Natelson B H, Creighton D, McCarty R, Tapp W N, Pitman D, Ottenweller J E
Physiol Behav. 1987;39(1):117-25. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(87)90408-2.
When individual rats were exposed to different intensities of a stressor, foot shock, plasma catecholamines were found to be sensitive and reliable indices of the stress. Plasma corticosterone did not perform as well. Similarly, levels of both plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine correlated highly significantly with a behavioral measure of the degree of stress--namely, the amount of movement about the cage seen during the 30 sec shock period. Importantly, this behavioral measure was as sensitive and reliable an index of stress as the catecholamines. However, use of either the catecholamines or this behavioral measure as a clinically useful measure of the level of stress was limited by the fact that their responses to the stressor were extremely short-lived. Nonetheless, because the catecholamines reliably and sensitively track the intensity of a stressor, they appear to be a good visceral measure of stress, perhaps the best currently available. But the behavioral concomitants of stress are quickly and easily quantifiable and present a wide range to study, starting with alerting, through a progression of more aroused motor activity, and ending with fight-flight. Because the behavioral concomitants of stress have not been as intensively studied as the endocrine ones, we believe that future efforts to find a clinically useful index of stress will be rewarded by a refocussing of attention away from the visceral respondent to the overt behavioral one.
当将个体大鼠暴露于不同强度的应激源（足部电击）时，发现血浆儿茶酚胺是应激敏感且可靠的指标。血浆皮质酮的表现则没那么好。同样，血浆肾上腺素和去甲肾上腺素的水平与应激程度的行为指标——即在30秒电击期内在笼子里的活动量——高度显著相关。重要的是，这个行为指标与儿茶酚胺一样，是应激敏感且可靠的指标。然而，将儿茶酚胺或这个行为指标用作应激水平的临床有用指标受到限制，因为它们对应激源的反应极其短暂。尽管如此，由于儿茶酚胺能可靠且敏感地追踪应激源的强度，它们似乎是应激的良好内脏指标，也许是目前可用的最佳指标。但是应激的行为伴随现象可以快速且容易地量化，并且呈现出广泛的研究范围，从警觉开始，经过一系列更活跃的运动活动，最终以战斗-逃跑反应结束。由于应激的行为伴随现象没有像内分泌现象那样得到深入研究，我们认为未来寻找应激临床有用指标的努力，若将注意力从内脏反应转向明显的行为反应，将会有所收获。
