The Role of Endocrine Stress Systems and Sex Hormones in the Enhancing Effects of Stress on Mental Rotation Capabilities
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Experimental Procedure
2.3. Saliva Sampling Procedure and Biochemical Analysis
2.4. Trier Social Stress Test and the Nonstress Control Condition
2.5. Mental Rotation Task
2.6. Statistical Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Stress Response
3.1.1. Mental Rotation
3.1.2. Cortisol, sAA, Sex Hormones, and Mental Rotation
4. Discussion
4.1. Sex Differences in Baseline Levels of Sex Hormones, Stress Markers and Mental Rotation
4.2. Effects of Psychosocial Stress on Mental Rotation Performance
4.3. Involvement of Neurobiological Stress Systems and Sex Hormones in Stress-Induced Enhancement of Mental Rotation Performance
4.4. Limitations of the Current Study
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Men (N = 37) | OC (N = 34) | LP (N = 36) | F | |
---|---|---|---|---|
M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | ||
Cortisol (µg/dL) | 0.54 (0.39) | 0.58 (0.32) | 0.56 (0.39) | 0.14 |
sAA (U/mL) | 54.17 (50.99) | 43.74 (51.49) | 42.77 (40.06) | 0.61 |
Testosterone (pg/mL) | 126.13 (59.49) | 30.12 (19.87) | 43.19 (29.71) | 57.85 *** |
Estradiol (pg/mL) | 2.78 (1.08) | 2.57 (0.80) | 3.23 (1.13) | 3.86 * |
Progesterone (pg/mL) | 31.59 (30.93) | 20.48 (17.82) | 136.12 (177.14) | 12.15 *** |
MR Performance | Men (N = 21) | OC (N = 20) | LP (N = 17) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Control | Stress | Control | Stress | Control | Stress | |
M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | |
Before stress | 12.72 (5.37) | 10.61 (5.28) | 7.24 (4.86) | 9.59 (4.89) | 8.58 (4.60) | 8.59 (5.71) |
After stress | 11.72 (5.48) | 11.50 (4.77) | 7.06 (5.80) | 11.06 (5.63) | 8.47 (5.25) | 10.29 (6.41) |
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Cohen, A.; Zemel, O.C.; Colodner, R.; Abu-Shkara, R.; Masalha, R.; Mahagna, L.; Barel, E. The Role of Endocrine Stress Systems and Sex Hormones in the Enhancing Effects of Stress on Mental Rotation Capabilities. Brain Sci. 2020, 10, 791. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10110791
Cohen A, Zemel OC, Colodner R, Abu-Shkara R, Masalha R, Mahagna L, Barel E. The Role of Endocrine Stress Systems and Sex Hormones in the Enhancing Effects of Stress on Mental Rotation Capabilities. Brain Sciences. 2020; 10(11):791. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10110791
Chicago/Turabian StyleCohen, Ami, Or Chen Zemel, Raul Colodner, Randa Abu-Shkara, Refaat Masalha, Lila Mahagna, and Efrat Barel. 2020. "The Role of Endocrine Stress Systems and Sex Hormones in the Enhancing Effects of Stress on Mental Rotation Capabilities" Brain Sciences 10, no. 11: 791. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10110791
APA StyleCohen, A., Zemel, O. C., Colodner, R., Abu-Shkara, R., Masalha, R., Mahagna, L., & Barel, E. (2020). The Role of Endocrine Stress Systems and Sex Hormones in the Enhancing Effects of Stress on Mental Rotation Capabilities. Brain Sciences, 10(11), 791. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10110791