Persona:
Valencia Jiménez, Azucena

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0000-0003-0821-7805
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Valencia Jiménez
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Azucena
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2019 - 201912020 - 20231
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Mostrando 1 - 2 de 2
  • Miniatura
    Publicación
    Sex-related differences in the associations between diurnal cortisol pattern and social and emotional loneliness in older adults
    (Frontiers Media, 2023) Utrera Martínez, Lucía; Sampedro Piquero, Patricia; Díaz Mardomingo, María del Carmen; Baliyan, Shishir; García Herranz, Sara; Suárez Falcón, Juan Carlos; Rodríguez Fernández, Raquel; Valencia Jiménez, Azucena; Venero Núñez, César
    Loneliness is a distressful feeling that can affect mental and physical health, particularly among older adults. Cortisol, the primary hormone of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA-axis), may act as a biological transducer through which loneliness affects health. While most previous studies have evaluated the association between loneliness, as a unidimensional construct, and diurnal cortisol pattern, no research has examined this relationship discriminating between social and emotional loneliness in older adults. As sex differences in the negative mental health outcomes of loneliness have been reported, we also investigated whether diurnal cortisol indices and loneliness associations occur in a sex-specific manner. We analyzed the diurnal cortisol- pattern in 142 community-dwelling, non-depressed, Caucasian older adults (55,6% female) aged 60-90. Social and emotional (family and romantic) loneliness scores were assessed using the Spanish version of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA). Five salivary cortisol samples were used to capture key features of the diurnal cortisol pattern, including: awakening and bedtime cortisol levels, awakening response (CAR), post-awakening cortisol output (post-awakening cortisol [i.e., the area under the curve with reference to the ground: AUCG]), total diurnal cortisol release (AUCG), and diurnal cortisol slope (DCS). After controlling for sociodemographic variables, the hierarchical linear multiple regression analyses revealed that in male older adults, higher scores on social and family loneliness were associated with elevated awakening cortisol levels, total diurnal cortisol output, and a steeper diurnal cortisol slope (DCS). However, these associations were not observed in female older adults. In addition, feelings of romantic loneliness were positively associated with bedtime cortisol levels and AUCG in older males. Multilevel growth curve modeling showed that experiencing more social and emotional loneliness predicted higher diurnal cortisol output throughout the day in older male adults. The presence of sex differences in the relationship between cortisol indices and loneliness among older adults holds particular significance for diagnostic and screening procedures. Combining loneliness scales as screening tools with diurnal cortisol measures has the potential to be an effective and cost-efficient approach in identifying higher-risk individuals at early stages
  • Miniatura
    Publicación
    Systemic administration of a fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 agonist rescues the cognitive deficit in aged socially isolated rats
    (Elsevier, 2019-03-29) Pereda Pérez, Inmaculada; Valencia Jiménez, Azucena; Baliyan, Shishir; Núñez, Ángel; Sanz García, Ancor; Rodríguez Fernández, Raquel; Esteban, José Antonio; Venero Núñez, César; Zamora Crespo, Berta; Elsevier; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8013-4812; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5024-5108
    Social isolation predominantly occurs in elderly people and it is strongly associated with cognitive decline. However, the mechanisms that produce isolation-related cognitive dysfunction during aging remain unclear. Here, we evaluated the cognitive, electrophysiological, and morphological effects of short- (4 weeks) and long-term (12 weeks) social isolation in aged male Wistar rats. Long-term but not short-term social isolation increased the plasma corticosterone levels and impaired spatial memory in the Morris water maze. Moreover, isolated animals displayed dampened hippocampal long-term potentiation in vivo, both in the dentate gyrus (DG) and CA1, as well as a specific reduction in the volume of the stratum oriens and spine density in CA1. Interestingly, social isolation induced a transient increase in hippocampal basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2), whereas fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) levels only increased after long-term isolation. Importantly, subchronic systemic administration of FGL, a synthetic peptide that activates FGFR1, rescued spatial memory in long-term isolated rats. These findings provide new insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the detrimental effects on memory of chronic social isolation in the aged.