Browsing by Author "Brown, Ryan L."

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Emotion Regulation, Parasympathetic Function, and Psychological Well-Being
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2022) Brown, Ryan L.; Chen, Michelle A.; Paoletti, Jensine; Dicker, Eva E.; Wu-Chung, E. Lydia; LeRoy, Angie S.; Majd, Marzieh; Suchting, Robert; Thayer, Julian F.; Fagundes, Christopher P.
    The negative emotions generated following stressful life events can increase one’s risk of depressive symptoms and promote higher levels of perceived stress. The process model of emotion regulation can help distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies to determine who may be at the greatest risk of worse psychological health across the lifespan. Heart rate variability (HRV) may affect these relationships as it indexes aspects of self-regulation, including emotion and behavioral regulation, that enable an individual to dynamically adapt to the changing demands of both internal and external environments. In this study, we expected individual differences in resting vagally mediated HRV to moderate the influence of emotion regulatory strategies among our sample of 267 adults. We found support for the hypothesis that higher vagally mediated HRV buffers against the typical adverse effects of expressive suppression when evaluating depressive symptoms and found weak support when considering perceived stress. There was no evidence for an interaction between cognitive reappraisal and vagally mediated HRV but there was a significant, negative association between cognitive reappraisal and depressive symptoms and perceived stress. Future work may determine if intervening on either emotion regulation strategies or HRV may change these within-persons over time.
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    Lexical markers of cognitive reappraisal, bereavement, and proinflammatory cytokine production
    (American Psychological Association, 2023) Shahane, Anoushka D.; Brown, Ryan L.; Denny, Bryan T.; Fagundes, Christopher P.
    Objective: The loss of a spouse is considered one of the most significant life change-related stressors. Bereaved spouses have significantly increased risk of chronic inflammation, and ultimately greater morbidity and mortality. High levels of proinflammatory cytokines are related to negative health outcomes. In bereavement, the ability to successfully regulate emotion is a vital skill for healthy coping and may represent a key psychological mechanism accounting for varying degrees of resilience. Psychological distancing is a frequently adaptive emotion regulation strategy in which an individual appraises a negative situation by taking a step back and distancing oneself, and coolly evaluates what is happening. The objective of the present work was to investigate whether psychological distancing, implemented implicitly via natural language use (i.e., linguistic distancing [LD]), is related to inflammation and bereavement-related health indicators. Method: Participants (N = 144) underwent a blood draw for the inflammation assay, completed questionnaire measures evaluating grief symptoms and health, and completed an oral task describing their relationship with their deceased spouse, which was used for the lexical analyses. Results: We found that LD was significantly associated with a panel of a priori proinflammatory stimulated cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-17A, and IL-2), bereavement-related health indices, and the relationship between grief symptoms and inflammation varied depending on the participants’ implementation of LD. Conclusions: LD may have a buffering effect for this vulnerable population. This work elucidates novel dependencies among language, emotion, and health. This work identifies resilience factors and probes the translational value of LD.
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    Obesity, Dietary Factors, Nutrition, and Breast Cancer Risk
    (Springer, 2018) Seiler, Annina; Chen, Michelle A.; Brown, Ryan L.; Fagundes, Christopher P.
    Purpose of Review: To synthesize the critical role of obesity-associated inflammation, dietary factors, and nutrition in determining breast cancer risk. Recent Findings: Obesity-associated inflammation is strongly linked to breast cancer risk and progression, largely via two processes: inflammatory pathways and dysregulated metabolism. Cytokine production in excess adipose tissues creates a chronic inflammatory microenvironment, which favors tumor development. Lifestyle factors, including diet, have long been recognized as important determinants of breast cancer risk and mortality. Summary: Obesity increases the risk of developing breast cancer in both pre- and postmenopausal women and also negatively affects breast cancer recurrence and survival. Poor dietary habits characterized by the high intake of refined starches, sugar, and both saturated and trans-saturated fats, as well as the low intake of omega-3 fatty acids, natural antioxidants, and fiber, modulate inflammation and, thereby, appear to be linked to increased risk of breast cancer and mortality.
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    Socioeconomic disparities in health: Changes in sleep quality and inflammation during bereavement
    (Elsevier, 2021) Wu, E. Lydia; Brown, Ryan L.; Chirinos, Diana A.; Chen, Michelle A.; de Dios, Marcel A.; Taylor, Daniela M.; Butner, Jonathan E.; Heijnen, Cobi J.; Fagundes, Christopher P.
    Widow(er)s experience significant sleep disruption that may dysregulate immune functioning. This longitudinal study aimed to determine 1) whether changes in sleep quality were associated with changes in pro-inflammatory cytokine production during the first six months of bereavement and 2) whether these relationships depended on objective socioeconomic status (SES) and/or subjective social status. One hundred and six bereaved spouses (M ​= ​68.49 years, SD ​= ​9.35, 69 females) completed the following assessments at approximately three months post-death and six-month post-death: a venous blood draw and self-report questionnaires on sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), SES (MacArthur Sociodemographic Questionnaire), health, and demographic information. T-cell stimulated pro-inflammatory cytokines were assessed, including IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-17A, and IL-2. Worsening sleep quality was associated with increased levels of pro-inflammatory activity even after adjusting for confounding variables. The present study also identified SES as an important factor for understanding health following spousal bereavement: individuals with low SES were more susceptible to sleep-related changes in immune function. Compared to more educated widow(er)s, less educated widow(er)s showed greater increases and decreases in inflammation when sleep quality worsened or improved, respectively, over time. Findings provide evidence for a biobehavioral pathway linking bereavement to disease risk, highlight SES disparities in late adulthood, and identify individuals who may require tailored interventions to offset SES-related burden that impedes adaptive grief recovery.
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    Socioeconomic disparities in health: Changes in sleep quality and inflammation during bereavement
    (Elsevier, 2021) Wu, E. Lydia; Brown, Ryan L.; Chirinos, Diana A.; Chen, Michelle A.; de Dios, Marcel A.; Taylor, Daniela M.; Butner, Jonathan E.; Heijnen, Cobi J.; Fagundes, Christopher P.; National Science Foundation, Award #1853936
    Widow(er)s experience significant sleep disruption that may dysregulate immune functioning. This longitudinal study aimed to determine 1) whether changes in sleep quality were associated with changes in pro-inflammatory cytokine production during the first six months of bereavement and 2) whether these relationships depended on objective socioeconomic status (SES) and/or subjective social status. One hundred and six bereaved spouses (M ​= ​68.49 years, SD ​= ​9.35, 69 females) completed the following assessments at approximately three months post-death and six-month post-death: a venous blood draw and self-report questionnaires on sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), SES (MacArthur Sociodemographic Questionnaire), health, and demographic information. T-cell stimulated pro-inflammatory cytokines were assessed, including IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-17A, and IL-2. Worsening sleep quality was associated with increased levels of pro-inflammatory activity even after adjusting for confounding variables. The present study also identified SES as an important factor for understanding health following spousal bereavement: individuals with low SES were more susceptible to sleep-related changes in immune function. Compared to more educated widow(er)s, less educated widow(er)s showed greater increases and decreases in inflammation when sleep quality worsened or improved, respectively, over time. Findings provide evidence for a biobehavioral pathway linking bereavement to disease risk, highlight SES disparities in late adulthood, and identify individuals who may require tailored interventions to offset SES-related burden that impedes adaptive grief recovery.