Stress Response

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluates whether 70 days of daily cranberry juice consumption improves cognitive performance and motor accuracy and reduces psychological and physiological stress responses during a motor-cognitive dual-task multitasking challenge in healthy adults aged 30-55 (Aim 1). It is hypothesized that chronic cranberry juice intake will enhance dual-task performance and attenuate stress reactivity (Hypothesis 1). It is further hypothesized that cranberry juice will mitigate multitasking-related fatigue, mood fluctuations, and cognitive impairment, accompanied by favorable changes in circulating stress biomarkers and stress-regulatory neurochemical pathways (Aim 2/Hypothesis 2). Finally, the study incorporates gut analysis to determine whether cranberry juice induces beneficial shifts in the gut microbiota and microbial metabolites (e.g., SCFAs) and whether these changes are associated with improved cognitive and stress-related outcomes, consistent with a microbiome-gut-brain axis mechanism (Aim 3/Hypothesis 3).

This prospective randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of verbal and video-based preoperative education on anxiety levels and serum cortisol response in women scheduled for elective cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to receive either standard verbal education or a standardized video-based educational intervention before surgery. Anxiety levels will be assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), and serum cortisol levels will be measured before and after the educational intervention. The primary objective is to compare the effectiveness of the two educational methods in reducing preoperative anxiety and physiological stress response.

Impact of using video laryngoscopy versus direct laryngoscopy technique in terms of improved hemodynamics post intubation and time taken for intubation.

This study examines how individuals respond to performance-related tasks and whether a non-invasive ear stimulation device influences stress responses during those tasks. Participants will be randomly assigned to use either an active or inactive (placebo) version of a transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) device during a laboratory session. The study includes two task conditions. In one condition, participants will prepare a brief speech under evaluative conditions designed to induce stress. In the other condition, participants will complete a non-evaluative writing task. During the session, participants will wear a heart rate monitor and complete short questionnaires assessing their current feelings, including state anxiety. The primary objective is to determine whether active tVNS is associated with lower state anxiety during a performance-related stress task compared to placebo stimulation. Secondary outcomes include heart rate and task-related responses. The study will also examine whether individual differences in stress reactivity influence responses to stimulation. Participation involves one laboratory session lasting approximately 45 minutes.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of increasing preoperative timing of single dexmedetomidine on the stress response of laryngoscopy and intubation.

This randomized clinical trial aims to is examining the effect of preoperative nebulized lidocaine on the stress response to intubation, monitored by rise in serum cortisol level post intubation

This project will examine how multiple biological measures from the brain and the body's stress response system contribute to anhedonia (the loss of pleasure) in adolescence. The goal of this project is to see if it is possible to combine these biological measures to describe different patterns of activity in the brain and body that adolescents may have in response to stress. The main question this study aims to answer is whether different patterns of activity in the brain and body are related to whether adolescents develop anhedonia and how high or low levels of anhedonia are over time. This study will enroll 192 adolescents who are between 13 and 15 years. Adolescents will complete tasks three times: at the beginning of the study, 10 months after that, and then 10 months after that. In total, they will be part of the study for 20 months. At each time, adolescents will complete surveys, provide samples of spit to measure hormones and provide pictures of their brain to measure brain activity, participate in mildly stressful tasks, and complete different activities that measure how they think. The investigators will also ask each adolescent's parent or legal guardian to answer some surveys about themselves and their child.

The psychological well-being of healthcare workers in hospital settings is a topic of growing interest in the scientific literature, given the crucial importance of their role in ensuring high-quality care. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic health emergency has further accentuated the relevance of this issue, increasing anxiety and stress levels, testing the resilience and resistance of those working in care settings, revealing and highlighting how the accumulation of work-related stress can result in disabling pathologies for the caregiver, with an inevitable impact on the facility and care in general. Recent studies show that health care workers are particularly vulnerable to work-related stress, which can result from various factors such as high work demands, emotional pressure, irregular shifts, and interactions with critically ill patients. Burnout syndrome, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment, is widely documented among hospital staff. Research indicates that burnout not only compromises the psychological health of healthcare workers, but also negatively affects the quality of care provided by increasing the risk of medical errors. In light of these factors, it is crucial to deepen our understanding of the dynamics that influence psychological well-being and work-related stress in health care workers in order to develop effective interventions that can improve their quality of life and consequently the quality of care provided to patients. Preliminary assessment of the emotional burden and motivational aspects of health care workers (showing what very often eludes a first glance, making visible something that is often invisible), along with effective stress management, would allow for greater ability to remain calm under pressure, reduced frustration, increased ability to make informed decisions, and to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues. These aspects translate into an image of a safer and more caring health care system in promoting better quality of care. The aim of this project is to highlight the importance of psychological wellbeing for those working in health care settings and to promote attention to this area, also with a view to identifying possible interventions aimed at identifying preventive and protective factors in relation to health care workers. The aim, therefore, is to show what is very often invisible at first sight, to make visible what is invisible: to explore, accommodate and contain areas of criticality and fragility in the context of work in health care settings, working on interventions aimed at the psychological well-being of workers.

The aim of this randomized trial is to determine efficacy of dexmedetomidine in improving quality of recovery in pediatric patients undergoing interventional catheter closure of ASD while maintaining the hemodynamic parameters. Additionally he stress reducing effects of dexmedetomidine will be investigated in this population . The main questions it aims to answer are: Does Dexmedetomidine maintain stable hemodynamics in pediatric patients undergoing transcatheter ASD Closure while improving their quality of recovery? Does dexmedetomidine prolong duration of recovery and time to extubation in pediatric patients ? Does dexmedetomidine exert stress reducing properties in this population? Participants will: Either be administered Dexmedetomidine in a loading/maintenance regimen or a placebo, with hemodynamics being monitored at the baseline, intraoperatively and postoperatively, with recovery time and quality of recovery especially emergence delirium being monitored. Stress hormone levels will be sampled at baseline and postoperatively.