The socially stressed heart. Insights from studies in rodents

The existence of a close relationship between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular morbidity is not just a hypothesis anymore. Research on humans has been attempting to unravel the significance of this association by investigating psychological and social characteristics in relation to cardiovascular health. However, this research is limited by the difficulty to control and standardize for the individual social history, the impossibility to apply psychosocial stress stimuli for mere experimental purposes, as well as the long time span of cardiovascular pathogenesis in humans. Animal studies controlling for social environment and adverse social episodes since weaning allow for partially overcoming these limitations. The aim of this review is to provide an up-to-date reference of the experimental evidence so far collected on the link between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular (dys-)function in rodent species, with special emphasis on social conflict, aggressiveness and negative mood states, which have been significantly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease.