title: Salivary cortisol in psychobiological research: an overview.
abstract: The measurement of cortisol in saliva provides the basic scientist as well as the clinician with a reliable tool for investigations of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Since saliva samples can be obtained stress-free and independent from medically trained personnel this method may be well suited for use in psychobiological studies. This overview intends to give a comprehensive introduction to the method of salivary cortisol assessment and to briefly discuss its application in different scientific disciplines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Physiological Psychology, University of Trier, FRG.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kirschbaum
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Hellhammer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D012016:Reference Values; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone