Stress Reactivity and Cognitive Functioning of Transgender and Gender Diverse People

性激素驱动生物行为对压力反应的变化。到目前为止，跨性别（trans-*）人的压力反应尚未被探索。这一研究途径对于帮助科学家描述这个高度边缘化群体的压力和复原力过程至关重要。此外，跨性别者提供了一个独特的透镜，从中可以描绘出生物性别、性激素和社会文化性别认同对压力生理和认知功能的影响。 我们的目标是招募跨性别女性和跨性别男性，他们将与顺性别（性别认同与出生分配的性别相对应）对照进行比较。所有参与者将暴露于实验室应激源，以诱导内分泌和心血管反应。此外，还将评估认知功能，以检测陈述性记忆中与压力相关的损伤以及性二态认知能力。详细的自我报告将补充所有参与者的性激素（睾酮，雌二醇，孕酮）的唾液评估，以确定脆弱性或弹性的个体差异。 我们假设，跨性别者会表现出压力反应特征和认知能力，这些特征和认知能力通常是针对他们正在转变的性别而不是出生时指定的性别。因此，我们预计跨性别男性的反应会更像顺性别男性，而跨性别女性的反应会更像顺性别女性。该项目将为未来的资助提供初步数据，以评估多系统生理失调（非稳态负荷）和调节应激反应和认知功能的神经区域（如海马体，杏仁核和额叶皮层）的脑成像。通过评估性别认同如何与跨性别者的压力生理学相关，我们的新研究计划将扩大对压力和认知过程的性别/性别调节的更广泛理解。 这个NSERC发现补助金将支持5个理学士学生，2个理学硕士学生（2-5年级）和2个博士生（1-5年级）。NSERC的支持将扩大来自少数民族和多数民族背景的国家和国际招聘的HQP的培训机会。总而言之，我们的目标是1）评估内分泌（压力和性激素）和心血管反应，2）评估认知功能，3）确定跨性别者与顺性别对照组相比的弹性因素。我们的研究计划在加拿大是真正独特的，并已应用于少数民族和多数人口。NSERC的支持是塞萨尔研究性/性别如何调节压力，认知和弹性的重要第一步。

Sex hormones drive variability in biobehavioral responsivity to stress. To date, the stress reactivity of transgender (trans*) people has not been explored. This research avenue is critical to help scientists delineate stress and resilience processes among this highly marginalized group. Moreover, trans* people provide a unique lens from which to delineate the effect that biological sex, sex hormones, and socio-cultural gender-identity in relation to stress physiology and cognitive functioning. We aim to recruit trans* women and trans* men who will be compared to cisgender (gender-identity corresponds with birth-assigned sex) controls. All participants will be exposed to a laboratory stressor to induce endocrine and cardiovascular reactivity. In addition, cognitive functioning will be assessed to detect stress-related impairments in declarative memory as well as sexually dimorphic cognitive abilities. Detailed self-reports will complement salivary assessment of sex hormones (testosterone, estradiol, progesterone) of all participants to determine individual differences in vulnerability or resilience. We hypothesize that trans* people will exhibit stress reactive profiles and cognitive abilities typically observed for the gender they are transitioning towards rather than birth-assigned sex. We therefore expect that trans* men will react more like cisgender men while trans* women will react more like cisgender women. This project will provide preliminary data for future grant support to assess multi-systemic physiological dysregulations (allostatic load) and brain imaging of neural regions that regulate stress reactivity and cognitive functioning such as the hippocampus, amygdala, and frontal cortex. By assessing how gender identity relates to stress physiology among trans* people, our novel research program will expand broader understanding of sex/gender modulation of stress and cognitive processes. This NSERC Discovery grant will support 5 BSc students, 2 MSc students (Years 2-5), and 2 PhD students (Years 1-5). NSERC support will expand the training opportunities for nationally and internationally recruited HQP coming from minority and majority backgrounds. To summarize, our objectives are to 1) assess endocrine (stress and sex hormones) and cardiovascular reactivity, 2) assess cognitive functioning, and 3) identify resilience factors among trans* people in contrast to a cisgender control group. Our research program is truly unique in Canada and has applications to minority and majority populations. NSERC support is an essential first step for CESAR into the study of how sex/gender modulates stress, cognition, and resilience.