Religious orientation, aging, and blood pressure reactivity to interpersonal and cognitive stressors

Background: Research on religion and health suggests general health benefits for those who are more religiously involved. Particular aspects of religiosity that may influence this finding, however, have not been sufficiently investigated.Purpose: This study was designed to explore the relationship between religious orientation (intrinsic, extrinsic) and blood pressure reactivity among older (over 60 years) and younger (18–24 years) adults exposed to two qualitatively different laboratory stressors (cognitive, interpersonal).Methods:Participants were categorized as exhibiting either a predominately intrinsic or extrinsic religious orientation based on scores on the Religious Orientation Scale. They were subsequently exposed (in counterbalanced order) to two laboratory stressors that varied in terms of whether an interpersonal confrontation was involved. Measures of blood pressure were obtained at baseline and during stressor presentation.Results: Analyses indicated that older extrinsically religious individuals demonstrated exaggerated reactivity compared to younger participants and older intrinsically religious individuals. Older intrinsically religious participants did not differ from younger persons. Similar results were found for analysis of baseline data. Extrinsic participants had greater reactivity during the interpersonal confrontation condition than did intrinsic individuals.Conclusions: These findings suggest that religious orientation may be an important variable to study regarding cardiovascular reactivity in, particularly, older adults. This research was supported in part by National Institute on Aging Grant 1 R03 AG 18554-01. A previous version of this article was presented in August 2002 as a Citation Paper at the 110th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Chicago. We thank Timothy W. Smith, James A. Blumenthal, Carl E. Thoresen, and Edward M. Heath for their assistance throughout this project. We also thank Llewellyn Jones and Jodi Hildabrandt for their efforts in collecting data.     

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia during speech production.

The amplitude of the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was investigated during a reading aloud task to determine whether alterations in respiratory control during speech production affect the amplitude of RSA. Changes in RSA amplitude associated with speech were evaluated by comparing RSA amplitudes during reading aloud with those obtained during rest breathing. A third condition, silent reading, was included to control for potentially confounding effects of cardiovascular responses to cognitive processes involved in the process of reading. Calibrated respiratory kinematics, electrocardiograms (ECGs), and speech audio signals were recorded from 18 adults (9 men, 9 women) during 5-min trials of each condition. The results indicated that the increases in respiratory duration, lung volume, and inspiratory velocity associated with reading aloud were accompanied by similar increases in the amplitude of RSA. This finding provides support for the premise that sensorimotor pathways mediating metabolic respiration are actively modulated during speech production.     

Brief report: recent findings on the Sexual Aversion Scale.

This study provides additional information on the psychometric properties of the Sexual Aversion Scale (SAS). Results suggest a positive relationship between sexual aversion, generalized anxiety, and history of sexual victimization. Variables such as age and religiosity were unrelated to scores on the SAS, although females reported significantly more sexual anxiety than males. The factor structure of the SAS is described and suggests that sexual aversion is a multifaceted problem with at least three and possibly four different dimensions.     

Limb asymmetries in landing and jumping 2 years following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

OBJECTIVE: Female athletes who are at increased risk for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury demonstrate biomechanical differences between limbs during athletic tasks that may persist following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). This may limit an athlete's potential for safe return to sports competition. The purpose of this study was to determine if female athletes demonstrate lower limb asymmetries in landing and takeoff force following ACLR and clearance for return to competitive sports participation. We hypothesized that females following ACLR would demonstrate side-to-side differences in landing and jumping kinetics after their return to sport (2+ years) that would not be observed in a group of healthy female controls. DESIGN: Case control study. SETTING: The Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. PATIENTS: Fourteen female athletes at a mean of 27 months following ACLR and 18 healthy female athletes participated in the study. ASSESSMENT: All subjects executed a drop vertical jump (DVJ) task onto 2 force plates. Vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) was measured during landing and takeoff and was used to calculate landing phase loading rates. A 2-way analysis of variance was used to determine differences between the involved, uninvolved, and control limbs. RESULTS: Females who had undergone ACLR demonstrated increased VGRF (P = 0.001) and loading rate (P < 0.001) on the uninvolved limb during landing when compared with the involved limb and the control group. During takeoff, the involved limb showed significantly less ability to generate force (P = 0.03) than the uninvolved limb and the control limbs. CONCLUSIONS: Female athletes who have undergone ACLR and returned to sport may continue to demonstrate biomechanical limb asymmetries 2 years or more after reconstruction that can be identified during landing.     

Neomycin mimics the effects of high extracellular calcium concentrations on parathyroid function in dispersed bovine parathyroid cells.

We examined the effects of the polycationic antibiotic, neomycin, on the function of dispersed bovine parathyroid cells. Neomycin caused a reversible, dose-dependent inhibition of low calcium (Ca++)-stimulated PTH release, with half-maximal inhibition at 30 microM. Maximal inhibition (with 200 microM neomycin) was not additive with the suppressive effects of high (2 mM) Ca++. Neomycin also inhibited dopamine-stimulated cAMP accumulation by 90-98% at 100-200 microM, with a half-maximal effect at 40-50 microM. This action was reversible and was blocked by preincubating the cells overnight with 0.5 microgram/ml pertussis toxin. In addition to its suppressive effects on cAMP metabolism and PTH release, neomycin stimulated the accumulation of inositol phosphates and produced a transient increase in the cytosolic Ca++ concentration (Cai) in fura-2-loaded parathyroid cells. The neomycin-evoked spike in Cai persisted despite removal of extracellular Ca++, indicating that it arises from intracellular Ca++ stores. Exposure of cells to elevated magnesium (Mg++) concentrations elicited a similar spike in Cai but blocked the spike in Cai in response to subsequent addition of neomycin and vice versa. Thus, Mg++ and neomycin mobilize Ca++ from the same intracellular store(s). These results indicate that a polycation, neomycin, closely mimics the effects of polyvalent cations on parathyroid function, suggesting that both agents regulate parathyroid function via similar biochemical pathways.     

The behavioral genetics of colony defense in honeybees: Genetic variability for guarding behavior

Guard honeybees stand at the entrance of colonies and facilitate the exclusion of nonnestmates from the colony. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that genetic variability among individuals in colonies might explain variability in guarding activity. To do this, we cross-fostered honey bees between colonies with high-defensive responses and colonies with low-defensive responses in alarm pheromone tests. Individuals from high-defensive colonies were more likely to guard in their own colonies (controls) than cross-fostered bees from low-defensive colonies. Cross-fostered high-defensive bees also were more likely to guard in low-defense colonies. These results support the hypothesis that interindividual differences in guarding behavior are at least partially under genetic control. A positive correlation between number of guards and response to alarm pheromone demonstrates a link between behaviorally separated components of the overall defensive response.This work was supported by NSF Grant BNS 8605604.     

The Relationship Between Daily Life Stress and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Research on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional disorder of the gastrointestinal (GI) system, has linked GI symptoms to stress. This study examined the relationship between daily stress and GI symptoms across women and within woman in IBS patients (n = 26), IBS nonpatients (IBS-NP; n = 23), and controls (n = 26), controlling for menstrual cycle phase. Women (ages 20–45) completed daily health diaries for two cycles in which they monitored daily GI symptoms and stress levels. The Life Event Survey (LES) was used as a retrospective measure of self-reported stress. The across-women analyses showed higher mean GI symptoms and stress in the IBS and IBS-NP groups relative to controls but no group differences in LES scores. The within-woman analyses found a significant and positive relationship between daily stress and daily symptoms in both the IBS-NP and the IBS groups. Controlling for menstrual cycle had no substantial impact on the results.