormone, Life Change Events, Follicular phase, hydrocortisone, and Medical and Health Sciences
Objectives: Previous research suggests that mechanisms related to afferent and efferent components of the baroreflex are associated with blood pressure level and mood, and that mood as a component of subjective well-being may be mediated... more
Objectives: Previous research suggests that mechanisms related to afferent and efferent components of the baroreflex are associated with blood pressure level and mood, and that mood as a component of subjective well-being may be mediated by changes in blood pressure. This study examines these mechanisms in 213 healthy women and men. Methods: Evaluation of spontaneous baroreflex activity using the sequence technique under resting conditions in the laboratory was followed by 2 days of 24-h ambulatory blood pressure recording and diary ratings of mood. Results: Patterns of components of the baroreflex loop were significant predictors of 24-h ambulatory blood pressure mean level, its circadian variability, and daily ratings of mood. Three mechanisms were found to be involved in the regulation: (1) interaction between gains of afferent and efferent cardiac components of the baroreflex, (2) gain of afferent signals related to fast cardiac responses to baroreceptor activation, and (3) gain of afferent signals related to late cardiac responses to baroreceptor inhibition. The interaction of afferent/efferent components of baroreflex loop appears to independently determine mean levels of systolic blood pressure and positive (happy) mood. The effect of the baroreceptor activation mechanism on subjective well-being (indexed by happy and alert moods) was mediated by the wake/sleep systolic blood pressure difference. Additionally, the baroreceptor inhibitory mechanism effect on subjective well-being (indexed by stressed and sleepy moods) was mediated by the wake/sleep diastolic blood pressure difference. Conclusions: Evaluation of the baroreflex components and their interaction provides important information about blood pressure and mood beyond that provided by baroreflex sensitivity and potential for the evaluation of risk for hypertension and mood disturbance in healthy people.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Positive Psychology, Psychophysiology, Resilience, and 12 moreCircadian Rhythms, Mood, Hypertension, Blood Pressure, Subjective Well Being, Baroreflex Sensitivity, Baroreflex, Indexation, Neurosciences, Ambulatory Blood Pressure, Systolic blood pressure, and Diastolic Blood Pressure
The article presents the results of comparative study of groups of subjects with low and high level of psychoticism. Heart rate, heart rate responses to inspiratory and expiratory Valsalva maneuvers, and blood pressure were measured... more
The article presents the results of comparative study of groups of subjects with low and high level of psychoticism. Heart rate, heart rate responses to inspiratory and expiratory Valsalva maneuvers, and blood pressure were measured before and after presentation of the texts with validated negative content in groups of subjects with low and high psychoticism scores. It was hypothesized that subjects with high level of psychoticism would be less engaged in the processing of negative contents of the texts and their physiological reactivity (physiological resources submitted for support of cognitive processing) would be less pronounced compared to subjects with low level of psychoticism. Significant main effect of psychoticism was obtained for changes in heart rate to expiratory Valsalva maneuver after presentations of the texts. Significant interaction effects of gender and psychoticism were obtained for systolic blood pressure. Other cardiovascular variables were not sensitive to the...
Research Interests:
UK PubMed Central (UKPMC) is an archive of life sciences journal literature.