| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
ORIGINAL ARTICLES |
From Yale University School of Medicine (C.A.M., S.W., A.R., G.A., D.S.C.), New Haven, Connecticut; National Center for PTSD, VA New England Healthcare Systems (C.A.M., S.W., A.R., D.S.C.), West Haven, Connecticut; and Psychological Applications Directorate (G.H.), Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Address reprint requests to: Charles A. Morgan III, MD, MA, 116A, VA Connecticut, 950 Campbell Ave., West Haven, CT 06516. Email: charles.a.morgan{at}yale.edu
OBJECTIVE: Although many people are exposed to trauma, only some individuals develop posttraumatic stress disorder; most do not. It is possible that humans differ in the degree to which stress induces neurobiological perturbations of their threat response systems, which may result in a differential capacity to cope with aversive experiences. This study explored the idea that differences in the neurobiological responses of individuals exposed to threat are significantly related to psychological and behavioral indices.
METHODS: Individual differences in neurohormonal, psychological, and performance indices among 44 healthy subjects enrolled in US Army survival school were investigated. Subjects were examined before, during, and after exposure to uncontrollable stress.
RESULTS: Stress-induced release of cortisol, neuropeptide Y, and norepinephrine were positively correlated; cortisol release during stress accounted for 42% of the variance in neuropeptide Y release during stress. Cortisol also accounted for 22% of the variance in psychological symptoms of dissociation and 31% of the variance in military performance during stress.
CONCLUSIONS: Because dissociation, abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, and catecholamine functioning have all been implicated in the development of stress disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, these data suggest that some biological differences may exist before index trauma exposure and before the development of stress-related illness. The data also imply a relationship among specific neurobiological factors and psychological dissociation. In addition, the data provide clues about the way in which individuals’ psychobiological responses to threat differ from one another.
Key Words: neuropeptide Y • cortisol • stress • military • performance • dissociation.
Abbreviations: ANOVA = analysis of variance; CADSS = Clinician-Administered Dissociative Symptom Scale; CRF = corticotropin-releasing factor; EPI = epinephrine; HPA = hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical; NE = norepinephrine; NPY = neuropeptide Y; PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder; SF = Special Forces; SUDS = subjective units of distress scale; TPQ = Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  T. W. Meeks and D. V. Jeste Neurobiology of Wisdom: A Literature Overview Arch Gen Psychiatry, April 1, 2009; 66(4): 355 - 365. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. P. Kelly, C. M. Filley, R. S. Wilson, and D. A. Bennett Proneness to psychological distress is associated with risk of Alzheimer's disease Neurology, September 14, 2004; 63(5): 941 - 941. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. A. Morgan III, S. Southwick, G. Hazlett, A. Rasmusson, G. Hoyt, Z. Zimolo, and D. Charney Relationships Among Plasma Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate and Cortisol Levels, Symptoms of Dissociation, and Objective Performance in Humans Exposed to Acute Stress Arch Gen Psychiatry, August 1, 2004; 61(8): 819 - 825. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
