Altered Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Responses to Provocative Challenge Tests in Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse
Abstract
Objective: Early adverse life events may predispose individuals to the development of mood and anxiety disorders in adulthood, perhaps by inducing persistent changes in corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neuronal systems. The present study sought to evaluate pituitary-adrenal responses to standard hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis challenge tests in adult female survivors of childhood abuse with and without major depressive disorder. Method: Plasma ACTH and cortisol responses to the administration of 1 μg/kg ovine CRF and plasma cortisol responses to the administration of 250 μg ACTH1–24 were measured in healthy women without early life stress (N=20), women with childhood abuse without major depressive disorder (N=20), women with childhood abuse and major depressive disorder (N=15), and women with major depression but no early life stress (N=11). Results: Abused women without major depressive disorder exhibited greater than usual ACTH responses to CRF administration, whereas abused women with major depressive disorder and depressed women without early life stress demonstrated blunted ACTH responses. In the ACTH1–24 stimulation test, abused women without major depressive disorder exhibited lower baseline and stimulated plasma cortisol concentrations. Abused women with comorbid depression more often suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and reported more recent life stress than abused women without major depressive disorder. Conclusions: These findings suggest sensitization of the anterior pituitary and counterregulative adaptation of the adrenal cortex in abused women without major depressive disorder. On subsequent stress exposure, women with a history of childhood abuse may hypersecrete CRF, resulting in down-regulation of adenohypophyseal CRF receptors and symptoms of depression and anxiety.
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Low levels of cytokines promote non-REM sleep, but this stage of sleep is suppressed by high levels of cytokines.
“On the other hand, low levels of cytokines promote non-REM sleep, but this stage of sleep is suppressed by high level of cytokines[75].”
From Neuroinflammation and cytokine abnormality in major depression: cause or consequence in that illness? (2016) · cites this paper as [75]
In some cases, childhood stress sustains CRF hyperactivity and increases stress responses in adulthood, which results in oversecretion of cerebral CRF and eventually leads to depression.
“However, in some cases, childhood stress sustains CRF hyperactivity and increases stress responses in adulthood, which then results in the oversecretion of cerebral CRF and eventually leads to depression[75,76].”
From Neuroinflammation and cytokine abnormality in major depression: cause or consequence in that illness? (2016) · cites this paper as [75]
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- Authors
- Heim, C., Newport, D. J., Bonsall, R., Miller, A. H., & Nemeroff, C. B.
- Venue
- Focus
- Published
- 2003-07
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 282-289
- ISSN
- 1541-4094 (ISSN-L)
- 1541-4108
- OpenAlex
- W2173622332
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
- Keywords
- childhood abuse, early life stress, pituitary-adrenal axis, major depressive disorder, corticotropin-releasing factor, ACTH response, cortisol, post-traumatic stress disorder, women
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