Salivary hormone concentrations in mothers and fathers becoming parents are not correlated

A time- and date-matched set of saliva samples (N = 229) from nine couples first expecting, and then caring for, their first child were used to test whether hormone changes in the father could be predicted by the hormonal status of the mother. Testosterone, cortisol, and estradiol were quantified from saliva. Neither testosterone nor estradiol concentration was correlated within couples before or after the birth, although there was a positive correlation for cortisol concentration in the mother and father before the birth. As the hormone that might be influenced by chemical signals, that already played a similar role in men and women, and that had been empirically linked to paternal behavior, cortisol concentration was also compared with sex steroid concentrations. The mother's cortisol concentration was positively correlated to the father's testosterone concentration, and the mother's testosterone concentration was positively correlated with the father's cortisol concentration. However, both effects were similar in magnitude to the cortisol to cortisol correlation, and all could parsimoniously be explained by similar responses to a shared environment. Thus, this analysis rejects parallels in peripheral hormone concentrations of estradiol, testosterone, and cortisol in mothers and fathers. However, the available data were not able to test or reject hypotheses about local neuroendocrine homology, nor to control for masking effects of other hormonal demands on men and women, nor to determine the relative importance of shared environment versus mother-father signaling.     

Testosterone and Jamaican Fathers

This paper investigates relationships between men’s testosterone and family life in a sample of approximately 350 Jamaican fathers of children 18–24 months of age. The study recognizes the role of testosterone as a proximate mechanism coordinating and reflecting male life history allocations within specific family and cultural contexts. A sample of Jamaican fathers and/or father figures reported to an assessment center for an interview based on a standardized questionnaire and provided a saliva sample for measuring testosterone level. Outcomes measured include subject demographics such as age and relationship status as well as partnership quality and sexuality and paternal attitudes and behavior. The variation in these fathers’ relationship status (e.g., married co-residential fathers, fathers in new non-residential relationships) was not associated with men’s testosterone. Too few stepfathers participated to enable a direct test of the prediction that stepfathers would have higher testosterone than biological fathers, although fathers who reported living with partners’ (but not his own) children did not have higher testosterone than fathers not reporting residing with a non-biological child. Fathers’ relationship quality was negatively related to their testosterone. Measures of paternal attitudes and behavior were not related to fathers’ testosterone. Consistent with previous ethnography, this sample of Jamaican fathers exhibited variable life history profiles, including residential status. We discuss why fathers’ relationship quality was found to be negatively related to their testosterone level, but other predictions were not upheld.     

A preliminary investigation of urinary testosterone and cortisol levels in wild male mountain gorillas

Urinary steroid hormone levels were measured in wild male mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) to determine how levels of testosterone and cortisol corresponded with age and social rank. Urine samples were collected noninvasively from 18 males, ranging in age from 3–26 years, in three groups of wild mountain gorillas at the Karisoke Research Center, Rwanda, Africa, and samples were analyzed using radioimmunoassay procedures. Males were classified as being immature (<7 years), maturing (10–13 years), or adult (+13 years of age). Immature males had significantly lower levels of testosterone and higher levels of cortisol than both maturing and adult males. No differences in testosterone or cortisol levels were found between maturing and adult males. Dominant males exhibited a trend toward significantly higher levels of testosterone than subordinate males, but no difference was found between cortisol levels of dominant and subordinate males. These results suggest that the increase in testosterone associated with puberty occurs prior to any outward sign of development of secondary sexual characteristics. Within-group male–male competition may affect testosterone levels, but the lack of difference in cortisol levels between dominant and subordinate males suggests that subordinate males are not socially stressed, at least as measured by cortisol. Am. J. Primatol. 43:51–64, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Women's intercollegiate athletic competition: Cortisol,testosterone, and the dual-hormone hypothesis as it relates to status among teammates

Recent research suggests that testosterone and cortisol jointly regulate dominance motivation and, perhaps, the status relationships that are affected by it. For this article, the results of six different studies of women's intercollegiate athletic competition were combined to give a sample size of almost ninety women for whom we had before- and after-competition values for salivary cortisol and testosterone for at least one and sometimes two competitions. For many of these women, we had surveys that allowed us to assess their status with teammates. In no matter what sport (soccer, softball, volleyball, and tennis) levels of salivary cortisol and testosterone increased when women participated in athletic competition. Salivary levels of C and T appear to rise in parallel during competition and increases in levels of one hormone are significantly related to increases in the other. Salivary levels of these hormones typically decreased for teammates who did not play but watched the competition from the sidelines. For women who played in two competitions, individual differences in the positive effect of competition on cortisol and testosterone were conserved from one competition to the next, affirming the personal consistency of endocrine responses to competition. Status with teammates was positively related to before-competition levels of testosterone, but only for women with relatively low before-competition levels of cortisol. This result provides novel support for the “dual-hormone hypothesis” as it relates to predicting social status in women's athletic teams — natural social groups of individuals who know each other and whose social hierarchy has evolved over the course of practice and play for at least one and, in some cases, several years of intercollegiate athletic competition.     

Testosterone and cortisol release among Spanish soccer fans watching the 2010 World Cup final

This field study investigated the release of testosterone and cortisol of a vicarious winning experience in Spanish fans watching the finals between Spain and the Netherlands in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer. Spanish fans (n = 50) watched the match with friends or family in a public place or at home and also participated in a control condition. Consistent with hypotheses, results revealed that testosterone and cortisol levels were higher when watching the match than on a control day. However, neither testosterone nor cortisol levels increased after the victory of the Spanish team. Moreover, the increase in testosterone secretion was not related to participants' sex, age or soccer fandom, but the increase in total cortisol secretion during the match was higher among men than among women and among fans that were younger. Also, increases in cortisol secretion were greater to the degree that people were a stronger fan of soccer. Level of fandom further appeared to account for the sex effect, but not for the age effect. Generally, the testosterone data from this study are in line with the challenge hypothesis, as testosterone levels of watchers increased to prepare their organism to defend or enhance their social status. The cortisol data from this study are in line with social self-preservation theory, as higher cortisol secretion among young and greater soccer fans suggests that especially they perceived that a negative outcome of the match would threaten their own social esteem.     

Impossible “Choices”: The Inherent Harms of Regulating Women’s Testosterone in Sport

In April 2018, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) released new regulations placing a ceiling on women athletes’ natural testosterone levels to “ensure fair and meaningful competition.” The regulations revise previous ones with the same intent. They require women with higher natural levels of testosterone and androgen sensitivity who compete in a set of “restricted” events to lower their testosterone levels to below a designated threshold. If they do not lower their testosterone, women may compete in the male category, in an intersex category, at the national level, or in unrestricted events. Women may also challenge the regulation, whether or not they have lowered their testosterone, or quit sport. Irrespective of IAAF’s stated aims, the options forced by the new regulations are impossible choices. They violate dignity, threaten privacy, and mete out both suspicion and judgement on the sex and gender identity of the athletes regulated.     

Cortisol levels are positively associated with pup-feeding rates in male meerkats

In societies of cooperative vertebrates, individual differences in contributions to offspring care are commonly substantial. Recent attempts to explain the causes of this variation have focused on correlations between contributions to care and the protein hormone prolactin, or the steroid hormone testosterone. However, such studies have seldom considered the importance of other hormones or controlled for non-hormonal factors that are correlative with both individual hormone levels and contributions to care. Using multivariate statistics, we show that hormone levels explain significant variation in contributions to pup-feeding by male meerkats, even after controlling for non-hormonal effects. However, long-term contributions to pup provisioning were significantly and positively correlated with plasma levels of cortisol rather than prolactin, while plasma levels of testosterone were not related to individual patterns of pup-feeding. Furthermore, a playback experiment that used pup begging calls to increase the feeding rates of male helpers gave rise to parallel increases in plasma cortisol levels, whilst prolactin and testosterone levels remained unchanged. Our findings confirm that hormones can explain significant amounts of variation in contributions to offspring feeding, and that cortisol, not prolactin, is the hormone most strongly associated with pup-feeding in cooperative male meerkats.     

Hormonal correlates of human paternal interactions: a hospital-based investigation in urban Jamaica

To expand our understanding of the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying human fatherhood, including its cross-cultural expression, we investigated the hormonal correlates of fatherhood in the greater Kingston, Jamaica area. We recruited 43 men, aged 18-38, to participate: 15 single men; 16 "coresidential" fathers (men who live with their adult female partner and youngest child); and 12 "visiting" fathers (men who live apart from their adult female partner and youngest child). The research protocol entailed biological sampling before and after a 20-min behavioral session during which single men sat alone and fathers interacted with their partner and youngest child. Hormone measures relied upon minimally invasive techniques (salivary testosterone and cortisol, finger prick blood spot prolactin, urinary oxytocin and vasopressin). Results revealed significant group differences in average male testosterone levels (p=0.006), with post hoc contrasts indicating that visiting fathers had significantly (p<0.05) lower testosterone levels than single men. Prolactin profiles also differed significantly across groups (p=0.010) whereby post hoc contrasts showed that prolactin levels of single men declined significantly compared with the flat levels of visiting fathers (p<0.05). No group differences in cortisol, oxytocin or vasopressin levels were observed. However, among fathers, vasopressin levels were significantly and negatively (r=-.431, p=0.022) correlated with the age of a man's youngest child. These results thus implicate lower testosterone levels as well as prolactin and vasopressin in human fatherhood. These findings also highlight the importance of sociocultural context in human fatherhood while exhibiting parallels with existing data on the non-human vertebrate hormonal bases of paternal care.     

Cortisol and Growth Hormone Secretion in Relation to Linear Growth: Patients with Still's Disease on Different Therapeutic Regimens

Linear growth was studied in 20 children suffering from Still''s disease on various treatment regimens, and their ability to secrete growth hormone and cortisol was investigated. Growth recovered on reducing daily corticosteroid therapy or on changing to an alternative regimen. Retardation of growth was not due to an absolute inability to secrete growth hormone. Basal plasma cortisol levels and the plasma cortisol response to hypoglycaemia were reduced in patients on daily steroid therapy, but patients on alternate-day prednisone did not differ significantly in this respect from those on non-steroid regimens. Those on alternate-day corticotrophin showed preservation of the circadian rhythm but a subnormal response to hypoglycaemia.     

Measuring water‐borne cortisol in Poecilia latipinna:is the process stressful,can stress be minimized and is cortisol correlated with sex steroid release rates?

The stress of water-borne hormone collection process was examined in sailfin mollies Poecilia latipinna. Baseline release rates of the stress hormone cortisol were measured and minimum confinement time for water sampling was evaluated for a standard 60 min v. a 30 min protocol. A 30 min hormone collection period reflects release rates over 60 min. Potential stress response to confinement in the beaker for the water-borne collection process was tested over 4 days. There was no evidence of stress due to the collection methods, as cortisol release rates did not differ significantly across four sequential days of handling for P. latipinna. Males and females did not differ significantly in baseline cortisol release rates. Baseline cortisol release rates from fish immediately after being collected in the field were also not significantly different than those in the 4 day confinement experiment. After exposure to a novel environment, however, P. latipinna mounted a stress response. Stress may also affect sex steroids and behaviour but cortisol release rates were not significantly correlated with sex steroids [11-ketotestosterone (KT), testosterone, or oestradiol], or mating attempts. The correlation between water-borne release rates and plasma steroid levels was validated for both cortisol and KT. Finally, normalizing cortisol release rates using standard length in lieu of mass is viable and accurate. Water-borne hormone assays are a valuable tool for investigating questions concerning the role of hormones in mediating stress responses and reproductive behaviours in P. latipinna and other livebearing fishes.     

Testosterone and androgen receptor gene polymorphism are associated with confidence and competitiveness in men

A contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition.Studies in non-human animals and humans have demonstrated the important role of testosterone in competitive interactions. Here, we investigated whether endogenous testosterone levels predict the decision to compete, in a design excluding spite as a motive underlying competitiveness. In a laboratory experiment with real monetary incentives, 181 men solved arithmetic problems, first under a noncompetitive piece rate, followed by a competition incentive scheme. We also assessed several parameters relevant to competition, such as risk taking, performance, and confidence in one's own performance. Salivary testosterone levels were measured before and 20 min after the competition task using mass spectrometry. Participants were also genotyped for the CAG repeat polymorphism of the androgen receptor gene, known to influence the efficacy of testosterone signaling in a reciprocal relationship to the number of CAG repeats. We observed a significant positive association between basal testosterone levels and the decision to compete, and that higher testosterone levels were related to greater confidence in one's own performance. Whereas the number of CAG repeats was not associated with the choice to compete, a lower number of CAG repeats was related to greater confidence in those who chose to compete, but this effect was attributable to the polymorphism's effect on actual performance. An increase in testosterone levels was observed following the experiment, and this increase varied with self-reported high-school math grades. We expand upon the latest research by documenting effects of the androgen system in confidence in one's own ability, and conclude that testosterone promotes competitiveness without spite.     

Testosterone and prolactin are associated with emotional responses to infant cries in new fathers

To determine the responsiveness of new fathers and non-fathers toward infant cues, we exposed fathers and non-fathers to infant cries and to control stimuli and we measured affective, heart-rate, and endocrine responses, including salivary testosterone and cortisol and plasma prolactin concentrations prior to and after cry presentations. We found that (1) fathers hearing the cry stimuli felt more sympathetic and more alert compared to groups who did not hear the cries or to non-fathers who heard the cries; (2) fathers and non-fathers with lower testosterone levels had higher sympathy and/or need to respond to the infant cries than fathers with higher testosterone levels; (3) fathers with higher, as opposed to lower, prolactin levels were also more alert and more positive in response to the cries; (4) fathers hearing the cry stimuli showed greater percentage increase in testosterone than fathers not hearing the cry stimuli; (5) experienced fathers hearing the cries showed a greater percentage increase in prolactin levels compared to first-time fathers or to any group of fathers hearing control stimuli; finally, (6) partial correlations with parity and experience entered as a covariates indicated that both experience and testosterone contributed to the variance in fathers' affective responses to infant cries. Taken together, these results indicate that, as with a number of other biparental species, human fathers are more responsive to infant cues than are non-fathers and fathers' responses to infant cues are related to both hormones and to caregiving experience.     

Fathers have lower salivary testosterone levels than unmarried men and married non-fathers in Beijing, China

A growing body of evidence, almost entirely from North America, has found that male testosterone levels are positively associated with mating effort (male-male competition and mate-seeking behaviour), while lower testosterone levels have been associated with affiliative pair bonding and paternal care. To expand the cross-cultural scope of this research, here we investigate variation in salivary testosterone levels among Chinese men in relation to marital and parenting variables. One hundred and twenty-six men drawn from a Beijing university setting between the ages of 21 and 38 completed a questionnaire and provided both morning and late afternoon saliva samples from which testosterone levels were measured. The 66 unmarried men had slightly higher levels of testosterone than the 30 married non-fathers, but this difference was not statistically significant. However, the 30 fathers exhibited significantly lower testosterone levels than both unmarried men and married non-fathers. Among married non-fathers, marital relationship quality was not significantly related to testosterone levels. Among married fathers, men with children aged less than 4 years of age did not have lower testosterone levels than men with older children. These data are the first outside of North America to show lower testosterone levels among fathers, and lend support to the theoretical view that male testosterone levels differ according to mating and parenting effort.     

A positive relationship between body height and the testosterone response to physical exercise

Human male height is one of the most conspicuous sexually dimorphic, phenotypic characteristics that affect how men are perceived both by men and women, impacting mate selection and intra-sexual competition. Testosterone is a key hormone linked to morphological masculinity and advantage in intra-sexual competition. To date, there have been limited studies linking height with testosterone levels. Here, we examined the change in circulating testosterone levels after physical exercise in 97 healthy and physically active men. Our results show that there was a significant relationship between male stature and the change in testosterone levels, whereas there was no such link between body height and circulating testosterone levels. Therefore, our findings provide evidence that height may indicate male’s adaptive capabilities to physiologically mobilize their bodies when it is needed and/or beneficial.     

Role of human adipose tissue in the production and metabolism of steroid hormones

Radioimmunological methods have been employed for the simultaneous determination of dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione, testosterone, oestrogens (oestradiol + oestrone), progesterone, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and cortisol in human adipose tissue and peripheral blood to compare the hormone pool of adipose tissue with that in the general circulation. Extremely high steroid concentrations in the adipose tissue and hormone pool in the fat of obese subjects were observed. For adipose tissue/serum steroid ratios, the highest values were obtained for dehydroepiandrosterone and the lowest ones for cortisol. A preliminary study showed a great accumulation of steroids in adjacent adipose tissue of breast tumors. Striking differences were observed in the adipose tissue steroid concentrations between benign and malignant mammary tumors. The present findings revealed that blood hormone determinations may be insufficient to consider the steroid hormone availability in various endocrinopathies or steroid responsive tumors, especially when the endocrine state of extremely obese subjects is observed.     

The effect of hormonal stimulation on steroid levels in tissue incubates of the sterlet (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Acipenser ruthenus</Emphasis> L.)

Sex steroid and cortisol levels were compared in Leibovitz’s L-15 cultural medium after incubation of tissue samples from the intact female and male sterlet (Acipenser rhutenus L.) and from the fishes exposed to hormonal stimulation of sexual maturation by a superactive analog of mammalian gonadotropin-releasing hormone (LH-RH-A). A higher level of 17,20β,21-trihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (20βS) was revealed in the cultural medium following incubation of ovarian follicles isolated from females 5 h after LH-RH-A stimulation, as compared to the data obtained for intact females. The addition of 1 μM progesterone (P₄) to the cultural medium before incubation of ovarian follicles also led to an increase in the 20βS level in the incubates by the end of the experiment. Cortisol and testosterone levels in the incubates exhibited the same tendency. The blood cortisol level significantly increased in females 5 h after their hormonal stimulation. In males, showing high levels of androgens (testosterone and 11-ketotestosterone) in the blood serum before hormonal stimulation, high levels of these hormones were also detected in the cultural medium after incubation of testicular and liver tissue samples. The addition of P₄ to the medium before incubation stimulated the production of sex steroids and cortisol by the gonadal fragments. Upon addition of P₄ to the incubation mixture, containing liver tissue samples, the 20βS level increased.     

Seasonal changes in plasma testosterone and glucocorticosteroids in free-living male yellow-pine chipmunks and the response to capture and handling

We measured plasma levels of testosterone, corticosterone, and cortisol in free-living male yellow-pine chipmunks to demonstrate the patterns of seasonal variation and to assess the effects of capture and handling on hormone levels. We achieved the latter by modifying our standard trapping technique (blood samples collected within 1–3 h of capture) to obtain blood samples that allowed measurement of hormone levels within 3 min of capture (basal) and again 30 min later. By alternating the modified and standard trapping techniques over 7 months of the active season we demonstrated that seasonal patterns of variation in steroid hormone levels can be accurately described with the simpler, standard trapping technique. Basal and 30-min post-capture testosterone levels were high during mating and dropped to a persistently low level thereafter. Conversely, both cortisol and corticosterone were at their seasonal low during mating and climbed to peak levels in June following reproduction. Plasma glucocorticosteroid levels increased during the 30 min after capture and handling at all times of the active season, and these elevated levels were similar to the levels obtained by standard trapping. Testosterone levels during the mating period also increased in response to capture and handling. The contrasting patterns of seasonal variation in glucocorticosteroid and testosterone levels and the changes induced by capture and handling suggest that when testosterone concentration is high, adrenocortical activity is suppressed. Accepted: 17 February 2000     

圈养马麝刻板行为表达与粪样类固醇激素的关系

2017年7月1日-8月31日及2018年6月1日-7月31日,在甘肃兴隆山保护区马麝繁育中心,采用焦点取样法和连续记录法进行了圈养马麝的刻板行为取样,采集同期粪样,并用放射免疫分析法（RIA）检测粪样中肾上腺皮质醇、睾酮及雌二醇激素的水平,分析了圈养马麝刻板行为表达与上述3种激素水平的关系。结果显示,展现刻板行为的圈养马麝的皮质醇水平（111.099 ± 16.231）ng/g略高于无刻板行为表达的马麝（95.640± 9.738） ng/g,差异未达显著（P> 0.05）;展现刻板行为雄麝的睾酮水平（135.900± 21.582）ng/g略高于无刻板行为的雄麝（108.182 ± 9.689） ng/g,差异也不显著（P> 0.05）;展现刻板行为雌麝的雌二醇水平（0.445 ± 0.116）ng/g显著低于无刻板行为雌麝（10.843 ± 1.142）ng/g（P< 0.05）。研究结果表明,圈养雄性马麝的刻板行为表达与其类固醇激素水平不相关;而雌麝的刻板行为表达与雌二醇分泌显著负相关,这与其繁殖及健康状况有关。在麝类驯养实践中,可将粪样类固醇激素水平（尤其是雌二醇）作为其受胁迫水平及行为健康的监测指标。     

Coalitional Physical Competition

A large body of research links testosterone and cortisol to male-male competition. Yet, little work has explored acute steroid hormone responses to coalitional, physical competition during middle childhood. Here, we investigate testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), androstenedione, and cortisol release among ethnically Chinese boys in Hong Kong (N = 102), aged 8–11 years, during a soccer match (n = 84) and an intrasquad soccer scrimmage (n = 81), with 63 participants competing in both treatments. The soccer match and intrasquad soccer scrimmage represented out-group and in-group treatments, respectively. Results revealed that testosterone showed no measurable change. DHEA increased during both treatments in the majority of participants and the degree of change had no relation to independent variables (e.g., performance, age, treatment, outcome) or covariate measures (Body Mass Index, Pubertal Development Scale). Most boys experienced androstenedione increases during match play, but no significant differences during the intrasquad soccer scrimmage competitions. The magnitude of change differed significantly between treatments and was positively associated with age. These latter findings suggest boys’ androstenedione responses may be sensitive to competitor type (i.e., unknown competitors vs. peers). For most subjects, cortisol significantly increased during match play, decreased during the intrasquad soccer scrimmage, and differed significantly between treatments, suggesting each treatment promoted a different psychological state among competitors. Cortisol/DHEA molar ratio decreased during the intrasquad scrimmage, suggestive of a more relaxed mental state. These data shed new light on potential proximate mechanisms associated with coalitional competition among prepubescent boys, with relevance to adrenarche and life history theory.     

Hormonal response to competition among male coalitions

Previous research has shown that testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) are released in response to a wide variety of social stimuli including dyadic (one on one) competitive events, but humans also compete as groups. Here we report results from a pilot study of hormonal responses to competition between male coalitions. Salivary T and C levels were assessed in adult males from a rural Caribbean village who competed at dominoes, as two-man teams, against (a) familiar men from their own village (within coalition), and (b) strangers from another village (between coalitions). Analyses indicate that both T and C levels were higher and responses more pronounced for between-village competition than for within-village competition, but we could not compare responses to victory and defeat in the between-village case, since our subjects happened to win both such contests. Further studies of endocrine responses in the context of coalitional competition are warranted.