Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / p s y n e u e n
physical diseases including cardiometabolic and psychiatric psychopathology characterized by alterations to learning
diseases. Animal studies have been able to demonstrate that and memory.
many of these effects are mediated through hormonal Olff and colleagues offer a summary of new findings on the
changes that result in developmental programming. A variety role of oxytocin in moderating stress response. The authors
of important epigenetic mechanisms have been noted that summarize what is known about individual differences in
explain these very important consequences. The authors oxytocin levels and response and how specific context is
review these mechanisms and conclude with suggestions important for eliciting desired effects of oxytocin adminis-
about future interventions for mitigating risks transmitted tration. Primarily, oxytocin promotes social functioning and
via stress during preconception, pregnancy, and early-life. regulates stress reactivity in animals and humans, and as
The review by Elhert et al. describes longitudinal research such, may promote agonistic characteristics, including bet-
examining the interplay between adverse living conditions ter attachments and pro-social behaviors. The authors con-
and the genetic, epigenetic, and immunological conse- clude with recommendations for future research on the use
quences that mediate a range of psychiatric and physical of oxytocin to treat a range of psychopathologies.
correlates associated with childhood adversity. The paper Daskalakis and colleagues take on the topic of animal
presents findings from recent studies targeting aspects of models in translational studies of PTSD, offering a critique
these vulnerabilities that include the genetic and epigenetic of current approaches that conflate the consequences of
effects of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) chaperone, FBKP5, on exposure with those associated with the prolonged response
the glucocorticoid and CRH systems as well as similar vulner- of PTSD. Animal models of PTSD are needed to capture the
abilities transmitted by alterations to BDNF function. The complexity of the PTSD behavioral consequences, as well as
paper further describes how these effects may be trans- the lack of recovery observed. The authors review three
mitted in utero, suggesting a range of developmentally established animal models of PTSD and discuss their use in
sensitive periods for these effects to occur, continuing many drug discovery for PTSD. They further discuss the value of
of the themes that are set forth in Reynolds et al., but with a studying gene environment interactions and the need for
focus on postnatal experiences. Elhert et al. conclude by use of modern genetic and genomic techniques to guide the
discussing emerging evidence that childhood maltreatment search for robust biomarkers of PTSD.
yields persistent alterations to inflammatory markers that The volume also contains two commentaries that sum-
may offer some explanation for a variety of health outcomes marize day-long satellite symposia that served to book-end
associated with childhood maltreatment. the meeting. Yehuda et al., describe the state of the science
Continuing on this theme, the next review by Daskalakis in identification of PTSD biomarkers and defines different
and colleagues offers a formal discussion of the three-hit classes of biomarkers pertaining to PTSD. The discussion on
model of psychopathology, including genetic background, identification of biomarkers for PTSD risk, diagnosis, symp-
development and early life stress, and later life stress. tom severity and treatment response, is supplemented with
Indeed, early environmental effects can result not only in the presentation of salient issues regarding biomarker devel-
pathology, but also, resilience. The authors review evidence opment, as well as special considerations for the use of
from rodent, non-human primate, and human studies to biomarkers in the military.
suggest that mild early life adversity later predicts resilience Finally, the commentary by Hildebrandt and Grief sum-
when the stressors are similar and vulnerability when the marizes the research presented at a satellite conference on
stressors are mismatched. The question of how different sex differences in eating and addiction. The authors discuss
formative experiences may shape adaptive vs. maladaptive the importance of examining interactions between gonadal
responses in the adult has been of great interest, and such and stress hormones on motivation and reward. They first
models help understand how important individual differ- review promising research on the interaction between stress
ences, such as in coping, can be fostered early in life. The and gonadal hormones in reward sensitivity and reward
authors conclude with a discussion of how this model can be learning as one mechanism to explain sex differences in
useful in explaining different psychiatric outcomes for indi- the abuse of and dependence on drugs and alcohol. They
viduals with the same genetic background and similar life then provide a summary of how these types of models are
circumstances. being applied to other forms of psychopathology such as
The review by van Anst and colleagues summarizes the eating disorders. They conclude with highlights of the con-
literature on corticosteroids and memory with a focus on the troversies about whether these types of models should be
molecular mechanisms that contribute to intra-individual used to understand obesity as type of addiction.
variability. The authors focus on new research examining the We take this opportunity to thank the many persons who
role of the mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors contributed to this volume and who presented their exciting
on different aspects of memory reconsolidation and retrie- work at the 42nd Annual conference of the International
val, and discuss how these mechanisms interact with dis- Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology. All the abstracts of
positional factors and the environmental contexts the meeting can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/
associated with learning. Despite great advances in under- ejpt.v3i0.19554 (Supplement, 2012).
standing variables that are associated with variability in the
effects of cortisol, cortisol modulators remain a poorly Acknowledgements
understood area of research. These mechanisms associated
with cortisol effects will be important for developing a We wish to thank the authors for their excellent contribu-
better understanding of how learning can be enhanced tions, and the reviewers for their outstanding reports. We
or disrupted and to aid in treatment for PTSD and other thank the many persons involved in executing the ISPNE
1834 Introduction to Special Issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology
meeting, particularly Rebecca Greif, Kelly Ryberg, Heather Rachel Yehudaa, b,c, *, Tom Hildebrandtd, David Spiegele,
Bader, Jenna Katz, Amy Ransohoff, Susie Forzano Norton, and
of course, ISPNE administrator, Lori Peterson. We also wish to a
Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Department of Psychiatry,
thank the PNEC editorial board, editorial assistants, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
editors-in-chief for their advice, and for their trust in this
project, particularly Dr. Robert Dantzer, who was assigned to b
Mental Health Care Center, James J. Peters Veterans
this special volume. Very special gratitude goes to Rose-Marie Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
Bluthé, who showed enormous dedication and worked vigor-
ously with the authors and the special editors to make this c
Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine
special issue a reality. at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
d
References Eating and Weight Disorders Program, Department of
Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York,
Cannon, W.B., 1932. The Wisdom of the Body. W.W. Norton & NY, USA
Company, Inc..
e
Mason, J.W., 1968. A review of psychoendocrine research on the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine,
pituitary-adrenal cortical system. Psychosom. Med. 30 (Suppl.) Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
576—607.
Munck, A., Guyre, P.M., Holbrook, N.J., 1984. Physiological functions *Corresponding author at: Traumatic Stress Studies Division,
of glucocorticoids in stress and their relation to pharmacological Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine,
actions. Endocr. Rev. 5, 25—44.
James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
Selye, H., 1950. The Physiology and Pathology of Exposure to Stress. A
Treatise Based on the Concepts of the General-Adaptation-Syn- 526 OOMH PTSD 116/A, 130 West Kingsbridge Road,
drome and the Diseases of Adaptation. Montreal. . Bronx, NY 10468, USA.
Supplement, 2012. Abstracts from the 42nd Annual Conference: Tel.: +1 718 741 4000; fax: +1 718 741 4775
Effects of Traumatic Stress — Molecular and Hormonal Mecha- E-mail addresses: rachel.yehuda@va.gov
nisms. Eur. J. Psychotraumatol. 3 . rachel6964@gmail.com (R. Yehuda)
Yehuda, R., Flory, J.D., Southwick, S., Charney, D.S., 2006. Devel-
oping an agenda for translational studies of resilience and vul- Received 12 June 2013
nerability following trauma exposure. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1071, accepted 13 June 2013
379—396.