Ultradian rhythmicity of plasma cortisol is necessary for normal emotional and cognitive responses in man.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 115(17): E4091-E4100, 2018 04 24.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29632168
ABSTRACT
Glucocorticoids (GCs) are secreted in an ultradian, pulsatile pattern that emerges from delays in the feedforward-feedback interaction between the anterior pituitary and adrenal glands. Dynamic oscillations of GCs are critical for normal cognitive and metabolic function in the rat and have been shown to modulate the pattern of GC-sensitive gene expression, modify synaptic activity, and maintain stress responsiveness. In man, current cortisol replacement therapy does not reproduce physiological hormone pulses and is associated with psychopathological symptoms, especially apathy and attenuated motivation in engaging with daily activities. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that the pattern of GC dynamics in the brain is of crucial importance for regulating cognitive and behavioral processes. We provide evidence that exactly the same dose of cortisol administered in different patterns alters the neural processing underlying the response to emotional stimulation, the accuracy in recognition and attentional bias toward/away from emotional faces, the quality of sleep, and the working memory performance of healthy male volunteers. These data indicate that the pattern of the GC rhythm differentially impacts human cognition and behavior under physiological, nonstressful conditions and has major implications for the improvement of cortisol replacement therapy.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Brain
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Hydrocortisone
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Cognition
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Emotions
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Glucocorticoids
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
Limits:
Adult
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Humans
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Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Year:
2018
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: