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Cited by 874Stress Responses and CortisolAdrenal Hormones and DisordersNeuropeptides and Animal Physiology

A review of psychoendocrine research on the pituitary–adrenal cortical system

MASON, JOHN W.·1968·Psychosomatic Medicine
DOI 10.1097/00006842-196809000-00020
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Abstract

Massive evidence has now accumulated which indicates that the pituitary-adrenal cortical system responds sensitively to psychological influences. This evidence represents converging and reinforcing findings from diverse studies of many species, including man. It involved the use of many methods of eliciting, isolating, and evaluating emotional disturbances, relatively direct and specific biochemical measurements of endocrine activity, and control measures that permit exclusion of concomitant physical variables. It also appears that the principal experimental or methodological factors which were involved in the relatively few conflicting findings reported in this field have now been largely identified, eliminated, or adequately taken into consideration. There is no longer room for reasonable doubt as to the validity of the basic conclusion that psychological stimuli are capable of influencing the level of pituitary-adrenal cortical activity. It now appears to be time to consolidate our grasp of the knowledge that is firmly established in this field and to review the implications in order that we may logically decide the most likely directions for fruitful future work along these lines. Some of the general biological conclusions emerging from the work covered in this review may be summarized as follows: Psychological influences are among the most potent natural stimuli known to affect pituitary-adrenal cortical activity. The remarkable sensitivity of 17-OHCS levels even to relatively subtle, everyday psychological influences suggests that the central nervous system exerts a constant “tonicity” upon this endocrine system, in much the same fashion as has been previously demonstrated for the autonomic and skeletal muscular effector systems. Elevation of 17-OHCS levels is not related to a highly specific affective state, but rather appears to reflect a relatively undifferentiated state of emotional arousal or involvement, perhaps in anticipation of activity or coping. The elements of novelty, uncertainty, or unpredictability are particularly potent influences in eliciting 17-OHCS elevations. Intense, disorganizing emotional reactions with behavioral breakdown are associated with unusually marked 17-OHCS elevations. Psychological factors may either raise or lower the level of pituitary-adrenal cortical activity. Some important variables to consider in relation to the direction of 17-OHCS response are the quality of the emotional reaction, the style and effectiveness of psychological defenses, and whether the threat is of an acute or chronic nature. Marked individual differences in pituitary-adrenal cortical response to any given situation have been a striking and consistent feature of psychoendocrine studies. Definition of the multiple determinants, psychological and other, of these individual differences is a major goal in the future development of psychoendocrine research. The organization of psychological defenses has been shown to be an especially important factor to consider in the study of this problem. The measurement of 17-OHCS levels provides the behavioral scientist with a sensitive, objective index of a physiological reflection of emotional state that represents a balance between forces promoting affective arousal or distress versus those of a protective or defensive nature which prevent, minimize, or counteract arousal or distress. Experience in psychoendocrine research on the pituitary-adrenal cortical system has also yielded a number of important conclusions concerning methodological principles, which have been discussed at some length. These principles deserve wider recognition and should be useful in the future refinement of psychoendocrine research in general. It is perhaps also important to realize that the recent burgeoning development of psychoendocrine research owes both its conception and support largely to psychiatry, and that the dissemination of psychoendocrine data has remained largely within the psychiatric literature -as clearly revealed by the inspection of the bibliography for this paper. The many fruitful psychoendocrine approaches to a variety of basic issues in psychiatry which have now been delineated, as reviewed recently, 133 are gradually gaining recognition; thus it is likely that psychoendocrine approaches will be incorporated into psychiatric research programs to an even greater degree in the future as general awareness of their power and potential grows. While the concept of psychological influences upon endocrine function has, in general, been readily accepted by behavioral scientists, it has, however, made very little headway as yet into other biological fields-particularly physiology and internal medicine. While psychoendocrine concepts may not yet provide the immediate promise of research tools and approaches for these fields as they do in the case of psychiatry, they have profound implications for the study and understanding of physiological integration and must, inesc

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  • Classic dimensions from animal and human research that shape acute stress reactivity include evaluations of the situation as novel, unpredictable, and uncontrollable.

    “Classic dimensions from animal and human research that shape acute stress reactivity include evaluations of the situation as novel, unpredictable, and uncontrollable (Mason, 1968).”

    From More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science (2018) · cites this paper as Mason, 1968

  • Social-evaluative threats and uncontrollable outcomes elicit strong HPA responses, especially when both are present.

    “In general, social-evaluative threats and uncontrollable outcomes elicit strong HPA responses in laboratory tasks (Dickerson and Kemeny, 2004; Mason, 1968). The largest increases in cortisol are observed when both elements are present.”

    From The Adaptive Calibration Model of stress responsivity (2011) · cites this paper as Mason, 1968

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Authors
MASON, J. W.
Affiliations
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
MASON, JOHN W.
Venue
Psychosomatic Medicine
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
1968-09
Volume
30
Issue
5
Pages
576-607
ISSN
0033-3174 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/00006842-196809000-00020
OpenAlex
W2335391389
Cited by
874
References
165
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 16
FWCI
7.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychosomatic Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
Keywords
17-hydroxyprogesterone, emotional arousal, defense mechanisms, individual differences, stress response, coping, emotional reactivity, animal models of stress, psychoneuroendocrinology
MeSH terms
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Aerospace Medicine, Animals, Haplorhini, Anxiety, Blood Specimen Collection, Chromatography, Depression, Educational Measurement, Emotions, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Motion Pictures, Neurotic Disorders, Parent-Child Relations, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Schizophrenia, Stress, Psychological, Surgical Procedures, Operative, 17-Hydroxycorticosteroids, 17-Ketosteroids, Rats

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