A dual‐axis approach to understanding neuroendocrine development

Abstract

This paper on ‘a dual-axis approach to understanding neuroendocrine development’ sets out to introduce a series of paper about a novel perspective regarding stress and sex hormones, or what the authors within this special issue term ‘coupling’ of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and –gonadal axes. This view postulates that these axes do not necessarily operate in opposition, but can operate together as evidenced empirically as a positive within-person association between stress hormones like cortisol or sex hormones like testosterone. A wealth of papers within the special issue demonstrate positive coupling across acute, diurnal, basal, and longitudinal timeframes and across several different types of contexts. Reviews were meant to challenge whether this was physiologically plausible. Consistently, sophisticated statistical models were utilized in order to show a template for how to model positive coupling and to ensure that coupling was a within-person phenomenon. We cautiously considered positive coupling until the consistency of observing positive coupling was robust enough for us to consider challenging the prevailing oppositional view of these axes. We do so to acknowledge that there are contexts, moments and stages in which the function of these axes should work together: for example when contexts are both stressful and challenging or at developmental stages (like adolescence) in which the youth must grow up despite the storm and stress of youth. We hope that by putting forward a functional dual-axis approach, the field will be able to consider when and how a dual-axis approach is useful.

A comparison of salivary testosterone measurement using immunoassays and tandem mass spectrometry

“…This finding is useful to future researchers interested in examining joint or concurrent effects of Running head: TESTOSTERONE MEASUREMENT IMMUNOASSAYS 15 testosterone and cortisol (see Mehta & Prasad, 2015 for a review; see also Shirtcliff et al, 2015). It suggests that the method of testosterone measurement may not be a source of bias in investigating testosterone and cortisol as simultaneous predictors of psychological or behavioral outcomes.…”

“…Given the growing interest in testing the interactive effects (Mehta & Josephs, 2010) and "coupling" (Shirtcliff et al, 2015) of the HPG and HPA axes, we investigated whether the correlations between testosterone and cortisol concentrations from LC-MS/MS in our data differed depending on the EIA (i.e., IBL, Salimetrics, or DRG) used to measure testosterone. Overall, testosterone and cortisol were not significantly correlated across all available measures (|rs| < .08) and correlations between the cortisol Running head: TESTOSTERONE MEASUREMENT IMMUNOASSAYS 14 concentrations from LC-MS/MS concentrations and testosterone concentrations from available EIAs did not significantly differ (see Supplemental Materials).…”

Annual Research Review: Early adversity, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis, and child psychopathology

“…To date, there appears to be evidence for developmental influences, adversity, and sex effects in impacting the coupling of basal levels of the HPA–HPG axes (Ruttle, Shirtcliff, Armstrong, Klein, & Essex, ; Simmons et al., ). Adolescence in particular may be a period in which the HPA–HPG axes work in concert with one another (Shirtcliff et al., ).…”

Epigenetic Effects of Cannabis Exposure

“…basal ganglia, cerebellum), cognitive and emotional processes (e.g. striatum, amygdala, prefrontal cortex) (3), as well as the regulation of physiological and metabolic processes including feeding and stress response via the interaction of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) and Gonadal (HPG) axes (42, 43). In neurons, CB1Rs are preferentially localized on the surface of presynaptic cells regulating both excitatory (glutamate) and inhibitory (GABA) transmission.…”