Sex hormones predict the sensory strength and vividness of mental imagery

Wassell, Jacinta; Rogers, Sebastian; Felmingam, Kim L.; Bryant, Richard A.; Pearson, Joel

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.02.003

Cited by 26 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 64 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The average early follicular ratio (22.05) is similar to that of healthy females in a prior study (27.03) (Carter et al, 2013), both of which used plasma assay, but higher than that of another study (7.65) (Andreano & Cahill, 2010), which measured hormone levels using saliva. In contrast to healthy females, the average mid-luteal ratio that we calculated for the traumaexposed sample was 167.20, which is notably higher than the ratios obtained in healthy females using both saliva and plasma (Andreano & Cahill, 2010;Carter et al, 2013;Wassell et al, 2015). When looking at individual hormone levels across studies, there is wide variability.…”

Section: P/e Ratio In Healthy Femalescontrasting

confidence: 66%

“…When looking at individual hormone levels across studies, there is wide variability. For example, when assayed via saliva, estradiol in healthy midluteal females ranged from 3.97 to 8.46 pg/mL and progesterone ranged from 145 to 203.26 pg/mL (Andreano & Cahill, 2010;Wassell et al, 2015). When assayed via plasma, estradiol in healthy midluteal females was 117 pg/mL and progesterone was 10.6 ng/mL, while they were 75.34 pg/mL and 12.57 ng/mL, respectively in mid-luteal traumaexposed females.…”

Section: P/e Ratio In Healthy Femalesmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Thus, comparisons among those studies are not yet possible. The paradigms included negative imagery/film (Andreano & Cahill, 2010;Cheung et al, 2013;Soni et al, 2013), general mental imagery (Wassell, Rogers, Felmingam, Bryant, & Pearson, 2015), emotional memory (Ertman, Andreano, & Cahill, 2011;Nielsen et al, 2013), sympathoexcitation (Carter, Fu, Minson, & Joyner, 2013), and fear conditioning/extinction (Milad et al, 2010).…”

Section: P/e Ratio In Healthy Femalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Translational studies of estradiol and progesterone in fear and PTSD

Seligowski

Hurly

Mellen

et al. 2020

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Translational models of fear have greatly informed our understanding of PTSD and its underlying fear circuitry. One of the most replicated findings in the field is the two-fold higher PTSD incidence in females compared to males. While sociocultural factors play a role, the most robust biological influencers to date are gonadal hormones, such as estradiol and progesterone, which fluctuate across the menstrual cycle. Among studies that account for these hormones, most do so in isolation or collect both and only report one. Variation in study findings suggests that the ratio between these two hormones (the P/E ratio) may be an important and missing variable to further understand gonadal hormone influences on fear. Here we review cross-species examinations of fear and PTSD, within the contexts of estradiol and progesterone as well as P/E ratios that were calculated based on extant literature. We then provide recommendations for best practices in assay methods and reporting to improve research on the P/E ratio in fear and PTSD. Ultimately, greater understanding of this important variable will advance efforts to characterize gonadal hormone influences on fear learning processes in humans and animals.

show abstract

Section: P/e Ratio In Healthy Femalescontrasting

confidence: 66%

Section: P/e Ratio In Healthy Femalesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: P/e Ratio In Healthy Femalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Translational studies of estradiol and progesterone in fear and PTSD

Seligowski

Hurly

Mellen

et al. 2020

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Behind these processes, there may be sex differences in the neuro-endocrinological response to stress (Merz and Wolf, 2017 ). Sex hormones are also associated with sensory strength and vividness of mental imagery (Wassell et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Differences in Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms after a Terrorist Attack: A Network Approach

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Posttraumatic stress symptoms are more prevalent in women than in men. To improve our understanding of gender differences in PTSD, detailed knowledge about the underlying symptom networks and gender specific symptom profiles is needed.Objective: We aimed to describe the gender differences in levels of individual posttraumatic stress symptoms after a terrorist attack, as well as identify possible gender differences in associations between posttraumatic stress symptoms.Method: This study used survey data from ministerial employees directly (n = 190) and indirectly (n = 1,615) exposed to the 2011 Oslo bombing. Data was collected approximately 10 months after the event. In order to investigate gender differences in levels of symptoms, we used bootstrapped means and standard deviations. Network analyses were conducted to identify gender differences in the associations between posttraumatic stress symptoms.Results: Women reported higher levels of all symptoms, and the strongest effect sizes were found for symptoms of re-experiencing, and anxious and dysphoric arousal. Among individuals with considerable levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms, women reported higher levels of physiological cue activity and exaggerated startle response. No significant gender differences in the networks of posttraumatic stress were found.Conclusions: The present results find no indication that the gender difference in prevalence of PTSD can be explained by differences in associations between symptoms. In order to determine if this finding can be applied to other participants and circumstances, future studies should seek to replicate this study in both community and clinical samples.

show abstract

“…Imagery vividness (number of sensory cues) and image manipulability vary widely across individuals (Galton, ); some people report images resembling genuine sensory experiences, whereas others report faint or no images. This may reflect biological differences in sensory areas or in the voluntary control mechanisms that activate sensory areas (Wassell, Rogers, Felmingam, Bryant, & Pearson, ). High vividness is associated with greater efficacy of CFI interventions (Kelly et al, ), supporting the hypothesis that weak imagery abilities inhibit CFI generation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%