Original articleCortisol and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone Responses to Naloxone in Subjects With High and Low Neuroticism
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Subjects
Thirty-five male and female participants, 18–25 years old, without an Axis I psychiatric diagnosis (including past or present alcohol dependence or current abuse) and without a family history of alcoholism, were recruited from the community as part of an ongoing study of cortisol responses to naloxone. Psychiatric diagnostic status was assessed with the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA; Bucholz et al 1994). Participants were assessed for neuroticism with the
Demographic Data
Demographic characteristics of the 35 subjects (high neuroticism group: n = 18; low neuroticism group: n = 17) included in our sample are shown in Table 1. Subjects ranged in age from 18 to 25 years, with an average age of 21 years, completed at least 2 years of college, and were Caucasian. Amount of alcohol consumption was low to moderate, and none of the subjects smoked cigarettes. The two subject groups did not differ on levels of cortisol binding globulin (see Table 2), age, gender (men: n
Discussion
We blocked endogenous opioid activity directed at hypothalamic CRF neurons to assess the possible role of suprapituitary elements in the dysregulations of HPA axis activity associated with neuroticism. This approach involved the administration of two incremental doses of naloxone, a nonselective opioid receptor antagonist, to induce a rise in ACTH and cortisol (Bujdoso et al 2001, Chrousos and Gold 1992, Tsagarakis et al 1990, Yajima et al 1986).
Our findings show that although ACTH responses
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