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Plasma β‐Endorphin, Adrenocorticotropin Hormone, and Cortisol in Autism
Author(s) -
Tordjman Sylvie,
McBride P. Anne,
Hertzig Margaret E.,
Snow Margaret E.,
Anderson George M.,
Hall Laura M.,
Thompson Seth M.,
Ferrari Pierre,
Cohen Donald J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01697.x
Subject(s) - medicine , basal (medicine) , stressor , autism , endocrinology , psychology , hormone , hydrocortisone , adrenocorticotropic hormone , fight or flight response , peptide hormone , developmental psychology , psychiatry , chemistry , biochemistry , insulin , gene
Plasma levels of the hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal axis hormones β‐endorphin (BE), adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH), and cortisol were measured in autistic (N = 48), mentally retarded/cognitively impaired (MR/CI, N = 16), and normal control (N= 26) individuals. Comparison of log transformed data from the three groups revealed that levels of BE and ACTH were significantly higher (p < .05) in the autistic individuals than in normal controls. The higher means in the autistic group were due to significantly higher plasma levels of BE and ACTH, indices of acute stress response, in the more severely affected individuals. The data support the idea that individuals with severe autism have a heightened response to acute stressors rather than chronic hyperarousal or elevated basal stress response system functioning.