Cited by 2,822Stress Responses and CortisolNeuropeptides and Animal PhysiologyAdrenal Hormones and Disorders

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, neuroendocrine factors and stress

Tsigos, Constantine, Chrousos, George P·2002·Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Abstract

The stress system coordinates the adaptive responses of the organism to stressors of any kind.(1). The main components of the stress system are the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and locus ceruleus-norepinephrine (LC/NE)-autonomic systems and their peripheral effectors, the pituitary-adrenal axis, and the limbs of the autonomic system. Activation of the stress system leads to behavioral and peripheral changes that improve the ability of the organism to adjust homeostasis and increase its chances for survival. The CRH and LC/NE systems stimulate arousal and attention, as well as the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system, which is involved in anticipatory and reward phenomena, and the hypothalamic beta-endorphin system, which suppresses pain sensation and, hence, increases analgesia. CRH inhibits appetite and activates thermogenesis via the catecholaminergic system. Also, reciprocal interactions exist between the amygdala and the hippocampus and the stress system, which stimulates these elements and is regulated by them. CRH plays an important role in inhibiting GnRH secretion during stress, while, via somatostatin, it also inhibits GH, TRH and TSH secretion, suppressing, thus, the reproductive, growth and thyroid functions. Interestingly, all three of these functions receive and depend on positive catecholaminergic input. The end-hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, glucocorticoids, on the other hand, have multiple roles. They simultaneously inhibit the CRH, LC/NE and beta-endorphin systems and stimulate the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system and the CRH peptidergic central nucleus of the amygdala. In addition, they directly inhibit pituitary gonadotropin, GH and TSH secretion, render the target tissues of sex steroids and growth factors resistant to these substances and suppress the 5' deiodinase, which converts the relatively inactive tetraiodothyronine (T(4)) to triiodothyronine (T(3)), contributing further to the suppression of reproductive, growth and thyroid functions. They also have direct as well as insulin-mediated effects on adipose tissue, ultimately promoting visceral adiposity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and hypertension (metabolic syndrome X) and direct effects on the bone, causing "low turnover" osteoporosis. Central CRH, via glucocorticoids and catecholamines, inhibits the inflammatory reaction, while directly secreted by peripheral nerves CRH stimulates local inflammation (immune CRH). CRH antagonists may be useful in human pathologic states, such as melancholic depression and chronic anxiety, associated with chronic hyperactivity of the stress system, along with predictable behavioral, neuroendocrine, metabolic and immune changes, based on the interrelations outlined above. Conversely, potentiators of CRH secretion/action may be useful to treat atypical depression, postpartum depression and the fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndromes, all characterized by low HPA axis and LC/NE activity, fatigue, depressive symptomatology, hyperalgesia and increased immune/inflammatory responses to stimuli.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0022-3999(02)00429-4

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  • In the brain, glucocorticoids interact with high-affinity mineralocorticoid receptors and lower affinity glucocorticoid receptors.

    “In the brain, glucocorticoids interact with high-affinity mineralocorticoid receptors and lower affinity glucocorticoid receptors (Herman et al., 2016;Smith and Vale, 2006;Tsigos and Chrousos, 2002).”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Tsigos and Chrousos, 2002

    The “Physiology of the stress response” section (page unavailable) says glucocorticoids act through glucocorticoid receptors and affect neuronal cells. It does not describe mineralocorticoid receptors or compare the two receptors’ affinities, so those parts of the claim are unsupported by our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Such distorted beliefs engender misdirected coping behavior and have profound physiological consequences, including dysregulation of cerebral control over endocrine and autonomic nervous system processes.

    “Such beliefs engender misdirected coping behavior and have profound physiological consequences, including a dysregulation of cerebral control over endocrine and autonomic nervous system processes (e.g., aberrant activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis; HPA; Tsigos and Chrousos, 2002).”

    From Allostatic Self-efficacy: A Metacognitive Theory of Dyshomeostasis-Induced Fatigue and Depression (2016) · cites this paper as Tsigos and Chrousos, 2002

    The HPA axis: pathophysiology section describes prolonged stress-system activation, including HPA-axis hyperactivation, and its behavioral, neuroendocrine, autonomic, and physical consequences. The paper does not establish that distorted beliefs cause misdirected coping or this physiological dysregulation; it supports the HPA-axis example, not that proposed causal chain. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The HPA axis coordinates the adaptive responses of the organism to stressors of any kind.

    “The vagal afferent pathways are involved in the activation/regulation of the HPA axis (29), which coordinates the adaptive responses of the organism to stressors of any kind (30).”
  • There is an excitatory reciprocal interaction between the HPA axis and the brainstem sympathetic locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system: CRH activates the LC, and NE activates hypothalamic CRH.

    “An important interplay is also the excitatory reciprocal interaction between the HPA axis and the brainstem sympathetic locus coeruleus (LC)-norepinephrine (NE) system: CRH activates the LC; in turn, NE, a known wake-promoting neurotransmitter, activates hypothalamic CRH [9, 10].”
  • Cortisol exhibits complex dynamic behavior with two characteristic frequencies: ultradian oscillations, with a period of 20-120 min, superimposed on circadian oscillations, with a period of about 24 h.

    “acteristic frequencies: ultradian oscillations, with a period of 20-120 min [4-6] superimposed on circadian oscillations, with a period of about 24 h.”

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1 of the 49 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [11][11] Nikolarakis KE, Almeida OFX, Herz A. Stimulation of hypothaIamic b -endorphin and dynorphin release by corticotropin-releasing factor. Brain Res 1986;399:152-5. -
  2. [33][33] Calogero A, GaIIucci WT, Gold PW, Chrousos GP. Multiple feedback regulatory loops upon rat hypothalamic corticotropin releasing hormone secretion. J Clin Invest 1988;82:767-74. -
  3. [34][34] Chrousos GP. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and immunemediated inflammation. N Engl J Med 1995;332:1351-62. -
  4. [35][35] Tsigos C, Papanicolaou DA, Defensor R, Mitsiadis CS, Kyrou I, Chrousos GP. Dose-effects of recombinant human interleukin-6 on anterior pituitary hormone secretion and thermogenesis. Neuroendocrinology 1997;66:54-62. -

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Authors
Tsigos, C., & Chrousos, G. P.
Affiliations
  • National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
Corresponding author
Chrousos, George P
Venue
Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2002-10
Volume
53
Issue
4
Pages
865-871
ISSN
0022-3999 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1971639265
Cited by
2,822
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 86 · 2025: 126 · 2024: 153 · 2023: 137 · 2022: 143 · 2021: 180 · 2020: 150 · 2019: 130 · 2018: 150 · 2017: 162 · 2016: 149 · 2015: 146 · 2014: 142 · 2013: 145 · 2012: 130
FWCI
3.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Journal of Psychosomatic Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
Keywords
H, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, stress response, locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system, beta-endorphin, glucocorticoids, catecholamines, amygdala, hippocampus, somatostatin, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome X, bone loss, osteoporosis
MeSH terms
Autonomic Nervous System, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Glucocorticoids, Humans, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Stress, Physiological, Feedback, Physiological

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