title: Effects of panel sex composition on the physiological stress responses to psychosocial stress in healthy young men and women.
abstract: Men and women differ in regard to psychosocial stress responses. Biological and contextual factors are known to mediate these differences; however, few studies investigated their interaction. In the present study, we examined contributions of both contextual and biological factors to the stress response of young healthy adults. Men and women were exposed to a modified version of Trier Social Stress Test. The participants gave a speech in front of a panel of judges, composed of either male or female panelists. Both men, and women presented a cortisol increase only when exposed to opposite sex panelists. Interestingly, this effect was only observed in women in their follicular phase. This finding showed that the induction of a psychosocial stress response does not strictly rely on direct social evaluation, but also depends on the sex composition of the panel. Implications for future studies are discussed.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada. annie.duchesne@mail.mcgill.ca
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Duchesne
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Tessera
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Dedovic
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Engert
authors: J C
authors: JC
authors: Pruessner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone