Plasma homocysteine concentrations are positively associated with hostility and anger

Homocysteine is a sulphur amino acid that is positively associated with risk of vascular disease. Very few behavioral or psychological factors have been studied in relationship to homocysteine levels, despite the fact that several psychological factors have also been linked with risk for cardiovascular disease. One psychological attribute showing a strong association with risk is hostility, which is prospectively predictive of future cardiovascular disease endpoints. Another related psychological factor is anger expression; coronary heart disease risk is associated with both heightened expression and inhibition of anger. The purpose of this study was to test the relationship of hostility and anger expression with homocysteine concentrations in a sample of healthy, middle-aged men and women. Participants completed the Cook-Medley hostility questionnaire, the Speilberger Anger Expression questionnaire, and had blood taken for the assessment of plasma homocysteine concentrations. Results indicated positive and significant associations between hostility and homocysteine levels for all participants, and positive and significant correlations between anger-in and homocysteine levels for men only. These data are among the first to test the relationship between homocysteine and psychological risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and suggest one potential mechanism for the increased cardiovascular risk associated with hostility and anger expression.     

Different types of circulatory responses to mental tasks

The present study investigated the circulatory responses to two mental tasks. Forty males and females performed a mental subtraction task and a color-word task. During each task, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, and total peripheral resistance were measured as cardiovascular indices for a 5-min baseline, a 5-min task period, and a 10-min recovery period. As for the results, three hemodynamic reactivity patterns were verified: Pattern C, characterized by increased cardiac output and decreased total peripheral resistance; Pattern M, characterized by a moderate increase in both cardiac output and total peripheral resistance; and Pattern V, characterized by increased total peripheral resistance and decreased cardiac output. Also, four response types were found among all subjects: Type 1: cardiovascular responses showed the cardiac pattern for both tasks; Type 2: cardiovascular responses changed between the cardiac pattern and the mixed pattern with a change of tasks; Type 3: cardiovascular responses showed the mixed pattern for both tasks; Type 4: cardiovascular responses changed between the mixed pattern and the vascular pattern with a change of tasks. The comparison between types showed that Type 3 and Type 4 had an elevation in their blood pressure by an increased total peripheral resistance. On the other hand, Type 1 and Type 2 tended to have an increased blood pressure by a rise in their cardiac output. And Type 3 and Type 4 showed higher blood pressure and higher scores on the Type A behavior pattern questionnaire. In conclusion, at least four types of circulation response to the mental tasks existed, with Type 3 and Type 4 having higher blood pressure responses and tending to have an elevated blood pressure by a rise in their total peripheral resistance.     

What happens when we get angry? Hormonal, cardiovascular and asymmetrical brain responses

This study aimed to evaluate neuroendocrine and cardiovascular responses together with changes in brain asymmetry following an anger mood induction laboratory task. Previous research has shown an increase in heart rate and blood pressure when anger is experienced. Increased testosterone and decreased cortisol in response to anger and aggressive behavior have also been reported. With regard to asymmetrical frontal brain activity and emotion, the valence model links negative affect (as anger) to the right hemisphere while the motivational direction model links approach-related emotions (as anger) to the left hemisphere. From the subjective perception and from the neuroendocrine and cardiovascular response of the subjects, we can conclude that the self-referent statement anger induction method by Engebretson et al. (1999) was able to generate an experience of an anger affect in 30 healthy men. Another question was to analyze the consequences of that experience upon perceptual asymmetry when measured with a non-emotional laterality task. Regarding dichotic listening, an enhanced REA (right ear advantage) was observed after anger which indicates greater left hemisphere activity, supporting the motivational direction model.     

Getting Used to Academic Public Speaking: Global Self-Esteem Predicts Habituation in Blood Pressure Response to Repeated Thesis Presentations

Global self-esteem was tested to predict quicker cardiovascular adaptation during stressful oral thesis presentation and faster habituation from the first to the second and third thesis presentations. Nineteen graduate students initially rated their global self-esteem and afterwards orally presented their theses proposals in 20-min presentations to their thesis supervisor and peers. A second and third presentation of the revised thesis concepts took place at 4-weeks intervals. Ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate were assessed repeatedly during the presentations. Post-talk self ratings of stressfulness indicated presentations to be a strong public speaking stressor. One hundred and thirty-eight measurements of systolic (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) showed a significant adaptation (decrease) during presentations. There was an overall mean level decrease from the first to the second, and the second to the third presentations in HR, but not in SBP and DBP. However, habituation in SBP and DBP across three presentations was significantly faster (p < .05) in those participants who initially reported higher levels of global self-esteem. Higher global self-esteem did not foster adaptation within the presentations. Self-esteem is discussed as an important individual resource that allows successful coping with recurring evaluative threats.     

Individual and Gender Differences in Subjective and Objective Indices of Pain: Gender,Fear of Pain,Pain Catastrophizing and Cardiovascular Reactivity

According to fear-avoidance models of pain perception, heightened fear of pain may increase disruptive effects of pain; however, the extent to which this affects self-reported pain severity versus physiological indices of pain is not well delineated. The current study examined self-report measures and physiological indices of pain during a cold pressor (CP) task. Individual differences in fear of pain and pain catastrophizing were also assessed via questionnaire. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the extent to which individual differences associated with fear and catastrophizing in response to pain influences subjective and physiological measures of pain. A secondary aim was to examine gender differences associated with response to pain. Average subjective pain ratings were higher for females than males. In contrast, males exhibited higher systolic and diastolic reactivity in response to the CP task relative to females, as well as failure to fully recover to baseline levels. Follow-up correlational analyses revealed that subjective pain ratings were positively associated with fear of pain in both sexes, but were not associated with cardiovascular indices. These results suggest that fear of pain and pain catastrophizing do not influence cardiovascular responses to induced pain. Further research is necessary in order to determine whether these gender differences in blood pressure and heart rate response profiles are due to biological or psychosocial influences. Results support the notion that fear of pain increases subjective pain ratings, but does not influence cardiovascular responses during CP pain-induction.     

The relationship between body mass index, blood pressure and pulse rate among normotensive and hypertensive participants in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Obesity is associated with high insulin and leptin levels. Studies also suggest that high levels of insulin and leptin increase sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and engender increased chronotropy, vasoconstriction and antinatriuresis that may contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity related hypertension. Sympathetic modulation of cardiovascular responses requires good baroreceptor sensitivity and optimal vascular compliance. The vascular changes associated with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) have been shown to modify baroreceptor sensitivity and vascular compliance and may mitigate sympathetic modulation of cardiovascular responses and attenuate the hypertensive effect of obesity. The purpose of this study is to examine the differences in the relationship between body mass index, pulse rate (PR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) among participants with normal blood pressure and ISH using data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data from 13,761 non-institutionalized adults 18 years and older not receiving antihypertensive therapy were analyzed. Results showed that PR, SBP and DBP increase with increasing BMI. The rise in PR, SBP and DBP with BMI is higher among participants with normal blood pressure than among those with ISH. We concluded that increasing level of obesity is associated with a rise in pulse rate and blood pressure but the effect of obesity on blood pressure and pulse rate might be weaker among participants with ISH.     

Serotonin receptor genes 5HT1A and 5HT2A modify the relation between childhood temperament and adulthood hostility

We examined a modifying role of 5HT1A and 5HT2A receptors in the relation between childhood difficult temperament and adulthood hostility in 729 subjects derived from a population-based sample. Subjects were 3–12 years when their childhood temperaments consisting of hyperactivity, low sociability and negative emotionality (i.e. the difficult temperament), were assessed by their mothers. Their adulthood hostility comprising anger, cynicism and paranoia, was measured twice, 17 and 21 years later. It was found that the 5HT1A and 5HT2A receptors were not related to childhood temperament or to adult hostility, but they modified the association between childhood hyperactivity and adult hostility in men. Male carriers of T/T genotype of 5HTR2A who were rated hyperactive by their mothers expressed a high level of hostility, especially that of cynicism, in adulthood. For men with other genetic variants, such an association was not seen. This finding was consistent across the two follow-ups 4 years apart. Further research is needed to clarify whether mother-related hyperactivity adequately describes the temperament of the child or is a reflection of mother's hostile child-rearing attitudes.     

Differential β- and α-adrenergic activation during psychological stress

The responsivity of several cardiovascular indices to a computerized mental arithmetic stress and a cold pressor stress were investigated in 22 healthy adult subjects. The major findings were that the largely β-adrenergically driven T-wave amplitude, pre-ejection period, R-wave to pulse interval, and left ventricular ejection time values responded only to mental arithmetic; a significant decrease in cardiac output and increase in peripheral resistance were elicited during the cold pressor test; inter-beat-interval and subjective stress ratings responded significantly to both stresses compared to baseline levels, but more intensely to mental arithmetic than the cold pressor test; blood pressure, stroke volume and the maximum of the first derivative of the raw impedance signal responded unspecifically to both stresses. These findings support the idea that cardiovascular responses to psychological challenge depend on the level of cognitive processing required for the task. In addition, the superfluity of multiple variable measurements to study cardiovascular reactivity in such situations is discussed. Accepted: 3 September 1996     

Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy,Estimated Cardiovascular Risk,and Circadian Blood Pressure Pattern in Diabetes Mellitus

This study was designed to investigate potential factors involved in the disruption of the circadian blood pressure (BP) pattern in diabetes mellitus, as well as the relation between BP, cardiac autonomic neuropathy, and estimated cardiovascular risk. We studied 101 diabetic patients (58% with type 2 diabetes; 59% men), age 21–65 yrs, evaluated by 48 h BP monitoring. We performed three autonomic tests in a single session: deep breathing, Valsalva maneuver, and standing up from a seated position. Patients were classified according to the number of abnormal tests and their 10 yr risk of coronary heart disease or stroke. The prevalence of non-dipping 24 h patterning ranged from 47.6% in type 1 to 42.4% in type 2 diabetes. The awake/asleep ratio of systolic BP (SBP) was comparable between patients with or without abnormal autonomic tests. Pulse pressure (PP) was significantly higher in patients with ≥1 abnormal autonomic test (p?<?0.001). Ambulatory SBP was significantly elevated in the group with higher risk of coronary heart disease (p?<?0.001). Patients with higher stroke-risk had higher SBP but lower diastolic BP, and thus an elevated ambulatory PP by 9 mmHg, compared to those with lower risk (p?<?0.001). Cardiac autonomic neuropathy is not the main causal-factor for the non-dipper BP pattern in diabetes mellitus. The most significant finding from this study is the high ambulatory PP found in patients with either cardiac autonomic dysfunction or high risk for coronary heart disease or stroke. After correcting for age, this elevated PP level emerged as the main cardiovascular risk factor in diabetes mellitus.     

The Effects of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Biofeedback on HRV Reactivity and Recovery During and After Anger Recall Task for Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) often experience anger events before cardiovascular events. Anger is a psychological risk factor and causes underlying psychophysiological mechanisms to lose balance of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The heart rate variability (HRV) was the common index for ANS regulation. It has been confirmed that heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BF) restored ANS balance in patients with CAD during the resting state. However, the effects of HRV-BF during and after the anger event remain unknown. This study aimed to examine the effects of HRV-BF on ANS reactivity and recovery during the anger recall task in patients with CAD. This study was a randomized control trial with a wait-list control group design, with forty patients in the HRV-BF group (for six sessions) and 44 patients in the control group. All patients received five stages of an anger recall task, including baseline, neutral recall task, neutral recovery, anger recall task, and anger recovery. HRV reactivity in the HRV-BF group at the post-test was lower than that in the control group. HRV recovery at the post-test in the HRV-BF group was higher than that in the control group. The HRV-BF reduced ANS reactivity during anger events and increased ANS recovery after anger events for CAD patients. The possible mechanisms of HRV-BF may increase total HRV, ANS regulation, and baroreflex activation at anger events for patients with CAD, and may be a suitable program for cardiac rehabilitation.

     

The impact of metabolic syndrome and endothelial dysfunction on exercise‐induced cardiovascular changes

Objective:

There is limited information regarding the synergistic or additive effects of metabolic syndrome (MS) and endothelial dysfunction (ED) on cardiovascular disease (CVD). Altered cardiovascular responses to exercise have been shown to predict future cardiovascular events as well as assess autonomic function. The present study evaluated the impact of MS and brachial artery reactivity (a proxy of ED) on peak exercise‐induced cardiovascular changes.

Design and Methods:

Individuals (n = 303) undergoing a standard nuclear medicine exercise stress test were assessed for MS. Participants underwent a Forearm Hyperaemic Reactivity test and were considered to have dysfunctional reactivity if their rate of uptake ratio (RUR) was <3.55. Resting and peak blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measured. Reactivity was calculated as the difference between peak and resting measures.

Results:

Analyses, adjusting for age, sex, resting HR, total metabolic equivalents (METs), and a history of major CVD, revealed a main effect of MS (F = 5.51, η² = 0.02, P = 0.02) and RUR (F = 6.69, η² = 0.02, P = 0.01) on HR reactivity, such that patients with MS and/or poor RUR had reduced HR reactivity. There were no interactive effects of RUR and MS. There were no effects of RUR or MS on systolic BP (SBP) or diastolic BP (DBP) reactivity or rate pressure product (RPP) reactivity.

Conclusions:

The presence of decreased HR reactivity among participants with MS or poor brachial artery reactivity, combined with the lack of difference in other exercise‐induced cardiovascular changes, indicates that these patients may have some degree of parasympathetic dysregulation. Further longitudinal studies are needed to understand the long‐term implications of MS and endothelial abnormalities in this context.     

How many sphygmomanometric cuff inflations are necessary to obtain a hemodynamic baseline?

The purpose of this study was to determine the minimum number of consecutive blood pressure cuff inflations required to obtain seated stable resting baseline measurements of heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP). Sixty male college students aged 18 to 31 years volunteered as study subjects. Thirteen observations of HR, SBP, DBP, and MAP were recorded at 90-second intervals for each subject using a Critikon-Dinamap monitor. Stable readings for SBP and MAP were obtained in 6.5 minutes or 3 to 5 cuff inflations in the population tested. Using this procedure, additional age- and gender-specific norms could be established for normal and hypertensive subjects. Knowing the approximate quantity and frequency of blood pressure cuff inflations needed to generate baseline minimum measurements of HR, SBP, DBP, and MAP will be helpful in studies of cardiovascular reactivity, as well as for clinical and psychophysiologic treatment of hypertension.     

Causal attribution and psychobiological response to competition in young men

A contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition.Psychoneuroendocrine effects of competition have been widely accepted as a clear example of the relationship between androgens and aggressive/dominant behavior in humans. However, results about the effects of competitive outcomes are quite heterogeneous, suggesting that personal and contextual factors play a moderating role in this relationship. To further explore these dimensions, we aimed to examine (i) the effect of competition and its outcome on the psychobiological response to a laboratory competition in young men, and (ii) the moderating role of some cognitive dimensions such as causal attributions. To do so, we compared the responses of 56 healthy young men faced with two competitive tasks with different instructions. Twenty-eight men carried out a task whose instructions led subjects to think the outcome was due to their personal performance (“merit” task), whereas 28 other men faced a task whose outcome was attributable to luck (“chance” task). In both cases, outcome was manipulated by the experimenter. Salivary steroid hormones (testosterone and cortisol), cardiovascular variables (heart rate and blood pressure), and emotional state (mood and anxiety) were measured at different moments before, during and after both tasks. Our results did not support the “winner-loser effect” because no significant differences were found in the responses of winners and losers. However, significantly higher values on the testosterone and cardiovascular variables, along with slight decreases in positive mood, were associated with the merit-based competition, but not the chance-based condition. In addition, an exploratory factorial analysis grouped the response components into two patterns traditionally related to more active or more passive behaviors. Thus, our results suggest that the perception of contributing to the outcome is relevant in the psychobiological response to competition in men. Overall, our results reveal the importance of the appraisal of control and causal attribution in understanding human competitive interactions.     

Do blood pressure and heart rate responses to perceived stress vary according to endogenous estrogen level in women?

The results of experimental studies suggest that estrogen may blunt blood pressure responses to stress, but increase heart rate responses. We investigated whether within-person associations of perceived stress with blood pressure and heart rate during normal working life in 26 premenopausal and 7 postmenopausal women varied according to endogenous estrogen level. Each woman measured her own blood pressure and heart rate and completed a diary reporting perceived stress levels on six occasions on each of 2 working days. Premenopausal women were assessed once between days 4 and 6 of their menstrual cycle (low estrogen) and again between days 11 and 13 (high estrogen), and urine samples were taken to verify expected variation in estrogen level. Results showed that perceived stress was significantly positively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate in the group as a whole. This association did not differ according to menopausal status. There was no difference in the association of perceived stress with SBP or DBP in premenopausal women according to day of assessment, but heart rate reactivity to perceived stress was significantly higher on the high-estrogen day. Our findings thus provide evidence that heart rate responses to perceived stress during everyday working life vary according to estrogen level in premenopausal women, but no evidence that blood pressure responses to stress vary according to endogenous estrogen level in women.     

Cardiovascular reactivity to emotional texts in subjects with low and high level of psychoticism

The article presents the results of comparative study of groups of subjects with low and high level of psychoticism. Heart rate, heart rate responses to inspiratory and expiratory Valsalva maneuvers, and blood pressure were measured before and after presentation of the texts with validated negative content in groups of subjects with low and high psychoticism scores. It was hypothesized that subjects with high level of psychoticism would be less engaged in the processing of negative contents of the texts and their physiological reactivity (physiological resources submitted for support of cognitive processing) would be less pronounced compared to subjects with low level of psychoticism. Significant main effect of psychoticism was obtained for changes in heart rate to expiratory Valsalva maneuver after presentations of the texts. Significant interaction effects of gender and psychoticism were obtained for systolic blood pressure. Other cardiovascular variables were not sensitive to the level of psychoticism. These effects of psychoticism were independent of other individual traits, such as neuroticism, extraversion, lie (social desirability), anger, trait anxiety and depression.     

Visit-to-visit blood pressure variability and the risk of stroke in the Netherlands: A population-based cohort study

BackgroundApart from blood pressure level itself, variation in blood pressure has been implicated in the development of stroke in subgroups at high cardiovascular risk. We determined the association between visit-to-visit blood pressure variability and stroke risk in the general population, taking into account the size and direction of variation and several time intervals prior to stroke diagnosis.Methods and findingsFrom 1990 to 2016, we included 9,958 stroke-free participants of the population-based Rotterdam Study in the Netherlands. This is a prospective cohort study including participants aged 45 years and older. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) variability was calculated as absolute SBP difference divided by mean SBP over 2 sequential visits (median 4.6 years apart). Directional SBP variability was defined as SBP difference over 2 visits divided by mean SBP. Using time-varying Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, mean SBP, and cardiovascular risk factors, hazard ratios (HRs) for stroke up to January 2016 were estimated per SD increase and in tertiles of variability. We also conducted analyses with 3-, 6-, and 9-year intervals between variability measurement and stroke assessment. These analyses were repeated for diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The mean age of the study population was 67.4 ± 8.2 years and 5,776 (58.0%) were women. During a median follow-up of 10.1 years, 971 (9.8%) participants had a stroke, including 641 ischemic, 89 hemorrhagic, and 241 unspecified strokes. SBP variability was associated with an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke (HR per SD 1.27, 95% CI 1.05–1.54, p = 0.02) and unspecified stroke (HR per SD 1.21, 95% CI 1.09–1.34, p < 0.001). The associations were stronger for all stroke subtypes with longer time intervals; the HR for any stroke was 1.29 (95% CI 1.21–1.36, p < 0.001) at 3 years, 1.47 (95% CI 1.35–1.59, p < 0.001) at 6 years, and 1.38 (95%CI 1.24–1.51, p < 0.001) at 9 years. For DBP variability, we found an association with unspecified stroke risk. Both the rise and fall of SBP and the fall of DBP were associated with an increased risk for unspecified stroke. Limitations of the study include that, due to an average interval of 4 years between visits, our findings may not be generalizable to blood pressure variability over shorter periods.ConclusionsIn this population-based study, we found that visit-to-visit blood pressure variation was associated with an increased risk of unspecified and hemorrhagic stroke, independent of direction of variation or mean blood pressure.

In a population-based cohort study, Alis Heshmatollah and colleagues investigate the associations between blood pressure variability and risk of stroke among adults in the Netherlands.     

Interaction of workplace demands and cardiovascular reactivity in progression of carotid atherosclerosis: population based study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the combined influence of workplace demands and changes in blood pressure induced by stress on the progression of carotid atherosclerosis. DESIGN: Population based follow up study of unestablished as well as traditional risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis, ischaemic heart disease, and other outcomes. SETTING: Eastern Finland. SUBJECTS: 591 men aged 42-60 who were fully employed at baseline and had complete data on the measures of carotid atherosclerosis, job demands, blood pressure reactivity, and covariates. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in ultrasonographically assessed intima-media thickness of the right and left common carotid arteries from baseline to 4 year follow up. RESULTS: Significant interactions between workplace demands and stress induced reactivity were observed for all measures of progression (P < 0.04). Men with large changes in systolic blood pressure (20 mm Hg or greater) in anticipation of a maximal exercise test and with high job demands had 10-40% greater progression of mean (0.138 v 0.123 mm) and maximum (0.320 v 0.261 mm) intima-media thickness and plaque height (0.347 v 0.264) than men who were less reactive and had fewer job demands. Similar results were obtained after excluding men with prevalent ischaemic heart disease at baseline. Findings were strongest among men with at least 20% stenosis or non-stenotic plaque at baseline. In this subgroup reactive men with high job demands had more than 46% greater atherosclerotic progression than the others. Adjustment for atherosclerotic risk factors did not alter the results. CONCLUSIONS: Men who showed stress induced blood pressure reactivity and who reported high job demands experienced the greatest atherosclerotic progression, showing the association between dispositional risk characteristics and contextual determinants of disease and suggesting that behaviourally evoked cardiovascular reactivity may have a role in atherogenesis.     

Heart Rate and Systolic Blood Pressure Variability in the Time Domain in Patients with Recent and Long-Standing Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) affects the cardiovascular response of patients. To study this effect, interbeat intervals (IBI) and beat-to-beat systolic blood pressure (SBP) variability of patients during supine, standing and controlled breathing tests were analyzed in the time domain. Simultaneous noninvasive measurements of IBI and SBP for 30 recently diagnosed and 15 long-standing DM patients were compared with the results for 30 rigorously screened healthy subjects (control). A statistically significant distinction between control and diabetic subjects was provided by the standard deviation and the higher moments of the distributions (skewness, and kurtosis) with respect to the median. To compare IBI and SBP for different populations, we define a parameter, α, that combines the variability of the heart rate and the blood pressure, as the ratio of the radius of the moments for IBI and the same radius for SBP. As diabetes evolves, α decreases, standard deviation of the IBI detrended signal diminishes (heart rate signal becomes more “rigid”), skewness with respect to the median approaches zero (signal fluctuations gain symmetry), and kurtosis increases (fluctuations concentrate around the median). Diabetes produces not only a rigid heart rate, but also increases symmetry and has leptokurtic distributions. SBP time series exhibit the most variable behavior for recently diagnosed DM with platykurtic distributions. Under controlled breathing, SBP has symmetric distributions for DM patients, while control subjects have non-zero skewness. This may be due to a progressive decrease of parasympathetic and sympathetic activity to the heart and blood vessels as diabetes evolves.     

Social Hostility in Soccer and Beyond

Social hostility is seldom expressed overtly. More often than not, individuals try to get their hostile message across without risking violent altercations. However, subtle and relatively covert hostility is not easy to research. We suggest a novel way with the SoMi paradigm, a social decision making task that offers participants the opportunity to be socially mindful or socially hostile by leaving or limiting choice to others. Sampling a general population we find that, relative to friends and strangers, foes are indeed met with greater social hostility (Study 1). Focusing on the highly competitive environment of youth soccer, we find that rival team members elicit social hostility, whereas teammates elicit social mindfulness (Study 2). We conclude that social mindfulness and social hostility play a subtle role in the dynamics of interpersonal and/or intergroup relationships, in which leaving or limiting choice is one of the subtle ways to express benevolent versus hostile intentions; the SoMi paradigm may thus be helpful in identifying which way the ball rolls.     

Increased cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress and salt-loading in adult male offspring of fat fed non-obese rats

Diet-induced obesity in rat pregnancy has been shown previously to be associated with consistently raised blood pressure in the offspring, attributed to sympathetic over-activation, but the relative contributions to this phenotype of maternal obesity versus raised dietary fat is unknown. Sprague-Dawley female rats were fed either a control (4.3% fat, n = 11) or lard-enriched (23.6% fat, n = 16) chow 10 days prior to mating, throughout pregnancy and lactation. In conscious adult (9-month-old) offspring cardiovascular parameters were measured (radiotelemetry). The short period of fat-feeding did not increase maternal weight versus controls and the baseline blood pressure was similar in offspring of fat fed dams (OF) and controls (OC). However, adult male OF showed heightened cardiovascular reactivity to acute restraint stress (p<0.01; Δ systolic blood pressure (SBP) and Δheart rate (HR)) with a prolonged recovery time compared to male OC. α1/β-adrenergic receptor blockade normalised the response. Also, after dietary salt-loading (8%-NaCl ad libitum for 1 week) male OF demonstrated higher SBP (p<0.05) in the awake phase (night-time) and increased low/high frequency ratio of power spectral density of HR variability versus OC. Baroreflex gain and basal power spectral density components of the heart rate or blood pressure were similar in male OF and OC. Minor abnormalities were evident in female OF. Fat feeding in the absence of maternal obesity in pregnant rats leads to altered sympathetic control of cardiovascular function in adult male offspring, and hypertension in response to stressor stimuli.