Piazza P V, Le Moal M
INSERM Unit 259: Laboratoire de Psychobiologie des Comportements Adaptatifs, Université de Bordeaux II., France.
Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 1997 Dec;25(3):359-72. doi: 10.1016/s0165-0173(97)00025-8.
The observations presented in this review suggest that glucocorticoids are one of the biological substrates of reward. These hormones are secreted in response to rewarding stimuli, such as food, a receptive sexual partner or drugs of abuse. Furthermore, manipulations of the secretion of glucocorticoids modify reward-related behaviours, and administration of these hormones, in the range of physiological stress levels, has positive reinforcing effects. The rewarding effects of glucocorticoids are probably mediated by a glucocorticoid-induced stimulation of the mesencephalic dopaminergic transmission, one of the principal neural substrates of reward. It is proposed that the rewarding effects of glucocorticoids play the role of counteracting the aversive effects of external aggressions, allowing a better coping with threatening situations. However, a sustained increase in the secretion of these hormones, or an hypersensitivity to their rewarding effects, could determine reward-related pathologies, such as a predisposed state to develop drug-abuse. In conclusion, through their reward-related effects, glucocorticoids may play a key role in tuning adaptation to stress and in determining reward-related behavioral pathologies.
本综述中呈现的观察结果表明，糖皮质激素是奖赏的生物学底物之一。这些激素会因奖赏性刺激而分泌，比如食物、有反应的性伴侣或滥用药物。此外，对糖皮质激素分泌的操控会改变与奖赏相关的行为，并且在生理应激水平范围内给予这些激素具有正向强化作用。糖皮质激素的奖赏作用可能是由糖皮质激素诱导的中脑多巴胺能传递刺激介导的，而中脑多巴胺能传递是奖赏的主要神经底物之一。有人提出，糖皮质激素的奖赏作用起到抵消外部侵害的厌恶作用的作用，从而使人能更好地应对威胁情况。然而，这些激素分泌的持续增加，或者对其奖赏作用的超敏反应，可能会导致与奖赏相关的病症，比如形成药物滥用的易患状态。总之，通过其与奖赏相关的作用，糖皮质激素可能在调节对压力的适应以及确定与奖赏相关的行为病症方面发挥关键作用。
