Hormones & the Environment

1. Hormones & the Environment

2. Hormones & the Environment The environment surrounding us provides a number of Different stressors, observable at different levels Macro-Structure : Cultural Stress Socioeconomic status Micro-Structure : Social Status among groups

3. Hormones & the Environment 1. Macro-Structure : Cultural Factors The stressors for a culture will depend on ecological conditions Stable Unstable -E.g. Disaster, Political etc. -High Stress -Low Adapation -Low institutional support Survival : New adaptation -Low stress -High Adaptation -Good Institutional support

4. Hormones & the Environment 1. Macro-Structure : Cultural Factors The stressors on a culture will depend on ecological conditions Stable Unstable Survival : New adaptation Cultural Stress Accultural Stress -Cultural changes Are introduced From OUTSIDE E.g. Immigration -Novel situations WITHIN the culture Place demands on Individuals E.g. government

5. Hormones & the Environment 1.2: Macro-Structure : Cultural Stress If there are changes WITHIN the culture and people Fail to ADAPT (by changing their behaviors as a group) Then these cultures will disappear E.g. the « Ik » of Northern Uganda Before : live by hunting and fishing Their territory taken away by government These people lost their usual way of coping Maladaptive strategy ; « everyone for himself » Lost of the culture ….. Very similar to our native nations….

6. Hormones & the Environment 1.2: Macro-Structure : Accultural Stress Acculturation : Cultural and psychological changes that follow from contact bewtween two or more cultural groups e.g. immigration Here, the stressors are mainly related To the necessary adaptation to the Encountering of the new cultural Group --> Acculturative stress

7. Hormones & the Environment 1.2: Macro-Structure : Acculturative Stress In order to ADAPT to acculturative stress : many strategies 1. Assimilation : Individuals from the non-dominant group do not wish to maintain their cultural identity and seek daily interactions with the other culture 2. Separation : Individuals place a value on holding on to their original culture and wish to avoid interaction with others 3. Integration : There is an interest from individuals in maintaining one ’s original culture, as well as initiating contact with the others 4. Marginalization : Due to impossibility to maintain cultural contacts or to little interest in having relations with others

8. Hormones & the Environment 1.2: Macro-Structure : Acculturative Stress Continuum of successful adapation to acculturative stress As a function of the adopted coping strategies Integration Assimilation Separation Marginalization High Success No success

9. Hormones & the Environment 1.2: Macro-Structure : Socioeconomic Status Within each culture (being stable, or unstable), there are SOCIAL CLASSES that differ between each other on Many factors, an important one being STRESS Vs...

10. Hormones & the Environment • It is well known that individuals from higher Socioeconomic Status (SES) enjoy better physical and mental health than do individuals from low SES • Risk of mortality (from infectious, parasitic, respiratory, and circulatory diseases) increases as a function of • Employment Grade • Occupational Status • Income • Years of Education Stress has a strong Effect on health Health « Unequal social Distribution of stress »... Socioeconomic Status (SES)

11. Hormones & the Environment Facts • The association between SES and health begins at the early stages of life Langford et al., 1968 • The lower the SES of parents, the higher the blood pressure of school children • Learning disorders and emotional problems occur at greater frequency among children of low SES Anderson & Armstead, 1995

12. Hormones & the Environment Three Possible Mechanisms 1. Genetics : • Genetically based physical or mental factors might lead to lower social position and poorer health • Plausible but improbable since the association between SES and health persists even after adjusting for factors such as height, body mass index and cognitive flexibility

13. Hormones & the Environment 2. Illness : • The association between SES and health is better explained by the influence of illness on SES, rather than of SES on illness • Plausible, but the association between SES and health still persists after controlling for illness, nutrition etc.

14. Hormones & the Environment 3. Psychosocial: • SES may lead to behaviors and/or psychological traits that, in turn, will influence health status • Income, education and occupation may shape an individual’s life course and determine health • Physical and social environments, and the associated vulnerability to interpersonal agression and violence, may be candidate variables that may contribute to the association between SES and health

15. Hormones & the Environment Extension of the Psychosocial Hypothesis : • Another potential pathway by which SES may influence health is through differential exposure of individuals from low and high SES to stress Vs…..

16. Hormones & the Environment Some Facts About Stress and SES: • Individuals lower in SES report greater exposure to stressful life events and a greater impact of these events on their life than individuals higher in SES Cohen et al., 1985; Dohrenwend, 1973 • Higher SES decreases the likelihood of exposure to negative events such as social aggression and unhealthy behaviors Dohrenwend & Dohrenwend, 1970 • Individuals from low SES have less social support during stressful life events than individuals from high SES Cohen, 1988

17. Hormones & the Environment Chronic Stress Related To: -Cardiovascular disease -Birth Complications -Seriousness of chronic illness -Altered immune function -and others. Importance of Stress Hormones : Cortisol

18. Hormones & the Environment Increases in cortisol levels in humans related to : -Various Physical Illnesses (Munck et al., 1984) -Depression (Sachar et al., 1983) -Memory and Attentional Deficits (Lupien et al., 1994; Kirschbaum et al., 1996) Neonates and Children react to environmental stressors with increases in cortisol levels (Gunnar et al., 1989; Larson et al., 1991)

19. Coping Strategies vary as a function of SES Fight Flight Adaptation/Coping Avoidance Problem Solving Method Good for Acute Stress …Bad for chronic stress -High SES : Cognitive problem solving -Low SES : Emotional Problem solving -More frequent Avoiding stategies in Lower SES

20. Coping Strategies vary as a function of SES Importance of SOCIAL SUPPORT High SES Low SES -Rely on familial support (continuation of maladaptive Strategies) -Rely on external support E.g. friends, therapists etc.

21. Hormones, SES & Stress 2 Studies in children : the most vulnerable and those in whom we can try to prevent early the negative impact of stress 1. Flinn & England (1997) : Rural Dominican Society 2. Lupien et al., (2000) : Urban Montreal Society

22. Hormones, SES & Stress 1. Flinn & England (1997) : Children aged 2 months-18 years Location : Bwa Mawego; rural area in Dominican Republic Goal : Identify specific psychosocial causes and consequences of childhood stress 8 measures : 1. Salivary cortisol levels 2. Family composition 3. Socioeconomic conditions 4. Caretaking attention 5. Personality and Temperament 6. Immune response 7. Health 8. Daily activities & emotional states

23. Hormones, SES & Stress 1. Flinn & England (1997) : RESULTS A.Children in unstable family environments (e.g. single mothers, step fathers, half siblings etc) --> More frequently ill B.Household composition is related to stress hormones levels e.g. unstable family environments (absence of fathers) related to higher cortisol levels Conclusion : Children in unstable family environment experience more chronic stress So, high stress in children is more related to the family environment than to SES However, family environment is frequently associated with SES

24. Hormones, SES & Stress 2. Lupien et al., (2000) : Urban population (Montreal) Population : Children from 6 to 16 years of age 6 grades : Elementary 1, 3, 5 High School 1, 3, 5 4 Measures : 1. Morning salivary cortisol in children 2. Cognitive function in children 3. Emotional Plausibility in children 4. Stress and Depression in mothers

25. Hormones, SES & Stress Lupien et al., (2000) RESULTS Children from elementary 1,3,5 3 levels of SES -Low -Medium -High SES differences in cortisol Levels emerge as early as 6 Years of age and more subtle Differences appear at 10 yrs

26. Hormones, SES & Stress Lupien et al., (2000) RESULTS A child ’s cortisol levels Is significantly related To his/her mother ’s Depressive symptoms. Low SES mothers : Tend to be more Depressed. Reactions of children to Their FAMILY ENVIRONMENT

27. Cortisol Levels in Low VS High SES Children Aged from 6 to 16 years of age Low SES 1.4 High SES 1.2 School Transition ** 1.0 Salivary Cortisol Levels (µg/dl) ** 0.8 ** 0.6 0.4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Age Significant Impact Of School Transition On cortisol levels No Gender Differences on Endocrine and Cognitive Measures

28. Hormones, SES & Stress Lupien et al., (2000) Test of « Emotional Plausibility » -An intelligent cow Possible Impossible -A stupid lion Possible Impossible -A funny horse Possible Impossible -An aggressive monkey Possible Impossible Score of 0 : Nothing is more « possible » then « impossible » Positive score : Things are more « possible » then « impossible » Negative score : Things are more « impossible » then « possible »

29. Emotional Plausibility Low SES 0.75 High SES ** ** 0.50 Possible ** ** 0.25 ** 0.00 Impossible -0.25 -0.50 6 8 10 12 14 16 Group X Age difference : F(5,307)=3.6; p=.003 Lupien et al., 2001

30. Cortisol Difference Disappears For once in Low SES children, things seem possible School Transition : 1.4 1.2 ** 1.0 Cortisol ** ** 0.8 0.6 Low SES High SES ** ** 0.50 ** Possible 0.25 ** ** 0.00 -0.25 Impossible -0.50 6 8 10 12 14 16

31. Social class patterning in relation to health exists during childhood and disappears during youth West, 1997 Interpretation : -Results consistent with an “equalization process”

32. 3 Possible Equalizing Influences During Youth West, 1997 Youth = Latency Period -Achievement of Independence -Diminution of Family Influence -Increase of External Influence (Peer) 1. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM School Transition : Marks the first major change in status -Move from a relatively small, locally based school, to a larger impersonal unit; -Move from being the “older” of the school (advantages), to being the “younger” -Sapolsky : Importance of hierarchical status in determining cortisol levels

33. 2. PEER GROUPS Youth : Peer based relations > Family based relations -Significance of peer group increases markedly around 12-13 yr of age (Claes, 1992) Cortisol differences between SES disappeared at that age Possible that the cortisol differences observed during childhood be related to higher stress reactivity of low SES children to family environment -Low SES parents : Higher score of depression Youth : Family based relations decrease, and so does cortisol reactivity to the family environment

34. 3. YOUTH CULTURE -Permeates both school based and peer group experiences -Defines membership as a social category of “youth” -This social category extends beyond that of “social class” The transition to the social category of “youth” may be advantageous for low SES children, and disadvantageous for high SES children High SES parents : Reported higher stress due to social transitions (e.g. Child leaving the house) -Possible that the absence of cortisol differences observed during youth be due to the INCREASE of cortisol levels in high SES teenagers, and the DECREASE of cortisol levels in low SES teenagers due to the influence of youth culture

35. Hormones & the Environment Importance of SOCIAL STATUS in determining cortisol levels SOCIAL STATUS : Micro-structure Within smaller groups : High impact on secretion of stress hormones First studies : Olive Baboons (Sapolsky et al) Others : Humans (Kirschbaum et al., )

36. Hormones & Social Subordinance Sapolsky et al., (1995) --> Studies in Olive Baboons --> Stable Dominance hierarchies ie. the leader is seldom challenged and everybody knows its role in the society --> Measure BASAL cortisol levels (darting method) over long period of times in dominant vs subordinates

37. Hormones & Social Subordinance Sapolsky et al., (1995) : RESULTS DOMINANT Low basal Cortisol levels SUBORDINATE Higher basal Cortisol levels

38. Hormones & Social Subordinance Sapolsky et al., (1995) : RESULTS Social Subordinance : --> High levels of stressors --> Lack of control --> High unpredictability

39. Hormones & Social Subordinance Concomittant variables to the link between cortisol and subordinance 1. Stability of the Hierarchy -Stable : --> Dominant low cortisol --> Subordinate high cortisol -Unstable --> Dominant high cortisol --> Subordinate low cortisol Human example? Mom Boucher gets into a crowded prison….

40. Hormones & Social Subordinance Concomittant variables to the link between cortisol and subordinance 2. Individual experience of the social rank - Unstable interactions with those below someone --> HYPERCORTISOLISM Reason : Bad news, you ’re being challenged -Unstable interactions with those above someone --> No change in cortisol Reason : Good news, you ’re gaining on them!

41. Hormones & Social Subordinance Concomittant variables to the link between cortisol and subordinance 3. Personality of the individual - Low discrimination between win and loose --> HYPERCORTISOLISM -Styles of affiliative behaviors --> Low affiliative = high cortisol

42. Hormones & Social Subordinance Human studies : 1. Hellhammer et al., (1997) : Army recruits RESULTS : No changes in basal cortisol levels Dominant : Higher reactivity to stress Difference from animals : Even the dominants were subordinate to others… 2. Decker (2000) : Men from Bwa Mawego Study the men from the islands RESULTS : higher cortisol levels in those : -Reputation of illicit behaviors -Frequent distressed mood -Fathers absent when they were young….

43. Hormones, Stress & Addiction • Stress has been shown to increase • Addictive behaviors in rats • Addictive Behavior : 3 variables • Locomotor Activity • Self-Administration • Relapse (cue-induced)

44. Hormones, Stress & Addiction • Drug Addiction : • Involvement of DOPAMINE • Reward System Nucleus : VTA Nucleus accumbens Projection to Frontal Lobe

45. Hormones, Stress & Addiction STRESS : Glucocorticoids Leads to Dopamine

46. Hormones, Stress & Addiction 1. Glucocorticoids and Locomotor Activity • Effects of Cocaine : Increased LA • Adrenalectomy : Reduces Increased LA due to Cocaine • Decreased LA by ADX is reversed dose-dependently by corticosterone administration • These data are controlled for cocaine effects on increase in GC E.g. ADX rats with Cort replacement : same effects as control rats, still cannot secrete further GC due to drugs.

47. Hormones, Stress & Addiction 2. Glucocorticoids and Self-Administration of stimulants • Effects of Cocaine : Increased self-administration behavior • Adrenalectomy : Decreased reinforcing effects of cocaine on SA • Decreased SA by ADX is reversed dose-dependently by corticosterone administration • Blockade of corticosterone secretion (metyrapone, ketoconazole) reduces SA of cocaine

48. Hormones, Stress & Addiction 3. Glucocorticoids and Relapse • Relapse : Extinction period; give cue related to drug, then see a return of drug effects on LA or SA • Interestingly, glucocorticoids do not seem to have important effects on relapse induced by drug priming E.g. ADX does not prevent cocaine-induced reinstatement of cocaine self-administration

49. Hormones, Stress & Addiction • Mecanisms of action of stress on SA and LA • -Glucocorticoids increase DA activity in NAc • -ADX reduces extracellular concentrations of DA in NAc • -These effects are reversed by GC replacement • -The effects of GC on DA are dependent on GR and NOT on MR • Antagonist MR : Does not modify extracellular level of DA in NAc • Antagonist GR : dose-dependently decrease DA in NAc • GR activation : related to stress, so stress involvement in addiction

50. A social and developmental picture of stress vulnerability Family Environment -Absent Father -Depressed Mother -Low SES -Everything seems « impossible » -Low discrimination between win & loose Social Environment -Low rank (job) in society -Low control & affiliative behaviors -Higher Aggressivity CHILD TEENS/ADULTS Time Stress Hormones Drug Addiction $5 day care and its Possible impact on Low SES in a few Years…...