There is a growing evidence that neuropeptides may be involved in the pathophysiology of suicidal behavior. A critical review of the literature was conducted to investigate the association between neuropeptides and suicidal behavior. Only articles from peer-reviewed journals were selected for the inclusion in the present review. Twenty-six articles were assessed for eligibility but only 22 stud...

Many species use social networks to buffer the effects of stress. The mere absence of a social network, however, may also be stressful. We examined neuroendocrine, PVN CRH neurons and report that social isolation alters the intrinsic properties of these cells in sexually dimorphic fashion. Specifically, isolating preadolescent female mice from littermates for <24 hr increased first spike latenc...

The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the influence of heredity on steroid hormone production of man. The steroid patterns of adult male, dichorionic monozygotic triplets were examined in appropriate periods before, during and after adrenal stimulation with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The results of this investigation provide evidence for the existence of a significant ge...

Human population growth and development have heavily degraded coastal ecosystems with cascading impacts across multiple trophic levels. Understanding both the direct and indirect trophic effects of human activities is important for coastal conservation. In New England, recreational overfishing has triggered a regional trophic cascade. Predator depletion releases the herbivorous purple marsh cra...

The present study deals with the effect of high doses of STH and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) in both intact and hypophysectomized rats. To counteract the infectionpromoting activity of ACTHthe animals were given antibiotics. From this experiment we hoped to clarify two points: (1) whether ACTH will produce hypertension and cardiorenal lesions in the intact rat, and (2) whether STH and/o...

Postnatal maternal separation increases hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) gene expression and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and behavioral responses to stress. We report here that environmental enrichment during the peripubertal period completely reverses the effects of maternal separation on both HPA and behavioral responses to stress, with no effect on CRF mRNA expressi...

In 2 experiments, rats received exposure to presentations of a footshock preceded by a given cue. In the PRf (partial reinforcement) condition, this cue also occurred in the absence of the shock; in the CRf (continuous reinforcement) condition, it did not. Subsequent testing in which a new stimulus was used to signal the shock (Experiment 1) showed that the shock was more effective as a reinfor...

objective infantile spasms (is) or west syndrome is a convulsive disease characterized by brief, symmetric axial muscle contractions (neck, trunk, and/or extremities).the therapy universally recognized as most effective in the treatment of is, is treatment with the adrenocorticotropic hormone (acth) or oral corticosteroids. this therapy however has important side effects. many studies have soug...

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response in sepsis remains to be elucidated. Apart from corticotropin-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and cortisol, many other neuroendocrine factors participate in the regulation of HPA stress response. The HPA response to acute and chronic illness exerts a biphasic profile. Tissue corticosteroid resistance may also play an importan...

The mechanism of the coagulation of blood by staphylocoagulase and the relation of this process to physiological clotting present many unsolved problems. Evidence has been advanced for the concept that coagulase reacts with a plasma component (coagulase reacting factor CRF) which is distinct from prothrombin.5'4'1S1 The formation of an intermediate complex has been inferred from the shortening ...