Chronic stress can have a serious impact on our physical as well as psychological health due to sustained high levels of the chemicals released in the fight or flight response.In abused children has been noticed a dysregulation of the Hypothalamic - Pituitary - Adrenal axis and particularly anomalous levels of Cortisol (Hart, et al., 1995). Cicchetti and Rogosch hypothesize that the reduced activity of the HPA axis may have an adaptive role cause it protects against the consequences of a chronic hypercortisolism (Cicchetti, et al., 2010).They also suggest this alteration to have effects on social skills?Are there any research about it?ReferencesCicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Howe, M. L., & Toth, S. L. (2010). The Effects of Maltreatment and Neuroendocrine Regulation on Memory Performance. Child Development, 81(5), 15041519.DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01488.x PMCID: PMC2941227Hart, J., Gunnar, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1995). Salivary cortisol in maltreated children: Evidence of relations between neuroendocrine activity and social competence. Development and Psychopathology, 7(1), 11-26.DOI: 10.1017/S0954579400006313
Which long-term effects can hypocortisolism have on behavior?
cognitive psychology;social psychology;cognitive neuroscience;abnormal psychology