Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol Dynamics
Summary: Cortisol is a major human stress hormone, secreted within minutes of acute stress. Cortisol also has slower patterns of variation: a strong circadian rhythm and a seasonal rhythm. However, longitudinal cortisol dynamics in healthy individuals over timescales of months has rarely been studie...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-09-01
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| Series: | iScience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004220306933 |
| _version_ | 1818980071195541504 |
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| author | Lior Maimon Tomer Milo Rina S. Moyal Avi Mayo Tamar Danon Anat Bren Uri Alon |
| author_facet | Lior Maimon Tomer Milo Rina S. Moyal Avi Mayo Tamar Danon Anat Bren Uri Alon |
| author_sort | Lior Maimon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Cortisol is a major human stress hormone, secreted within minutes of acute stress. Cortisol also has slower patterns of variation: a strong circadian rhythm and a seasonal rhythm. However, longitudinal cortisol dynamics in healthy individuals over timescales of months has rarely been studied. Here, we measured longitudinal cortisol in 55 healthy participants using 12 cm of hair, which provides a retrospective measurement over one year. Individuals showed (non-seasonal) fluctuations averaging about 22% around their baseline. Fourier analysis reveals dominant slow frequencies with periods of months to a year. These frequencies can be explained by a mathematical model of the hormonal cascade that controls cortisol, the HPA axis, when including the slow timescales of tissue turnover of the glands. Measuring these dynamics is important for understanding disorders in which cortisol secretion is impaired over months, such as mood disorders, and to test models of cortisol feedback control. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T17:09:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6d4d65b3c9ce4b4784ae277c8531c9d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T17:09:35Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj.art-6d4d65b3c9ce4b4784ae277c8531c9d72022-12-21T19:32:10ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422020-09-01239101501Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol DynamicsLior Maimon0Tomer Milo1Rina S. Moyal2Avi Mayo3Tamar Danon4Anat Bren5Uri Alon6Department Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelDepartment Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelDepartment Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelDepartment Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelDepartment Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelDepartment Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, IsraelDepartment Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel; Corresponding authorSummary: Cortisol is a major human stress hormone, secreted within minutes of acute stress. Cortisol also has slower patterns of variation: a strong circadian rhythm and a seasonal rhythm. However, longitudinal cortisol dynamics in healthy individuals over timescales of months has rarely been studied. Here, we measured longitudinal cortisol in 55 healthy participants using 12 cm of hair, which provides a retrospective measurement over one year. Individuals showed (non-seasonal) fluctuations averaging about 22% around their baseline. Fourier analysis reveals dominant slow frequencies with periods of months to a year. These frequencies can be explained by a mathematical model of the hormonal cascade that controls cortisol, the HPA axis, when including the slow timescales of tissue turnover of the glands. Measuring these dynamics is important for understanding disorders in which cortisol secretion is impaired over months, such as mood disorders, and to test models of cortisol feedback control.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004220306933Biological SciencesHuman MetabolismChronobiology |
| spellingShingle | Lior Maimon Tomer Milo Rina S. Moyal Avi Mayo Tamar Danon Anat Bren Uri Alon Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol Dynamics iScience Biological Sciences Human Metabolism Chronobiology |
| title | Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol Dynamics |
| title_full | Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol Dynamics |
| title_fullStr | Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol Dynamics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol Dynamics |
| title_short | Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol Dynamics |
| title_sort | timescales of human hair cortisol dynamics |
| topic | Biological Sciences Human Metabolism Chronobiology |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004220306933 |
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