Urinary 17-OHCS Levels

Abstract

DURING the last ten years there has been considerable investigation of altered adrenal function and its relationship to behavior. Initially these studies focused on elevations in adrenal cortical secretion produced by acute stimuli in the environment in both experimental and naturally occurring situations. Reactions to movies,¹final exams,²and hospital admission³were studied in human subjects, as well as responses to threatening and demanding stimuli in the monkey.^4,5It was also shown that calming influences in the environment, such as hypnosis, and movies with a benign content, could acutely produce a decrease in the level of secretion.^1,6However, all studies of this nature dealt only with the response to an acute and well-defined event. Investigation of the more chronic effects of stress have more recently shown that under different environmental circumstances both elevations and depressions in the mean steroid