Halligan Sarah L, Herbert Joe, Goodyer Ian M, Murray Lynne
Winnicott Research Unit, School of Psychology, University of Reading, 3 Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AL, United Kingdom.
Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Feb 15;55(4):376-81. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2003.09.013.
Animal research shows that early adverse experience results in altered glucocorticoid levels in adulthood, either raised basal levels or accentuated responses to stress. If a similar phenomenon operates in humans, this suggests a biological mechanism whereby early adversity might transmit risk for major depression, glucocorticoid elevations being associated with the development of this disorder.
We measured salivary cortisol at 8:00 am and 8:00 pm over 10 days in 13-year-old adolescents who had (n = 48) or had not (n = 39) been exposed to postnatal maternal depression.
Maternal postnatal depression was associated with higher, more variable morning cortisol in offspring, a pattern previously found to predict major depression.
Early adverse experiences might alter later steroid levels in humans. Because maternal depression confers added risk for depression to children, these alterations might provide a link between early events and later psychopathology.
动物研究表明，早期不良经历会导致成年期糖皮质激素水平改变，要么基础水平升高，要么对应激的反应增强。如果人类中存在类似现象，这表明存在一种生物学机制，早期逆境可能通过该机制传递重度抑郁症风险，糖皮质激素升高与该疾病的发展有关。
我们在10天内，于上午8点和晚上8点测量了13岁青少年的唾液皮质醇水平，这些青少年曾（n = 48）或未曾（n = 39）暴露于产后母亲抑郁的环境。
母亲产后抑郁与后代早晨皮质醇水平较高且变化更大有关，这种模式先前被发现可预测重度抑郁症。
早期不良经历可能会改变人类后期的类固醇水平。由于母亲抑郁会给孩子带来额外的抑郁风险，这些改变可能为早期事件与后期精神病理学之间提供一种联系。
