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Journal Article 2003; 24(5): 283-292 PubMed PMID: 14646999 Citation  Keywords:  Cytokines:physiology, Humans, Neuroimmunomodulation:physiology, Neurosecretory Systems:immunology, Stress, Psychological:immunology, Time Factors,.   

OBJECTIVES: Previously, a large number of studies reported that psychological stress and psychiatric illness reduces immune responsiveness. However, it turned out that stress reduces immune responsiveness is an oversimplified statement because the interactions between central nervous system, endocrine system and the immune system are undoubtedly complex. Therefore, this study aims in reviewing mental stress models (e.g. brief and written examination stress as subacute and acute type of stressor) that have been utilized to understand the effect of stress on the neuroendocrine and immune systems.

METHODS: The published findings from human mental stress models on catecholamines, cortisol, prolactin levels and on T helper (Th) 1 and 2-induced cytokines are presented and discussed with respect to the in vitro and in vivo effects of glucocorticoids, catecholamines, and prolactin on the induction of cytokines.

RESULTS: This review shows evidence that short-time (minutes) or preparation to a written examination, in those students who are stressed, induces the production of proinflammatory cytokines which may be related to Th1 response. However, longer mental stress (days) causes dysregulation in the immune function by shifting the cytokine response to Th2 response.

CONCLUSIONS: The outcome from neuroendocrine and immune function prior to, following and after mental stress depends on multiple variables most importantly on the amount of stress, exposure time, coping behavior and adjustment of the individual. A few minutes of stress may improve immune performance but longer times of mental stress have detrimental effects that may lead to loss of immune integrity. Furthermore, studies on stress and common heath problems are necessary to increase our knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms responsible for producing neuroendocrine-induced immune changes in health and common diseases....

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Clinical Trial 2003; 24(3-4): 173-180 PubMed PMID: 14523353 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Affect:physiology, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone:metabolism, Male, Music:psychology, Photic Stimulation, Radioimmunoassay, Saliva:metabolism, Sex Characteristics, Stress, Psychological:metabolism, Testosterone:metabolism,.   

OBJECTIVES: The aims of the present study were to examine sex-related differences in testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) changes with music listening and visual stress.

SETTING AND DESIGN: Saliva T and C concentrations were measured in 88 healthy college students (44 males and 44 females). These subjects were placed in one of 4 different conditions: (1) 30 min of listening to music, (2) 30 min of listening to music with visual stress (documentary film without sound including violent scenes), (3) 30 min of visual stress without music, and (4) 30 min of silence.

METHODS: All subjects provided two saliva samples, one collected before intervention and the other after intervention. T and C levels were assessed by radio immuno assay (RIA).

RESULTS: There was a significant difference between the sexes in the way music affected T. Music decreased T in males, whereas it increased T in females. As for C, no sex-related differences were found under any of the conditions studied. C decreased with music and increased under other conditions. THE MAIN FINDINGS: Our data suggests that the effects of music and stress on T differ between males and females.

CONCLUSION: Further investigation is necessary to evaluate the relationships between music and other substances, the effect of degree of preference and hormonal changes not only during music listening but also during music plays and creation....

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Comment 2003; 24(3-4): 148-150 PubMed PMID: 14523348 Citation  Keywords:  Adaptation, Psychological:physiology, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity:diagnosis, Biological Evolution, Child, Child Behavior:physiology, Humans,.   

: The evolutionary approach to the issue of ADHD derives from the assumption that what is regarded as a pathological phenomenon today was once an adaptive response to the conditions of life in the ancestral stages of human development. The paper argues against this conception on the basis of the clinical picture of ADHD. The author believes that in the previous "natural" conditions the ADHD syndrome was even more of a maladaptation than in the "protective" conditions of present-day life....

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Clinical Trial 2003; 24(1-2): 15-20 PubMed PMID: 12743526 Citation  Keywords:  Abdominal Wall:anatomy & histology, Adult, Algorithms, Biomechanical Phenomena, Elasticity, Female, Humans, Models, Biological, Myometrium:physiology, Pregnancy:physiology, Vibration,.   

THE AIM OF THE STUDY: Selected parameters of mechanical characteristics of the gravid abdomen under impact load.

TYPE OF THE STUDY: Experimental biomechanical study carried out in a human in vivo.

METHOD: Damped vibration of the gravid abdomen was detected after a defined impact load using speed cinematographic recording of 103 pictures/sec. A women in 32nd week of gestation, performing toe stand and fall down to the heel, the drop was 0.08 m. The recording was digitalized and the values mathematically analysed. The method used was PAM (polynomial approximation method) of approximation of discrete coordinates. The umbilikus' trajectory in reaction to the impact load was described analytically and interpreted graphically. Parameters of abdomen vibration were detected in horizontal profile by tensometric belt. Impact in interaction of soles with the underlay was detected with the help of tensometric platform Kistler. Ultimate strength point of myometrium was set by tearing experiment in 12 samples.

RESULTS: Calculation of characteristics of damped, aperiodic vibration of hydro-viscous elastic system as the outside behaviour of the gravid abdomen. Parameters in vertical direction of umbilicus: impulse in abdominal area - 2,72 Ns, T-period - 0.1299 s, amplitude - 0,009 m, frequency - 7,7 Hz, functional damping - from -6 to +12 Nsm-1. In horizontal direction: frequency 5,4 Hz, damping 123 Nsm-1. Impact in soles' sphere 40 Ns with maximum value 1511 N, which represents level 2,2 G. Ultimate strength point of myometrium is 0,1 - 1,1 MPa.

CONCLUSION: The results show one of the possible critical, risky frequencies of the gravid abdomen, that is, in this concrete case, the frequency of the vibrating system of cca 7,7 Hz in vertical direction and cca 5,4 Hz horizontally. This implies that e.g. this frequency is dangerous (possible abruptio placentae) and is necessary to be avoided e.g. when travelling by means of public transportation. The applied analytic methods and presented parameters will be used for e.g. modelling the examined gravid system under impact load of a general character--locomotion, work-load, car accidents, etc....

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Comparative Study 2002; 23(Suppl 4): 105-115 PubMed PMID: 12496741 Citation  Keywords:  Adaptation, Psychological:physiology, Animals, Biological Evolution, Brain:drug effects, Central Nervous System Agents:pharmacology, Competitive Behavior, Depression:etiology, Ethology:methods, Humans, Molecular Biology:methods, Neurosciences:methods, Pep.   

: Evolutionary psychologists often overlook a wealth of information existing between the proximate genotypic level and the ultimate phenotypic level. This commonly ignored level of biological organization is the ongoing activity of neurobiological systems. In this paper, we extend our previous arguments concerning strategic weaknesses of evolutionary psychology by advocating a foundational view that focuses on similarities in brain, behavior, and various basic psychological features across mammalian species. Such an approach offers the potential to link the emerging discipline of evolutionary psychology to its parent scientific disciplines such as biochemistry, physiology, molecular genetics, developmental biology and the neuroscientific analysis of animal behavior. We detail an example of this through our impending work using gene microarray technology to characterize gene expression patterns in rats during aggressive and playful social interactions. Through a focus on functional homologies and the experimental analysis of conserved, subcortical emotional and motivational brain systems, neuroevolutionary psychobiology can reveal ancient features of the human mind that are still shared with other animals. Claims regarding evolved, uniquely human, psychological constructs should be constrained by the rigorous evidentiary standards that are routine in other sciences....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(Suppl 4): 98-104 PubMed PMID: 12496740 Citation  Keywords:  Algorithms, Biological Evolution, Humans, Mental Processes, Religion and Psychology, Religious Philosophies,.   

: How can the evolution of religiosity be explained? To answer this question, we attempt to develop an understanding of the psychological domains underlying religious behaviour. We see four evolved domains, the sum and interaction of which constitute religiosity, namely: mysticism, ethics, myths and rituals. Even if the individual content, accents and implementations differ in each specific religion, they nevertheless derive from evolved Darwinian algorithms that are species-specific adaptations of homo sapiens. Mysticism. Intuitive ontologies are the basis for mystical experiences. Usually they serve to classify reality into animate and inanimate objects, animals or plants, for example. For a variety of psychological reasons, supernatural experiences result from a mixture of different ontological categories. Ethics. The basis for ethics lies in the social competency of human beings. Ethics is founded on the concept of social exchange ("social-contract algorithm") with its ideas about reciprocity, fairness, justice, cheater detection, in-group/out-group differentiation, etc. Myths. The basis for myths is the "language instinct". We interpret myths as the verbal expression of the cognitive content of those individual modules that constitute the belief system. Above all, myths document the experience and processing of contingency and thus help social bonding. Rituals. Rituals are based on the handicap principle. By making certain symbols and acts more expensive, they signal commitment for a reliable in-group morale. In conclusion, we argue that human religiosity emerges from a cognitive interaction between these four domains. Religiosity processes contingencies and enhances co-operation through social bonding, norm setting and cheater detection. It fulfils those functions for which the mental modules of its four domains have evolved so that we feel it appears to be justified to attribute to religiosity the evolutionary status of an adaptation....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(Suppl 4): 92-97 PubMed PMID: 12496739 Citation  Keywords:  Brain Mapping, Courtship:psychology, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Marriage:psychology, Nervous System Physiological Phenomena,.   

: Scientists have described many physical and behavioral traits in avian and mammalian species that evolved to attract mates. But the brain mechanisms by which conspecifics become attracted to these traits is unknown. This paper maintains that two aspects of mate choice evolved in tandem: 1) traits that evolved in the "display producer" to attract mates and, 2) corresponding neural mechanisms in the "display chooser" that enable them to become attracted to these display traits. Then it discusses our (in-progress) fMRI brain scanning project on human romantic attraction, what we believe is a developed form of "courtship attraction" common to avian and mammalian species as well as the primary neural mechanism underlying avian and mammalian mate choice. The paper hypothesizes that courtship attraction is associated with elevated levels of central dopamine and norepinephrine and decreased levels of central serotonin in reward pathways of the brain. It also proposes that courtship attraction is part of a triune brain system for mating, reproduction and parenting. 1)The sex drive evolved to motivate birds and mammals to court any conspecifics. 2) The attraction system evolved to enable individuals to discriminate among potential mating partners and focus courtship activities on particular individuals, thereby conserving mating time and energy. 3) The neural circuitry for attachment evolved to enable individuals to complete species-specific parental duties....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(Suppl 4): 81-91 PubMed PMID: 12496738 Citation  Keywords:  Body Mass Index, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Cultural Evolution, Female, Fertility:physiology, Health, Humans, Marriage:psychology, Models, Biological, Reproductive Behavior:physiology, Sexual Partners, Waist-Hip Ratio,.   

: A fundamental assumption of adaptive explanations of female attractiveness is that bodily features that males judge as attractive reliably signal youthfulness, healthiness, and fertility or female mate value. One of the bodily features, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), is a reliable indicator of a female's reproductive age, sex hormone profile, parity and risk for various diseases. Systematic variation in the size of WHR also systematically affects the judgment of female attractiveness, healthiness, and youthfulness. This article summarizes recent findings about the relationship between female's WHR and various factors affecting reproductive capability and risk for diseases. Research on the relationship between attractiveness and WHR is discussed in light of some methodological objections to previous research. Finally, cross-cultural and historical data are presented that suggest that the relationship between WHR and female attractiveness is not culture-specific and not inculcated by modern Western fashion dictates or media....

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