Journal
CURRENT OPINION IN PSYCHIATRY
Volume 26, Issue 5, Pages 440-445Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1097/YCO.0b013e328363b4ed
Keywords
autonomic nervous system; behavioural medicine; hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; immune system; stress
Categories
Funding
- Volkswagen Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Purpose of reviewIn recent years, a growing interest has emerged in behavioural medicine to examine the role of acute and chronic stress as a predisposing and contributing factor to physical health and illness. For a deeper understanding of these associations, research is in need of biological markers for alterations in biological stress systems. This review will summarize a selection of important recent findings in this area of research.Recent findingsWe will focus on essential peripheral stress-sensitive physiological systems, that is, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the autonomic nervous system, and the immune system. We will present findings on commonly used stress biomarkers (cortisol, alpha-amylase, pro-inflammatory cytokines) regarding alterations in basal activity and stress-dependent reactivity in these systems, and discuss selected findings on intervention-induced changes of these biomarkers.SummaryThis review will highlight new developments and guide readers in their choice of suitable study designs and outcomes in behavioural medicine. The reviewed studies included here encourage optimism that the employment of stress biomarkers in behavioural medicine has the potential to significantly improve our understanding of physical health and illness.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available