Salivary Cortisol in Psychobiological Research: An Overview

Kirschbaum, Clemens; Hellhammer, Dirk H.

doi:10.1159/000118611

Cited by 1,326 publications

(922 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…However, salivary, ie free cortisol, was determined as a more sensitive index of changes in the HPA function than measuring total plasma cortisol. 28 Whereas lowered salivary cortisol has been associated with depression, 28 decreases in salivary cortisol have been associated with mood enhancement in certain groups of patients who had elevated salivary cortisol at the outset. 39 In the present study elevated cortisol would be anticipated as a consequence of chronic pain, the decreased concentration following TCET re¯ecting an ameliorating e ect on the pain (stress) which provoked the raised cortisol excretion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The turnover of some neurochemicals/hormones often assayed in studies evaluating mood, depression and antidepressive treatments 28,29 were also monitored. Experimental studies have implicated increased central noradrenaline (NA) turnover and the hypothalamo pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis in the antinociceptive action of this TCET.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…30 Thus plasma adrenocortico trophic hormone (ACTH); salivary, plasma, and urinary cortisol were assayed before and after transcranial or sham treatment as objective indicators of the activity of the HPA axis in the treatment. 28 The plasma concentration and total urinary output during the sham and treatment period of the principal metabolite of NA, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylglycol (MHPG) was assayed as an indication of whether central NA turnover was implicated in any observed e ects of TCET. 29 The present study was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic e cacy of this novel transcranial stimulus to ameliorate su ering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The amelioration of the suffering associated with spinal cord injury with subperception transcranial electrical stimulation

et al. 2003

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Study design: Double blind, partial crossover. Objectives: To evaluate the analgesic activity of a novel cranial electrostimulus in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting: Hereward College, a residential centre that provides educational facilities for students with disabilities. Methods: Subjects with SCI experiencing chronic pain were randomly assigned into two groups, one of which received sham and the other transcranial electrostimulation treatment (TCET) on two occasions daily for four successive days. After a`wash-out' period of 8 weeks all subjects returned and received the identical stimulus that the treated cohort received on the ®rst arm of the study. Results: Pain measurements applied before and after each session indicated that the pain decreased in the treated group to 51% of that reported at the commencement of treatment; reported pain intensity did not decrease signi®cantly in the sham treated subjects. The same (sham) subject group reported experiencing 59% of the pain at the end of the second arm of the study (TCET) as on the ®rst arm (sham). No signi®cant di erences were determined between the mood of all subjects estimated before and after each sham or TCET treatment session. The reported analgesic, and combined antidepressant and anxiolytic drug use in subjects receiving TCET on the second arm of the study, was 46% and 53% respectively of the average pre-study drug use. No similar decrease in the use of the drugs was noted in the same subjects after sham treatment on the ®rst arm of the study. Salivary cortisol determinations made prior to and after each sham and treatment session implicated this corticoid in the pain-relieving mode of action of the treatment, but could not be associated with any changes in mood. Subjects receiving TCET had signi®cantly higher urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylglycol (MHPG) output after the TCET treatment period than sham stimulation, implicating increased central noradrenaline (NA) metabolism in the observed e ects. Conclusion: The subjects reported less pain during, and immediately after receiving this transcranial treatment, although they were using less medication than when receiving sham treatment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The amelioration of the suffering associated with spinal cord injury with subperception transcranial electrical stimulation

et al. 2003

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“…The saliva concentration is a good indicator of the amount of biologically active cortisol in pig plasma, useful for investigating both basal (Kirschbaum and Hellhammer, 1989;Cook et al, 1996) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-modified secretion (Parrott et al, 1989;Cook et al, 1996). Sampling of saliva is obviously an animal-friendly method, which can be assumed to affect cortisol concentrations less than blood sampling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental enrichment in early life affects cortisol patterns in growing pigs

Munsterhjelm

Valros

Heinonen

et al. 2010

Animal

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Effects of environmental enrichment at different stages of life on stress physiology of pigs were investigated in a trial with 63 groups, each of four siblings. In each of the three growing phases (suckling 0 to 4 weeks of age, nursery 5 to 9 weeks, fattening 10 to 24 weeks) pens either were (5E) or were not (50) enriched. Accordingly, the treatments were (i) 000, (ii) E00, (iii) EE0, (iv) 00E, (v) 0EE and (vi) EEE. The enrichment material, renewed twice daily to leave a thin layer, consisted of wood shavings and chopped straw. Salivary cortisol was sampled hourly from 0700 to 1900 h at the age of 9 and 21 weeks. The presence of a circadian secretion rhythm was evaluated by an intra-assay coefficient of variation-based method. An adrenocorticotropic hormone test was performed at 21 weeks. Treatment effects on the odds of a physiological cortisol rhythm were assessed by logistic regression, and effects on cortisol concentrations with a repeated measures GLM. Substrateenrichment from 0 to 9 weeks of age increased the odds of a rhythm as compared to barren housing (odds ratio (OR) 5 30.0, P , 0.01). A flat cortisol secretion pattern may indicate chronic stress and/or delayed maturation of the rhythm. Barren as compared to enriched rearing (0 to 4 weeks of age) seemed to cause a blunted secretion rhythm at 21 weeks of age. Although behavioural and tail lesion observations provided support to the assumption that a blunted rhythm indicates chronic stress, the biological significance of these cortisol results needs confirmation in future studies.Keywords: pig, cortisol, environmental enrichment, early enrichment ImplicationsThe welfare of intensively housed pigs is a matter of public concern. A crowded and barren environment is known to cause signs of stress. This research was designed to investigate effects on stress physiology of a very moderate amount of bedding provided at different stages of the life of pigs raised for slaughter. The quality (wood shavings and chopped straw) and amount was chosen to be compatible with partly slatted pen floors and slurry manure systems. The results indicate that a small amount of bedding in early life (0 to 4 weeks of age) will prevent physiological signs of stress at a later age. Due to use of unestablished methods the biological significance of these results needs more evidence to be disclosed.

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“…Salivary cortisol will be used as a physiological evaluation of general stress, and whether patients' stress response changes as a result of the IYP. Collection of cortisol through saliva is a non-invasive way of measuring HPA axis activity and is correlated with unbound serum levels [119]. Fifteen minutes prior to the first collection, participants will be asked to rinse their mouth with water to prevent contamination of sample by food debris.…”

Section: Primary Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protocol for a randomized controlled study of Iyengar yoga for youth with irritable bowel syndrome

Evans

Cousins

Tsao

et al. 2011

Trials

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IntroductionIrritable bowel syndrome affects as many as 14% of high school-aged students. Symptoms include discomfort in the abdomen, along with diarrhea and/or constipation and other gastroenterological symptoms that can significantly impact quality of life and daily functioning. Emotional stress appears to exacerbate irritable bowel syndrome symptoms suggesting that mind-body interventions reducing arousal may prove beneficial. For many sufferers, symptoms can be traced to childhood and adolescence, making the early manifestation of irritable bowel syndrome important to understand. The current study will focus on young people aged 14-26 years with irritable bowel syndrome. The study will test the potential benefits of Iyengar yoga on clinical symptoms, psychospiritual functioning and visceral sensitivity. Yoga is thought to bring physical, psychological and spiritual benefits to practitioners and has been associated with reduced stress and pain. Through its focus on restoration and use of props, Iyengar yoga is especially designed to decrease arousal and promote psychospiritual resources in physically compromised individuals. An extensive and standardized teacher-training program support Iyengar yoga's reliability and safety. It is hypothesized that yoga will be feasible with less than 20% attrition; and the yoga group will demonstrate significantly improved outcomes compared to controls, with physiological and psychospiritual mechanisms contributing to improvements.Methods/DesignSixty irritable bowel syndrome patients aged 14-26 will be randomly assigned to a standardized 6-week twice weekly Iyengar yoga group-based program or a wait-list usual care control group. The groups will be compared on the primary clinical outcomes of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, quality of life and global improvement at post-treatment and 2-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes will include visceral pain sensitivity assessed with a standardized laboratory task (water load task), functional disability and psychospiritual variables including catastrophizing, self-efficacy, mood, acceptance and mindfulness. Mechanisms of action involved in the proposed beneficial effects of yoga upon clinical outcomes will be explored, and include the mediating effects of visceral sensitivity, increased psychospiritual resources, regulated autonomic nervous system responses and regulated hormonal stress response assessed via salivary cortisol.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01107977.

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Salivary Cortisol in Psychobiological Research: An Overview

Cited by 1,326 publications

References 30 publications

The amelioration of the suffering associated with spinal cord injury with subperception transcranial electrical stimulation

The amelioration of the suffering associated with spinal cord injury with subperception transcranial electrical stimulation

Environmental enrichment in early life affects cortisol patterns in growing pigs

Protocol for a randomized controlled study of Iyengar yoga for youth with irritable bowel syndrome

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