SUMMARY. This investigation was designed to evaluate the production rates and concentrations of salivary a-amylase as a measure of adrenergic activity under several conditions of stress in human subjects. Saliva and blood samples were simultaneously collected from men at four 15 min intervals both before and after regimens for exercise, a written examination, or a rest period. The regressions of salivary a-amylase on plasma norepinephrine (NE) concentrations were significant for both exercise (P < 0–001) and examination (P < 0.01) protocols. Aerobic exercise induced a 3-fold mean increase in a-amylase; both NE and epinephrine (EP) increased ≅5-fold over control levels. Levels of a-amylase and NE returned to control levels within 30.45 min after exercise, but EP remained elevated by ≅2-fold during the remaining hour of observation. During the written examination, α-amylase and NE, but not EP, concentrations increased in parallel. In further studies the effects of exercise and exposure to heat and cold on the relationship of salivary a-amylase to heart rate and body temperature were investigated. Greater intensities of exercise were associated with greater increases in a-amylase concentrations. During heat exposure in a sauna (66 ° C for 40 min) amylase, heart rate and body temperature all increased progressively. However, during exposure to cold (4 ° C for 40 min) amylase increased rapidly, though heart rate and body temperature remained unchanged. Salivary Cortisol concentrations were unchanged during exposure to heat or cold. We conclude that salivary a-amylase concentrations are predictive of plasma catecholamine levels, particularly NE, under a variety of stressful conditions, and may be a more direct and simple end point of catecholamine activity than are changes in heart rate.

Salivary α-amylase as a measure of endogenous adrenergic activity

Healthy Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) seropositive undergraduates (N = 57) completed a personality inventory, provided blood samples, and were randomly assigned to write or talk about stressful events, or to write about trivial events, during three weekly 20-min sessions, after which they provided a final blood sample. Individuals assigned to the verbal/stressful condition had significantly lower EBV antibody titers (suggesting better cellular immune control over the latent virus) after the intervention than those in the written/stressful group, who had significantly lower values than those in the written/trivial control group. Subjects assigned to the written/stressful condition expressed more negative emotional words than the verbal/stressful and control groups and more positive emotional words than the verbal/stressful group at each time point. The verbal/stressful group expressed more negative emotional words compared with the control group at baseline. Content analysis indicated that the verbal/stressful group achieved the greatest improvements in cognitive change, self-esteem, and adaptive coping strategies.

Emotional disclosure through writing or speaking modulates latent Epstein-Barr virus antibody titers.

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between the hormonal and psychological responses of young men about to engage in a potentially life-threatening event. Subjects were recruited to take their first skydiving jump. The scores on questionnaires designed to assess anxiety were not significantly increased at 0800 h on the morning before the jump by comparison with scores obtained from the same subjects 3–5 days previously. However, a psychological instrument for rating of events indicated significantly increased intensity, and sympathetic nervous system activity, as measured by the salivary amylase response, was increased over self-control values. Salivary cortisol and testosterone levels were significantly lower on the morning of the jump than self-control values and values in control subjects determined at the same time of day. However, plasma LH was not suppressed. The anxiety and stress measures as well as the rating of events rose to high levels just before the jump. With the except...

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Hormonal responses to psychological stress in men preparing for skydiving.

Coping style, trait anxiety and cortisol reactivity during mental stress

Increased hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation, culminating in elevated circulating cortisol levels is a fundamental response to stressors. In animals, this neuroendocrine change is highly reliable and marked (approximately 5-10-fold elevations), whereas in humans, the increase of cortisol release is less pronounced, and even some potent life-threatening events (anticipation of surgery) only elicit modest cortisol increases. Meta-analysis of factors that influenced the increase of cortisol release in a laboratory context pointed to the importance of social evaluative threats and stressor controllability in accounting for the cortisol rise. The present meta-analysis, covering the period from 1978 through March 2007, was undertaken to identify the factors most closely aligned with cortisol increases in natural settings. It appeared that stressor chronicity was fundamental in predicting cortisol changes; however, this variable is often confounded by the stressor type, the stressor's controllability, as well as contextual factors, making it difficult to disentangle their relative contributions to the cortisol response. Moreover, several experiential factors (e.g. previous stressor experiences) may influence the cortisol response to ongoing stressors, but these are not readily deduced through a meta-analysis. Nevertheless, there are ample data suggesting that stressful events, through their actions on cortisol levels and reactivity, may influence psychological and physical pathology.

J. Herbert

Papers

Endocrine responses and examination anxiety

Approaches to studying, personality and examination anxiety