皮质醇测量在心理学研究中的应用

皮质醇是下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺系统的终端产物,它可能是将心理压力转化为神经症的生理中介,因而在消极情绪、情绪障碍等相关研究中占有重要地位。皮质醇的分泌以天为周期,其浓度在早晨睡醒后的1个小时内达到峰值,之后由快到慢地降低,到午夜时达到当天的最低点。文章着重于皮质醇在心理学研究中的具体应用,重点介绍皮质醇测量的样本选择、测量介质、混淆因素以及取样中的注意事项,最后则说明了常用的皮质醇参数。

Application of Cortisol in Psychological Studies

Cortisol is the end product of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal （HPA） axis stress response. Cortisol might be the biological mediator that translates psychosocial stress into psychopathology in vulnerable individuals, thus it plays an important role in studies of negative affect and emotional disorders. Cortisol levels have been described as following a relatively predictable circadi- an rhythm with an early morning peak in the first hour following awakening, a rapid decrease over the next few hours and then a more gradual decline over the course of the day to a nadir around midnight. The paper concentrates on sample collection panel, the selection of the medium, the confounding factors for cortisol in psychological studies and the details of sampling, and then explains the measurement of cortisol level.