Measurement of Stress Hormones

Abstract

Abstract The broad applicability or pervasiveness of stress has made it a useful construct in a variety of areas of study, ranging from human performance and mood to eating, drug use, and the aetiology and progression of disease. As a result, a wide range of stress outcomes have been studied, and changes related to this syndrome have been considered in models of diverse phenomena. One consequence of this breadth of study is diffusion of the hazy meaning of the construct: Does stress consist of sympathetic nervous system-driven physiological and biochemical changes, or is it simply emotional turmoil? Are measures of blood pressure or urinary catecholamines equivalent to measures of negative mood and performance deficits?These and other issues have punctuated the expansion of stress study to include measures of neuroendocrine activity and discussion of exactly what these measures are.