College students know stress. As readings pile up, papers accumulate and hours spent in the library replace social plans, students resort to their familiar stress relieving remedies. But no college student would ever predict that an additional cause of their stress might come from a flaw in their saliva.
Researchers at the University of Oregon and Arizona State University made a recent connection with unwanted stress and a lack of neurotrophic protein in saliva. The levels of this protein reflect how well people respond to stressful situations.
If researchers can successfully learn how to handle stress in ways that increase the protein levels, then people may be able to fight against depression, anxiety and other mental health issues more effectively
“People who showed more [protein] activity reported less negative emotion around a conflict,” said Heidemarie Laurent, a professor of psychology at the UO and lead author on a study published Sept. 27 in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. “We can use this information to better understand which people are more prone to stress and which people are more resilient.”
Laurent mainly focused the study on stress related issues with couples, and gathered five different samples from the partners’ saliva after an argument. He tested the samples for the protein and two other stress-related indicators in the new ASU Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research by co-author Douglas A. Granger. Of the 40 people tested, the levels of the protein varied significantly in comparison to results from the 20-member control group.
“Not only is it one of the first studies to measure [protein] in the saliva of people in response to stress,” Granger said. “But it reflects a new direction because now we have measures of another component related to the stress response.”
Whether or not the protein can be cultivated clinically is still in question.
“This valuable research by Dr. Laurent identifying a new means of measuring stress response is helping to yield critical insights into psychological health that may lead to new prevention and intervention strategies,” said Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice president for research and innovation and dean of UO grad school.
Through further studies, Laurent and Granger hope to help people get support psychologically and better understand how to produce the protein naturally. “If we think of stress as something that comes with a restorative response we can help people by strengthening that aspect of their response,” Laurent said.