Takai Noriyasu, Yamaguchi Masaki, Aragaki Toshiaki, Eto Kenji, Uchihashi Kenji, Nishikawa Yasuo
Department of Physiology, Osaka Dental University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007 Mar;1098:510-5. doi: 10.1196/annals.1384.014.
The stress response is regulated by two primary neuroendocrine systems, the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) and sympathetic adrenomedullary (SAM) systems. This study investigated gender differences in the activities of these two systems in response to acute psychological stress. Subjects were categorized according to their score in Spielberger's Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), which assesses the predisposition to personal anxiety. High (STAI score >or=55)- and low (STAI score <or=45)-anxiety groups were selected. A video of corneal surgery was served as the stressor for 15 min. Salivary cortisol and amylase levels were used as indices of the HPA and SAM activities, respectively. beta-endorphin was also assayed as a possible index of HPA activity. There were no differences in the resting salivary parameters among the groups. As expected, cortisol and amylase levels were significantly increased in all groups after the stressful video viewing. There were no gender differences in amylase levels in either the high- or low-anxiety groups. However, cortisol levels in highly anxious females were significantly lower than those in highly anxious males. Our findings show that highly anxious females exhibited lower cortisol release than highly anxious males, suggesting that high trait anxiety in females may be associated with an inability to respond with sufficient activation of HPA under acute psychological stress.
应激反应受两个主要神经内分泌系统调节，即下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺皮质（HPA）系统和交感-肾上腺髓质（SAM）系统。本研究调查了这两个系统在应对急性心理应激时活动的性别差异。根据斯皮尔伯格特质焦虑量表（STAI）的得分对受试者进行分类，该量表评估个人焦虑的易感性。选取高焦虑组（STAI得分≥55）和低焦虑组（STAI得分≤45）。一段角膜手术视频作为应激源播放15分钟。唾液皮质醇和淀粉酶水平分别用作HPA和SAM活动的指标。同时也检测β-内啡肽作为HPA活动的一个可能指标。各组静息唾液参数无差异。正如预期的那样，观看应激视频后所有组的皮质醇和淀粉酶水平均显著升高。高焦虑组和低焦虑组的淀粉酶水平均无性别差异。然而，高焦虑女性的皮质醇水平显著低于高焦虑男性。我们的研究结果表明，高焦虑女性的皮质醇释放低于高焦虑男性，这表明女性的高特质焦虑可能与在急性心理应激下无法充分激活HPA做出反应有关。
