Parity does not alter baseline or stimulated activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in women.

Pregnancy is associated with considerable physiological adaptations, some of which long outlast the state of pregnancy. Although it is well documented that pregnancy produces alterations of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, the longer-term effects of pregnancy on this system have not been systematically examined in humans. Subjects in the present study were 159 nulliparous and 265 parous women.

A common polymorphism in the mineralocorticoid receptor modulates stress responsiveness.

Context: Mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) mediate the action of aldosterone on sodium resorption in kidney tubular cells, but in brain they respond to the glucocorticoid cortisol in stress regulation and cognitive processes.

Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the role of the MR gene variant I180V in the neuroendocrine response to a psychosocial stressor and in electrolyte regulation.

Design: Associations between the MRI180V and outcome variables in a healthy cohort subjected to psychosocial challenge (Trier Social Stress Test) and in a mild hypertensive cohort exposed to acute salt loading (Weinberger's test) were investigated.

The heritability of perceived stress.

Background: Exploration of the degree to which perceived chronic stress is heritable is important as these self-reports have been linked to stress-related health outcomes. The aims of this study were to estimate whether perceived stress is a heritable condition and to assess whether heritability estimates vary between subjective stress reactivity and stress related to external demands.

Method: A sample of 103 monozygotic and 77 dizygotic twin pairs completed three questionnaires designed to measure perceived stress: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Measure for the Assessment of Stress Susceptibility (MESA) and the Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress (TICS).

Morningness and eveningness: the free cortisol rise after awakening in "early birds" and "night owls".

We investigated salivary cortisol profiles in the first hour after awakening in morning versus evening chronotypes. Chronotypes were defined by Horne and Ostberg's Owl-and-Lark-Questionnaire. In a sample of 112 healthy, day-active young men, we identified 9 morning and 29 evening chronotypes.

Birth weight is associated with salivary cortisol responses to psychosocial stress in adult life.

Fetal programming of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis was proposed as one mechanism underlying the link between prenatal stress, adverse birth outcomes (particularly low birth weight) and an enhanced vulnerability for several diseases later in life. In recent studies, birth weight was significantly related to basal cortisol levels as well as to cortisol responses to pharmacological stimulation. In order to investigate the association between cortisol responses to psychological challenge, birth weight and length of gestation, 106 young healthy males were exposed to the 'Trier Social Stress Test'.

A psychobiological perspective on genetic determinants of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity.

From the perspective of psychobiological stress research we present a brief overview of findings documenting a significant impact of genetic factors on the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Quantitative genetic studies in twins as well as association studies, primarily on polymorphisms in the glucocorticoid receptor gene, are depicted. Recent findings suggest that the collaboration of psychobiology and molecular genetics is a promising interdisciplinary approach that will significantly contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the link between stress, the HPA axis, and HPA-related clinical states.

The heritability of hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis responses to psychosocial stress is context dependent.

Individual differences in the response of the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis to stress are known to play an important role in health and disease risk. The origins, or determinants, of these individual differences are not well understood. To date, no study has examined the effects of context on the heritability of psychoendocrine stress responses.

Habituation of cortisol responses to repeated psychosocial stress-further characterization and impact of genetic factors.

Although a rapid response habituation to repeated stress exposure is a key characteristic of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, several studies document a substantial inter-individual variability of such HPA response patterns. In order to further investigate the individual differences in the habituation of this important neuroendocrine system to psychosocial stress, 54 male twin pairs were exposed to moderate psychosocial stress on three occasions, each exposure separated by a 1-week interval. Additionally, an ACTH(1-24) stimulation test (1 microg) and a dexamethasone suppression test (0.

Women's mental health during pregnancy influences fetal and infant developmental and health outcomes.

Women's mental health during pregnancy has important implications not only for the well-being of the mother, but also for the development, health, and well-being of her unborn child. A growing body of empirical evidence from population-based studies suggests that two indicators of women's mental health during pregnancy--psychosocial stress and social support--may exert a significant influence on fetal development and infant birth outcomes, such as birth weight and length of gestation, even after controlling for the effects of established sociodemographic, obstetric, and behavioral risk factors. This paper describes the role of three major biological systems involved in the physiology of pregnancy and stress physiology: neuroendocrine, immune/inflammatory, and cardiovascular systems.

Common polymorphisms in the glucocorticoid receptor gene are associated with adrenocortical responses to psychosocial stress.

Chronic dysregulation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity is related to several stress-related disorders. Evidence suggests that polymorphisms in the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene may have an impact on this neuroendocrine system. In the present investigation, 112 healthy males were studied to estimate the impact of three GR gene polymorphisms (BclI RFLP, N363S, ER22/23EK) on cortisol and ACTH responses to psychosocial stress (Trier Social Stress Test) and pharmacological stimulation (1 microg ACTH(1-24), 0.