Taylor Shelley E, Gonzaga Gian C, Klein Laura Cousino, Hu Peifeng, Greendale Gail A, Seeman Teresa E
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Psychosom Med. 2006 Mar-Apr;68(2):238-45. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000203242.95990.74.
Animal research suggests that oxytocin (OT) plays a role in stress responses and that in females, this role is modulated by estrogen. Yet little is known about the relation of OT to human stress responses. This study was conducted to examine the relations between estrogen activity and OT, identify stressors distinctively associated with elevations in OT, and investigate whether OT is related to cardiovascular and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) activity in a laboratory challenge paradigm.
Seventy-three postmenopausal women who were on hormone therapy (HT) or not completed questionnaires assessing psychological distress and social relationships and then participated in a laboratory stress challenge (Trier Social Stress Task), during which OT, cortisol, and blood pressure were assessed.
HT was significantly associated with higher plasma OT. Controlling for HT, elevated plasma OT was significantly associated with gaps in social relationships, with less positive relationships with a primary partner, and with elevated cortisol levels. OT was not associated with stress reactivity or recovery.
In women, plasma OT signals relationship stress and is associated with elevated cortisol; it does not appear to significantly affect cortisol or blood pressure responses to acute stress.
动物研究表明，催产素（OT）在应激反应中起作用，且在雌性动物中，这一作用受雌激素调节。然而，关于OT与人类应激反应之间的关系，人们所知甚少。本研究旨在探讨雌激素活性与OT之间的关系，确定与OT升高有显著关联的应激源，并在实验室应激挑战范式中研究OT是否与心血管及下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺皮质（HPA）活性相关。
73名接受或未接受激素治疗（HT）的绝经后女性完成了评估心理困扰和社会关系的问卷，然后参与了一项实验室应激挑战（特里尔社会应激任务），在此期间对OT、皮质醇和血压进行了评估。
HT与较高的血浆OT显著相关。在控制HT因素后，血浆OT升高与社会关系中的差距、与主要伴侣的积极关系较少以及皮质醇水平升高显著相关。OT与应激反应性或恢复无关。
在女性中，血浆OT反映关系性应激且与皮质醇升高相关；它似乎并未显著影响对急性应激的皮质醇或血压反应。
