An Integrative View on the Biopsychology of Stress and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Varadarajan, Suchithra; Behnke, Alexander; Gumpp, Anja M.; Mavioğlu, Rezan Nehir; Fissler, Patrick; Kolassa, Iris‐Tatjana

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-97802-0_4

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 127 publications

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“…However, other studies within the postpartum period have indicated a positive association (Broeks et al, 2023 ; Nyström-Hansen et al, 2019 ), while outside the postpartum period a negative effect in mixed-sex adult samples (Schalinski et al, 2019 ) or no effect of CM subtypes on HairF (Oresta et al, 2021 ) has been reported. Clearly more research within and outside the perinatal period is needed, taking account also of other variables, such as the specific age of CM occurrence (Schalinski et al, 2019 ), further lifetime trauma (Steudte-Schmiedgen et al, 2023 ), and epigenetic signatures (Varadarajan et al, 2022 ), which might play a role in HPA axis modifications. It should also be highlighted that we thoroughly controlled for potential confounding factors of hair GCs (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of maternal childhood maltreatment on postpartum mother–child bonding and maternal hair glucocorticoids

Bergunde,

Karl,

Borrmeister

et al. 2024

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: Maternal experiences of childhood maltreatment (CM) constitute a risk factor for impairments in the mother–child relationship. One mechanism underlying this intergenerational transmission may be maternal hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysregulation. Yet, few studies have examined different maltreatment subtypes, including emotional neglect, considered concurrent depressive symptoms, and used long-term integrated glucocorticoid measures. Objective: This study aimed to investigate associations between maternal CM history, postpartum glucocorticoids in hair, and mother–child bonding. In exploratory analyses, we tested whether specific subtypes of CM had differential implications for glucocorticoid secretion and bonding. Methods: During pregnancy, N = 269 mothers from the prospective cohort study DREAM HAIR provided retrospective information on CM and current information regarding psychological and hair-related variables. Hair samples were collected 8 weeks after delivery for quantification of maternal long-term hair cortisol and cortisone concentrations in 2-cm scalp-near hair samples. Mother–child bonding was measured 8 weeks and 14 months after birth using the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire. Results: While bivariate correlations revealed significant associations of CM with bonding and hair cortisol, regression findings showed CM was associated with impaired bonding 8 weeks (overall CM trend-level; emotional neglect p = .038) and 14 months (emotional neglect trend level p = .041) after birth, however not after controlling for depressive symptoms at the time point of the outcome. In regression analyses, CM was not associated with maternal hair glucocorticoids 8 weeks postpartum. Maternal hair glucocorticoid concentrations were not related to mother–child bonding and did not mediate associations between CM and mother–child bonding. Conclusion: Data tentatively suggest that mothers with CM experiences, in particular emotional neglect, may be at risk for suboptimal bonding to their child, however current depressive symptoms seem to be more important. Our data provide no evidence for a crucial role of glucocorticoid secretion, yet aetiological processes of long-term glucocorticoid secretion and bonding are complex and more severely affected samples should be examined.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of maternal childhood maltreatment on postpartum mother–child bonding and maternal hair glucocorticoids

Bergunde,

Karl,

Borrmeister

et al. 2024

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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“…Traumatic stress and related mental disorders such as PTSD are associated with elevated levels of cellular oxidative stress as well as decreased anti-oxidative capacity 3,4,[12][13][14] , altogether endangering DNA integrity through provoking genotoxic damage such as DNA-SSB. In line with this, we observed in our previous study 19 that PBMCs from PTSD patients exhibit more DNA damage, namely DNA strand breaks, than PBMCs from controls without PTSD.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The link between DNA maintenance, cell-cycle control, and energy metabolism is highlighting the complexity of the systemic and molecular mechanisms underlying the etiology of stress-related mental disorders 1,4,15 . Moreover, PTSD is associated with premature onset of various non-communicable degenerative diseases affecting the cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and immune system 1,2 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves increased rates of somatic alterations, including dysregulated immunity, neuroendocrine dysregulation, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular morbidity 1,2 . Considering its somatic manifestation, PTSD is being increasingly viewed as a systemic illness with both cognitive-behavioral and physiological symptoms 1,3,4 . Recurrent exposure to traumatic stress is postulated to alter the physiological stress response through dysregulating the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the autonomic nervous system in PTSD 2,5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Expression of DNA-repair genes and its relevance for DNA repair in peripheral immune cells of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder

Mack¹,

Behnke²,

Fieres³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves elevated levels of cellular oxidative stress which jeopardizes the integrity of essential cell compartments. Previously, we demonstrated higher levels of DNA lesions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in PTSD. Retaining vital levels of DNA integrity requires cells to mobilize compensatory efforts in elevating their DNA-repair capacity. Accordingly, we hypothesized to find increased expression rates of the DNA-repair genes X-ray repair cross complementing 1 (XRCC1), poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1), and polymerase β (Polβ) in PBMCs of PTSD patients as compared to controls, leading to functionally relevant changes in DNA-repair kinetics. In a cohort of 14 refugees with PTSD and 15 without PTSD, we found significantly higher XRCC1 expression in PTSD patients than controls (U = 161.0, p = .009, Cohen’s r = .49), and positive correlations between the severity of PTSD symptoms and the expression of XRCC1 (rS = .57, p = .002) and PARP1 (rS = .43, p = .022). Higher XRCC1 (F = 2.39, p = .010, η²p = .10) and PARP1 (F = 2.15, p = .022, η²p = .09) expression accounted for slower repair of experimentally X-ray irradiation-induced DNA damage, highlighting the possible physiological relevance of altered DNA-repair gene expression in PTSD. Our study provides first evidence for a compensatory regulation of DNA-repair mechanisms in PTSD. We discuss the implications of increased DNA damage and altered DNA-repair mechanisms in immune senescence, premature aging, and increased physical morbidity in PTSD.

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“…In addition to evidence on psychedelic-induced effects on mitochondria, other biological processes that are reciprocally linked with mitochondria have been shown to be affected by psychedelics but were not a part of this perspective article. These reciprocally linked processes include inflammatory processes, oxidative stress, the autonomic nervous system, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis activity (Picard et al, 2018; Varadarajan et al, 2022). Psychedelics may affect these biological processes via mitochondrial regulation and mitochondria may be indirectly affected by psychedelic-induced effects on these processes in turn (Picard et al, 2018).…”

Section: Limitations and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of serotonergic psychedelics on mitochondria: Transdiagnostic implications for mitochondria-related pathologies

et al. 2023

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The use of serotonergic psychedelics has gained increasing attention in research, clinical practice and society. Growing evidence suggests fast-acting, transdiagnostic health benefits of these 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor agonists. Here, we provide a brief overview of their benefits for psychological, cardiovascular, metabolic, neurodegenerative, and immunological pathologies. We then review their effect on mitochondria including mitochondrial biogenesis, functioning and transport. Mitochondrial dysregulation is a transdiagnostic mechanism that contributes to the aforementioned pathologies. Hence, we postulate that psychedelic-induced effects on mitochondria partially underlie their transdiagnostic benefits. Based on this assumption, we propose new treatment indications for psychedelics and that the health benefits induced by psychedelics depend on patient-specific mitochondrial dysregulation.

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An Integrative View on the Biopsychology of Stress and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Cited by 5 publications

References 127 publications

The effect of maternal childhood maltreatment on postpartum mother–child bonding and maternal hair glucocorticoids

The effect of maternal childhood maltreatment on postpartum mother–child bonding and maternal hair glucocorticoids

Expression of DNA-repair genes and its relevance for DNA repair in peripheral immune cells of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder

Effects of serotonergic psychedelics on mitochondria: Transdiagnostic implications for mitochondria-related pathologies

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