HPA axis

Examples of HPA axis in the following topics:

• The Endocrine System and Stress

  • In experimental studies in rats, a distinction is often made between social stress and physical stress, but both types activate the HPA axis, albeit through different pathways.
  • The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA or HTPA) axis is a complex set of direct influences and steroid-producing feedback interactions among the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands.
  • Antidepressants work by reglulating the HPA axis.
  • In the process described above, the HPA axis ultimately produces cortisol.
  • Studies on people show that the HPA axis is activated in different ways during chronic stress—depending on the type of stressor, the person's response to the stressor, and other factors.

• The Endocrine System

  • The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA or HTPA axis) is a complex set of direct influences and feedback interactions among the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands.
  • The interactions among these glands constitute the HPA axis, a major part of the neuroendocrine system that controls reactions to stress and regulates many body processes, including digestion, the immune system, mood and emotions, sexuality, and energy storage and expenditure.
  • While steroid hormones are produced mainly in vertebrates, the physiological role of the HPA axis and corticosteroids in stress response is so fundamental that analogous systems can be found in invertebrates and monocellular organisms as well.

• How the Body Responds to Stress

  • The main physiological structure involved in this response is known as the HPA (hypothalamic–pituitary gland–adrenal gland) axis.
  • The HPA axis coordinates all these physiological changes.
  • The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA axis) is a complex set of direct influences and feedback interactions among three endocrine glands: the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands.
  • The HPA axis is a major part of the neuroendocrine system that, among other things, controls reactions to stress.
  • The HPA system reacts within a person's brain, and it releases the hormone cortisol from the adrenal gland when a person is exposed to a stressor.

• Perceiving Motion

  • In the barber pole illusion, a barber pole is rotated along the x-axis, but the diagonal stripes appear to move along the pole in a vertical fashion (y-axis) that is inconsistent with the actual direction the pole is turning in.
  • In the barber pole illusion, a barber pole is rotated along the x-axis, but the diagonal stripes appear to move down the pole's y-axis in a way that is inconsistent with the actual direction the pole is turning in.

• Classifying Abnormal Behavior: The DSM

  • Axis II: Personality disorders and/or developmental disorders (such as intellectual disabilities, formerly called mental retardation).
  • Axis III: Physical issues that may impact mental health, such as diabetes.
  • Axis V: A global assessment of functioning score (GAF), which provides a score of the person's overall functioning from 1 to 100.
  • The DSM-5 has discarded the multiaxial system of diagnosis of the DSM-IV, listing all disorders on a single axis.
  • It has replaced Axis IV with significant psychosocial and contextual features and dropped Axis V (the GAF) entirely.

• Basic Descriptive Statistics

  • For example, the first two intervals, or "bins," are on the x-axis, and frequencies are on the y-axis.

• Current Issues and Debates in Psychology

  • There was also discussion about changing borderline personality disorder, an Axis II diagnosis (personality disorders and mental retardation), to an Axis I diagnosis (clinical disorders).

• Brain Imaging Techniques

  • An MRI uses strong magnetic fields to align spinning atomic nuclei (usually hydrogen protons) within body tissues, then disturbs the axis of rotation of these nuclei and observes the radio frequency signal generated as the nuclei return to their baseline status.