In this study we investigated the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in 21 group-living rhesus monkeys infants that were physically abused by their mothers in the first few months of life and in 21 nonabused controls. Cortisol and adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) responses to a corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) challenge were assessed at 6-month intervals during the subjects' first 3 years of life. Abused infants exhibited greater cortisol responses to CRH than controls across the 3 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLactating female rats without their pups exhibit lower HPA responsiveness to stress than nonlactating females. However, responsiveness to stress is similar when lactating females are tested with their pups and the stressor involves a potential threat to the offspring. This study constitutes the first comparison of stress responsiveness in lactating and nonlactating female nonhuman primates.
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