Pituitary-Adrenal and Autonomic Responses to Stress in Women After Sexual and Physical Abuse in Childhood

Abstract

Our findings suggest that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system hyperreactivity, presumably due to CRF hypersecretion, is a persistent consequence of childhood abuse that may contribute to the diathesis for adulthood psychopathological conditions. Furthermore, these results imply a role for CRF receptor antagonists in the prevention and treatment of psychopathological conditions related to early-life stress. JAMA. 2000;284:592-597

Oxytocin receptor expression and epigenetic regulation in the anterior cingulate cortex of individuals with a history of severe childhood abuse

“…This difference may, however, be explained by the two previous investigations not stratifying subjects by a history of childhood abuse. Our findings are also in contrast to reports of decreased oxytocin levels in subjects with a history of childhood abuse (Heim et al, 2000;Opacka-Juffry and Mohiyeddini, 2012). In reconciling this difference, it must be noted that the aforementioned studies investigated the oxytocin hormone and not its receptor.…”

Parents’ experiences of childhood abuse and neglect are differentially associated with behavioral and autonomic responses to their offspring

“…Furthermore, in one of our previous studies we found that childhood neglect, but not childhood abuse, was associated with elevated ANS activity of parents in a pseudo parenting context (Buisman et al, ). Results of the present study, however, are inconsistent with one other study in which abuse (physical and sexual) was found to be associated with elevated ANS reactivity (Heim et al, ). Yet, the researchers did not statistically control for neglect, making it unclear to what extent neglect may have accounted for this association.…”

Basal hypercortisolism and trauma in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures

“…Cortisol analyses indeed specified that whereas both PNES patients with and without a history of sexual trauma showed increased basal cortisol levels compared to HCs, these findings were more pronounced for the traumatized patients (p = 0.067). This result is in line with a previous finding in patients with depression showing increased cortisol levels only in traumatized depressed patients compared to nontraumatized depressed patients (Heim et al., 2000b).…”