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Abstract
Whereas in psychophysiological research, the specificity of the individual responses
has been assumed to be an important trait variable influencing the investigated parameters
in stress experiments or in psychopathological states, in psychoneuroendocrinology,
the individual differences in the susceptibility of the investigated neuroendocrine
axes have been widely neglected. The present study on the cortisol response of 12
healthy young men to 5 different stress tests is considered to be an initial orientation
step into this field. All five stress tests (quiz, arithmetic tasks, stress film,
cold pressor test, and physical exercise test) could be proven to be effective stimuli
regarding the cortisol system. There was, however, a broad spectrum of cortisol responses
among the 12 subjects, with a continuum between complete reactors and nonreactors.
This did not correlate with the subjective judgment of stress at all. Although the
data showed a tendency toward an augmented dispersion of the response frequencies
in comparison with random variation, the limited sample size of subjects and stress
tests did not allow a statistically significant proof of a stimulus-independent, individual
response specificity. Further experimental clarification seems to be necessary to
avoid misinterpretations of neuroendocrine data in psychiatric disorders due to neglect
of this variable.
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Article info
Publication history
Received in revised form:
February 4,
1987
Received:
August 1,
1986
We thank S. Gerold, M. Junker, and R. Rauschhuber for their assistance.Identification
Copyright
© 1987 Published by Elsevier Inc.
