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Objective

Most infections begin at mucosal surfaces. These surfaces are covered by the secretory proteins of the exocrine glands (eg, the salivary, respiratory, and gastrointestinal glands), which provide a first line of innate defense. The release of these secretory proteins is under neuroendocrine control and thus, in theory, sensitive to modulation by psychosocial stress. This was empirically tested by measuring the salivary secretion of cystatin S, lactoferrin, α-amylase, the mucins MUC5B and MUC7, and total salivary protein in response to stressors known to evoke distinct patterns of cardiac autonomic activity.

Methods

Thirty-two undergraduate volunteers were each subjected to two laboratory stressors and a control condition. Stressors were an active coping memory test and a passive coping video presentation showing surgical procedures. In the control condition participants viewed a didactic video presentation …