Cortisol Research
Cortisol research in psychology focuses on the study of the hormone cortisol and its impact on stress, emotions, and behavior. Researchers investigate how cortisol levels fluctuate in response to various psychological and environmental factors, and how these fluctuations may influence mental health, cognitive function, and overall well-being. Understanding cortisol's role in the body's stress response has important implications for psychological research and clinical practice.
6 Key excerpts on "Cortisol Research"
- Amy E. Wenzel(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...Peggy M. Zoccola Peggy M. Zoccola Zoccola, Peggy M. Alex Woody Alex Woody Woody, Alex Cortisol Cortisol 894 899 Cortisol Produced by the adrenal cortex, cortisol is the end product of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation. Commonly referred to as a stress hormone, cortisol is released in response to a variety of psychosocial stressors. Cortisol serves numerous functions in the body and has been implicated in many mental and physical health conditions and disorders. Cortisol is an important hormone in the context of abnormal and clinical psychology because reduced and elevated levels of the hormone have been linked to a multitude of mental health disorders and psychopathological processes. This entry introduces the biological background of cortisol and its functions and describes common assessment techniques. Following an overview of the links between cortisol and key mental and physical health processes, this entry details several specific disorders for which altered cortisol has implications, including depressive disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and psychopathy. The entry concludes with a discussion of future challenges and opportunities in the consideration of cortisol in abnormal and clinical psychology. Biological Background and Functions of Cortisol The HPA axis is a major stress response system that is critical for survival and adaptation and is particularly important for understanding the adverse effects stressors can have on mental and physical health. Briefly, the HPA axis is activated within the brain by the hypothalamus, which receives and integrates somatosensory and affective input from the prefrontal cortex and limbic structures (e.g., hippocampus and amygdala)...
eBook - ePubStress at Work
A Sociological Perspective
- Chris Peterson(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Cortisol influences energy production, acid-base balance, growth, wound healing, and resistance to infection. It also stimulates production of carbohydrates and has effects on lipid, protein, sodium, potassium, phosphate, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and water metabolism. Cortisol produces an immune reaction inhibiting the inflammatory response. Other hormones participating in the stress response include growth hormone, prolactin, beta-endorphin, vasopressin, and testosterone, but less is known about their influence or degree of effect. The main hormones of the stress response are adrenaline and noradrenaline (catecholamines) and cortisol (a corticosteroid). They mobilize the body’s resources in the form of glucose and the release of fatty acids and amino acids. After some time, these bodily defenses can produce a general reduction in the organism’s immunity. In the general adaptation syndrome described by Selye, the relationships between the three main responses (adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol) have varying effects. Although the corticosteroids and catecholamines are quite distinct, the effects of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol are important in the body’s general response to stress and in attempts to nullify harmful effects. In the alarm phase, adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol may be secreted. If stressful conditions continue, a complex process takes place. As Frankenhaeuser (10) has pointed out, psychological or cognitive factors come into play and influence hormone levels. Cortisol is secreted for different reasons than adrenaline and noradrenaline. Adrenaline and cortisol secretion result from different response patterns. Selye also argued that early research concentrated on glucocorticoids whose role is to lessen harmful reactions to injury, and that later research showed two groups of steroids to play a role “even more potent in maintaining homeostasis” (64, p. 264)...
eBook - ePub- Gail Anderson(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
...However, this does not mean there is no relationship between testosterone and violence, as dominance, competition, and desire for social status can easily motivate violence and crime. Testosterone also has a role in risk-taking, and while this may be harmless, it can also result in harm of the self or others. Cortisol Cortisol is also a steroid hormone. It is produced by the adrenal gland and is the end-product of the HPA axis. It is often considered a “stress hormone,” being released under conditions of physical or psychological stress or low blood sugar. 81 It has many roles in metabolism and the immune system. High cortisol levels are linked to psychological and physical stress, anxiety, and social avoidance, whereas low levels are linked to more prosocial behaviors, social approach, relaxation, feelings of submission, and low levels of aggression. 81, 82, 83 The HPA axis is involved in adaptation, both physiological and behavioral, to changing situations and environments. 84 It is a complex interaction between, as it sounds, the hypothalamus (an important region of the brain which links the neural system to the endocrine or hormonal system), the pituitary gland (found in the brain and involved in the production and regulation of many different hormones), and the adrenal glands (found on the kidneys and also involved in the production and regulation of a number of hormones, including adrenalin as well as steroids). Cortisol, stress, and abuse The HPA axis is considered to be the body’s stress–response system, so disruption of this system, via neurotransmitters, hormones, or brain pathology, can result in abnormally low cortisol levels. This hormone is also involved in autonomic arousal, which means that those who are low in cortisol do not fear punishment unless it is immediate...
eBook - ePubStress: Concepts, Cognition, Emotion, and Behavior
Handbook of Stress Series, Volume 1
- George Fink(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
...In primates and dogs, the naturally occurring glucocorticoid is cortisol, whereas in rodents and birds, it is corticosterone. In response to emotional arousal, the stress hormones adrenalin and corticosterone are secreted in the adrenal glands with the concomitant release of several neurotransmitters and neuropeptides in the brain. Fluctuations in corticosterone levels can be said to reflect emotional states related to stress. In experimental animals, changes in hormonal levels can be achieved by pharmacological means or environmental manipulations and their effects assessed. Several studies show that stress and glucocorticoids influence cognitive function. The administration of low levels of corticosterone improves performance in learning tasks in animals. 29 However, whereas short-term exposure to low levels of corticosterone can enhance cognitive function, it is known that short-term exposure to higher levels, as well as long-term effects of high levels of corticosterone (e.g., through sustained exposure to restraint stress), has deleterious effects on learning, memory, and cognitive function. 30 The effects of corticosterone on cognitive function are mediated through binding of the stress hormones to specific receptors in the brain. These receptors, known as glucocorticoid receptors (GRs), have been found to be abundant in the hippocampus, a brain region that is critically involved in modulating learning and memory. Another region in the brain that participates in cognitive function is the amygdala, which also has moderate amounts of receptors for corticosterone. The actions of corticosterone in the hippocampus and amygdala can be induced by the administration of selective drugs that interact with the GRs. Drugs include those that enhance the effects of corticosterone (glucocorticoid agonists) or those that block or attenuate the effect of corticosterone (glucocorticoid antagonists)...
- Linas A Bieliauskas(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...This research approach is rather weak, since individuals differ in their constitutional predisposition and makeup, and the exact nature, magnitude, and timing of their stress response will also differ. A thorough, long-term systematic study of hormonal responses to stressors was conducted by Ursin, Baade, and Levine (1978) and deserves extended mention here. They examined stress response in parachute trainees over a two-month period, conducting a detailed examination of the presence of psychological stressors (parachute training), individual perceptions of the stressors (psychological measures), and biological stress response (hormonal and other physiological measures). Ursin et al. took basal measures before parachute training began and then measured again before and after training on successive days that the trainees jumped from a tower to simulate parachute drops. In general, the results demonstrated that psychological measures of fear (as an index of perceived stressors) declined on successive jump days as the individuals became more accustomed to jumping; this was directly related to declines in levels of Cortisol (AC), catecholamines, and free fatty acids circulating in the bloodstream. However, plasma testosterone (a gonadotropic hormone) and blood glucose levels, although initially following the same pattern, eventually returned to basal levels. (See Figures 5, 6, and 7 for examples of these changes.) The complexity of these psychological and physiological changes is further illustrated by the fact that they do not vary independently of each other; note the correlations between various hormones illustrated in Figure 8. Overall, the authors found that whiie there was a general increase in psychological and physiological measures of fear when parachute training began, those measurements gradually decreased once the trainees had adequately mastered their tasks...
eBook - ePubThe Theory and Treatment of Depression
Towards a Dynamic Interactionism Model
- Jozef Corveleyn, Patrick Luyten, Sidney J. Blatt, Hilde Lens-Gielis, Jozef Corveleyn, Patrick Luyten, Sidney J. Blatt, Hilde Lens-Gielis(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Together with CRF, Cortisol inhibits the growth hormone and reproductive axes. It also reduces the cellular immune system. Cortisol increases available energy by promoting gluconeogenesis, glycolysis and proteolysis, and augmenting insulin resistance. The activation of noradrenergic systems by CRF mediated activation of the locus coeruleus increases blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar, and decreases gastro-intestinal bloodflow. All these adaptions allow the organism to react adequately to acute stressors and threats. This so-called “fight or flight reaction” has obvious and crucial importance in allowing the individual organism to respond adequately to acute threats, increasing chances of survival. CRF in Depressive Disorders Major depressive disorder. Beginning in the late 1960s, numerous studies reported Cortisol hypersecretion in major depressive disorder (MDD), documented by elevated plasma corticosteroid concentration (Carpenter & Bunney, 1971), increased levels of Cortisol metabolites (Sachar et al., 1970) and elevated 24-hour urinary free Cortisol concentrations (McClure 1966; Carroll et al., 1976). In contrast to Cushing's disease, hypercortisolism may not occur every day in depressed patients. For example, urinary free Cortisol excretion may be elevated for 21 days out of the month in depressed patients compared with 4–5 days out of the month for control subjects (Gold et al., 2002). Hypercortisolemia in MDD is considered to be a state marker, and not a trait marker, because it tends to normalize in most patients after clinical improvement. Postmortem studies revealed enlarged pituitary and adrenal glands in depressed patients, consistent with chronic HPA axis hyperactivity (Nemeroff et al., 1992). Chronically elevated glucocorticoid levels have been shown to be associated with loss of neurons in the hippocampus of mammals including rats and monkeys (Sapolsky, 1990)...
