title: Stress and addiction.
abstract: Appetitive behaviors such as substance use and eating are under significant regulatory control by the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic pituitary gonadal (HPG) axes. Recent research has begun to examine how these systems interact to cause and maintain poor regulation of these appetitive behaviors. A range of potential molecular, neuroendocrine, and hormonal mechanisms are involved in these interactions and may explain individual differences in both risk and resilience to a range of addictions. This manuscript provides a commentary on research presented during the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology's mini-conference on sex differences in eating and addiction with an emphasis on how HPG and HPA axis interactions affect appetitive behaviors in classic addictions and may be used to help inform the ongoing debate about the validity of food addiction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States. Electronic address: tom.hildebrandt@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hildebrandt
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Greif
mesh_terms: D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000503:physiopathology; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000502:physiology; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012201:Reward; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents
keywords: Food addiction; Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis; Hypothalamic-pituitary gonadal axis; Sex differences; Substance abuse