Testosterone–cortisol dissociation in children exposed to prenatal maternal stress, and relationship with aggression: Project Ice Storm

Abstract

Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) has been associated with postnatal behavioral alterations that may be partly explained by interactions between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axes. Yet it remains unclear whether PNMS leads to enduring HPA-HPG alterations in the offspring, and whether HPA-HPG interactions can impact behavior during development, in particular levels of aggression in childhood. Here we investigated the relationship between a marker for HPG axis function (baseline testosterone) and a marker for HPA axis response (cortisol area under the curve) in 11½-year-olds whose mothers were exposed to the 1998 Quebec ice storm during pregnancy (n = 59 children; 31 boys, 28 girls). We examined (a) whether the degree of objective or subjective PNMS regulates the testosterone-cortisol relationship at age 11½, and (b) whether this testosterone-cortisol relationship is associated with differences in aggressive behavior. We found that, at lower levels of subjective PNMS, baseline testosterone and cortisol reactivity were positively correlated; in contrast, there was no relationship between these hormones at higher levels of subjective PNMS. Cortisol response moderated the relationship between testosterone and aggression. These results support the notion PNMS may explain variance in fetal HPA-HPG interactions, and that these interactions may be associated with aggressive behavior in late childhood.

The Relationships Among Testosterone, Cortisol, and Cognitive Control of Emotion as Underlying Mechanisms of Emotional Intelligence of 10- to 11-Year-Old Children

“…The lack of sex differences in testosterone levels, as reported in our results, is consistent with previous studies of children (Quaiser-Pohl et al, 2016;Nguyen et al, 2018). Distinguishing between the biologically active free fraction of gonadal hormone levels (as measured in saliva) and the amount of available hormone levels in total (as measured in blood) might be important (Quaiser-Pohl et al, 2016).…”

Age‐specific associations between oestradiol, cortico‐amygdalar structural covariance, and verbal and spatial skills

“…Cognitive measures were administered each time that the participant underwent a scan and, by extension, each time hormonal measures were collected. We measured: (i) anxious and depressed symptoms using the CBCL Anxious‐Depressed subscale, which measures the frequency of anxious and depressed symptoms in the past 6 months via parental report; (ii) verbal and language skills using the WJ Letter‐Word Identification and Passage Comprehension tests, which features word identification skills and the understanding of written text, respectively; and non‐verbal spatial skills using the CANTAB Spatial Working Memory test, which features use of self‐guided spatial search strategies and mental manipulations of spatial cues …”

“…The amygdala and cortex undergo significant structural changes during critical developmental periods when there is a rise in steroid hormones, such as the prenatal and pubertal periods. In particular, endocrine disruption related to prenatal stress may influence amygdalar volumetric properties, as well as alter behavioural outcomes such as aggression levels . Many steroid hormones may play an important role in brain development during these developmental periods, including but not limited to oestrogens, androgens and corticosteroids .…”

“…Structural covariance is one way of examining how different brain regions may follow similar developmental trajectories. The extent to which morphology in one brain region correlates with the morphology in other brain regions (ie, covariance patterns) is considered to reflect underlying anatomical connectivity, as well as functional changes in brain networks . Cortical thickness (CTh) is a component of cortical volume and, compared to the latter, is assumed to be more closely related to the morphometry of cortical columns .…”

Вплив Різних Моделей Іммобілізаційного Стресу На Морфологічні Зміни У Серці Високо- І Низькостійких До Гострої Гіпоксійної Гіпоксії Щурів Різної Статі

“…Вступ. Реактивність організму залежить від типу вищої нервової діяльності [1], регуляторних впливів з боку автономної нервової [2], ендокринної [3] та імунної систем [4], статі [5], віку [6], умов навколишнього середовища [7] тощо. Одним із факторів, при якому змінюється реактивність, є стрес.…”