Is stress CONTAGIOUS? 'Remarkable' study reveals that feeling under pressure from life events can rub off onto your loved ones

  • Canadian scientists made the conclusion after exposing pairs of mice to stress
  • They found the brains of both changed - even if only one was exposed to stress
  • University of Calgary researchers say the findings could prove true for humans 

By STEPHEN MATTHEWS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Published: | Updated:

Your stress can rub off on others, researchers have concluded. 

Trials suggest being around stressed people can alter the brain in the same way as when you are overloaded at work.

Canadian scientists have branded the results, which were derived from experiments on mice, as 'remarkable'.

And they have suggested that the findings could prove true for humans, who can communicate their stress 'without knowing it'.  

Trials suggest being around stressed people can alter the brain in the same way as when you are overloaded at work

Trials suggest being around stressed people can alter the brain in the same way as when you are overloaded at work

University of Calgary researchers, led by Dr Toni-Lee Sterley, studied the effects of stress in pairs of male or female mice.

They removed one mouse from each pair and exposed it to a mild stress before returning it to its partner.

They then examined the responses of a specific cells, CRH neurons, which control the brain's response to stress, in each mouse.

Networks in the brains of both the stressed mouse and their partner were altered in the same way, tests revealed.

Dr Sterley said: 'What was remarkable was that CRH neurons from the partners, who were not themselves exposed to an actual stress, showed changes that were identical to those we measured in the stressed mice.' 

Professor Jaideep Bains, co-author, said: 'We readily communicate our stress to others, sometimes without even knowing it.

'There is even evidence that some symptoms of stress can persist in family and loved ones of individuals who suffer from PTSD.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MEDITATION?

Meditation can be traced back to as early as 5000 BC.

It is associated with some philosophies and religions but is practiced as a secular, stress-relieving activity more and more.

A recent study revealed that meditation can reduce one's risk of heart disease by decreasing risk factors that can lead to the illness.

Specifically, it found that the practices can lower one's blood pressure and their anxiety and depression levels.

It can also help people quit smoking, which can lead to a fatal heart attack.

Experts are warning that healthy lifestyle changes such as being more physically active are still the surest way to ward off the disease, but adding that meditation can also decrease one's chances. 

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'On the flip side, the ability to sense another's emotional state is a key part of creating and building social bonds.'

He added: 'Brain changes associated with stress underpin many mental illnesses including PTSD, anxiety disorders and depression.

'Recent studies indicate that stress and emotions can be 'contagious'. Whether this has lasting consequences for the brain is not known.'

Scientists further analysed the mice by engineering the neurons so that they could either turn them on or off with light. 

When the team silenced these neurons during stress, they prevented changes in the brain that would normally take place after stress.

And when they silenced the neurons in the partner during its interaction with a stressed individual, the stress did not transfer to the partner.

But when they activated these neurons using light in one mouse, even in the absence of stress, their brains were changed just as they would be after a real stress.

The team discovered that the activation of these CRH neurons causes the release of a chemical signal, an 'alarm pheromone', from the mouse that alerts the partner.

The partner who detects the signal can in turn alert additional members of the group, researchers concluded. 

The study found the effects of stress on the brain are reversed in female mice following a social interaction, but not in males. 

The research, published in Nature Neuroscience, indicates that stress and social interactions are intricately linked.

The consequences of these interactions can be long-lasting, and may influence behaviours at a later time, the team concluded. 

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