Language patterns reveal the body ’s biological response to stress

FINDINGSCertain language patterns track the body ’s molecular response to stress more closely than a person’s own description of the stress, anxiety or depression that they are experiencing.BACKGROUNDPoverty, loneliness or post-traumatic stress disorder can have serious consequences on health, increasing the risk of cancer, Alzheimer ’s disease and heart disease, among other health problems. Previous research has shown that our genes respond to psychological adversity by increasing inflammation and reducing virus-fighting activity. These factors may contribute to social disparities in health.Steve Cole, a professor of medicine and psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of the UCLA Social Genomics Core Laboratory, has hypothesized that the genes ’ activity represents the body’s evolutionary response to threat. He wanted to find out whether stress biology is triggered by an automatic assessment of threat in the brain, on a level at which a person isn’t necessarily aware.METHODResearchers asked 143 adult volunteers, from 2010 to 2013, to wear audio recorders for 48 hours; the recorders switched on every few minutes, capturing 22,627 audio clips. The scientists transcribed and analyzed the recordings.Researchers paid special attention to the use of language and of “function words,” such as pronouns, articles and adverbs. Speakers use function words relatively automatically, so these words may provide clues...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news