Neurohormonal changes in medical students during academic stress.
BACKGROUND
Academic stress is a good model of psychological stress in humans and is thus useful for studying psychoneurohormonal changes. The aim of the current study was to examine the effect of academic examination stress on activation of the hypothalamus-autonomic nervous system (HANS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, through the measurements of changes in neuro-hormones during final exams as compared to the pre-exam baseline.


METHODS
Forty-eight first- and second-year female medical students participated. Plasma leptin, neuropeptide Y (NPY), nitrite, nitrate, andrenomedullin, cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were measured at baseline and during final examinations.


RESULTS
Plasma levels of cortisol, ACTH, NPY, adrenomedullin, nitrite and nitrate increased during times of academic stress as compared to baseline levels. However, only plasma leptin level was decreased during the academic stress as compared to baseline, probably through a negative feedback mechanism resulting from sympathetic stimulation. The results indicate that both the HANS and HPA are involved in this type of stress and both are activated at the same time.


CONCLUSIONS
Academic stress induced significant neurohormonal changes. Leptin, NPY, nitrite, nitrate, adrenomedullin, cortisol and ACTH can be considered part of a complex mosaic model of the neuroendocrine system during academic stress.
Al-Ayadhi
Laila Y
LY
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia. ayadh2@hotmail.com
D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood; D053607:Adrenomedullin; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000097:blood; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000097:blood*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000097:blood; D010455:Peptides / Q000097:blood; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood*; D013337:Students, Medical
D020738:Leptin; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D010455:Peptides; D053607:Adrenomedullin; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone