Optimistic and pessimistic cognitive judgement bias modulates the stress response and cancer progression in zebrafish

Espigares, Felipe; Alvarado, M. Victoria; Abad-Tortosa, Diana; Varela, Susana A. M.; Sobral, Daniel; Faísca, Pedro; Paixão, Tiago; Oliveira, Rui

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.12/13550

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Authors

Espigares, Felipe

Alvarado, M. Victoria

Abstract(s)

Cognitive judgement bias in decision-making under ambiguity occurs both in animals and humans, with some individuals interpreting ambiguous stimulus as positive (optimism) and others as negative (pessimism). We hypothesize that judgement bias is a personality trait and that individuals with a pessimistic bias would be more reactive to stressors and therefore more susceptible to stress-related diseases than optimistic ones. Here, we show that zebrafish judgment bias is a consistent behavioral trait over time, and that pessimistic and optimistic fish express phenotype-specific neurogenomic responses to stress. Furthermore, both phenotypes show differential activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis in response to chronic stress, suggesting that optimists have a lower stress reactivity. Accordingly, optimists seem to be more resilient to disease than pessimists, as shown by a lower tumorigenesis in a zebrafish melanoma line [Tg(mtifa:HRAS-GFP)]. Together these results indicate that judgement bias is paralleled by differences in the stress response with implications for disease resilience.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.12/13550

Citation

Espigares, F., Alvarado, M. V., Abad-Tortosa, D., Varela, S. A. M., Sobral, D., Faísca, P., Paixão, T., & Oliveira, R. F. (2025). Optimistic and pessimistic cognitive judgement bias modulates the stress response and cancer progression in zebrafish. Translational Psychiatry, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-025-03311-9