If it goes up, must it come down? Chronic stress and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in humans.

@article{Miller2007IfIG,
  title={If it goes up, must it come down? Chronic stress and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in humans.},
  author={Gregory E. Miller and Edith Chen and Eric S. Zhou},
  journal={Psychological bulletin},
  year={2007},
  volume={133 1},
  pages={
          25-45
        }
}
The notion that chronic stress fosters disease by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis is featured prominently in many theories. The research linking chronic stress and HPA function is contradictory, however, with some studies reporting increased activation, and others reporting the opposite. This meta-analysis showed that much of the variability is attributable to stressor and person features. Timing is an especially critical element, as hormonal activity is elevated… 
View on PubMed
sites.northwestern.edu
2,165 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
181
Background Citations
907
Methods Citations
32
Results Citations
128

Figures and Tables from this paper

2,165 Citations

Stress, Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis and Eating Disorders

The available literature considering the relationships between stress, HPA axis functioning and anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder is reviewed by the present article.

Dynamics of cortisol in depression and anxiety disorders

Evidence is provided in research on endophenotypes of psychopathology that it is fruitful not to take the clinical picture central, but the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as a core stress system underlying psychopathophysiology in stress-related disorders, to hypothesize that both dysfunctional states of the HPA axis differ in their effects on the metabolic and immune system.

HPA axis responses to psychological challenge linking stress and disease: What do we know on sources of intra- and interindividual variability?

Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysfunction in chronic fatigue syndrome

The weight of current evidence supports the presence of the following factors related to hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): mild…

Impact of stressors in a natural context on release of cortisol in healthy adult humans: A meta-analysis

Meta-analysis of factors that influenced the increase of cortisol release in a laboratory context pointed to the importance of social evaluative threats and stressor controllability in accounting for the cortisol rise.

The hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and the autonomic nervous system in burnout.

A biochemical study of chronic stress and chronic inflammation fibromyalgia

  • A. Hamouda
  • Medicine
    Pharmacy & Pharmacology International Journal
  • 2018
The present study design to evaluate the relationship between stress, FM, and chronic pain, using the biological profile of Standard Health Test Panel and inflammatory parameters in 50 females as a guide.

The Interface of Stress and the HPA Axis in Behavioural Phenotypes of Mental Illness.

Plasticity of the HPA axis confers both vulnerability to adverse events, particularly so in early developmental stages, as well as hope for the treatment of mental disorder, as evidenced by changes in HPA functioning associated with remission of symptoms.

Dynamics of the human stress system in depression

It was found that daily physical activity leads to an increase in positive emotions in nearly everyone, while the effect on negative emotions differs between individuals, and the use of cortisol as biomarker for depression is currently ruled out.

Effects of early childhood trauma on hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis function in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 198 REFERENCES

Organization of the stress system and its dysregulation in melancholic and atypical depression: high vs low CRH/NE states

The mediators and circuitries of the stress system are reviewed to lay the groundwork for placing in context physiologic and structural alterations in depression that may occur as part of stress system dysfunction.

Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal activity in endogenously depressed post-traumatic stress disorder patients

A new view on hypocortisolism

Low cortisol and a flattening of expected daytime rhythm: Potential indices of risk in human development

It is argued that developmental studies are needed that help explicate the origins of low cortisol and to determine whether the development of hypocortisolism is, in fact, preceded by periods of frequent or chronic activation of the LHPA axis, and that developmental researchers who incorporate measures of salivary cortisol into their studies of at-risk populations need to be aware of the hypocORTisolism phenomenon.

Hypothalamic Origin of the Metabolic Syndrome X

The conspicuous similarities between Cushing's syndrome and the Metabolic Syndrome X open up the possibility that hypercortisolemia is involved also in the latter, and salivary cortisol measurements clearly show that normally regulated cortisol secretion is associated with excellent health in anthropometric, metabolic, and hemodynamic variables.

Biology of posttraumatic stress disorder.

  • R. Yehuda
  • Biology, Psychology
    The Journal of clinical psychiatry
  • 2001
Sensitivity of the HPA axis is consistent with the clinical picture of hyperreactivity and hyperresponsiveness in PTSD, and the reduction in cortisol levels results from an enhanced negative feedback by cortisol, which is secondary to an increased sensitivity of glucocorticoid receptors in target tissues.

Hypocortisolism and increased glucocorticoid sensitivity of pro-Inflammatory cytokine production in Bosnian war refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder

The potential role of hypocortisolism in the pathophysiology of stress-related bodily disorders

Sex Differences in Glucocorticoid Sensitivity of Proinflammatory Cytokine Production After Psychosocial Stress

Investigating the impact of psychosocial stress and HPA axis activation on the GC sensitivity of proinflammatory cytokine production in men and women demonstrates that despite similar free cortisol responses of men andWomen (studied in the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle) to psychossocial stress, gender may exert differential effects on the immune system by modulating GC sensitivity.

When not enough is too much: the role of insufficient glucocorticoid signaling in the pathophysiology of stress-related disorders.

Neuroendocrine data provide evidence of insufficient glucocorticoid signaling in stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression, which are associated with immune system activation/inflammation, high SNS tone, and CRH hypersecretion.
...