Psychoendokrinologie: Trends und ihr Bezug zur Praxis

Abstract

Psychoendocrinology is an interdisciplinary field of research in healthy subjects and patients, addressing the relevance of hormonal systems in the overall context of biopsychosocial explanations for health and disease, by experimental approaches. The autonomous nervous system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis are well-known hormonal stress systems contributing to the physiological effects of acute, chronic, and/or traumatic stress. Recent research has broadened the view on ageand sex-related modulators of stress reactions in diverse human populations. The psychoendocrine findings have 3-fold clinical relevance: increase of diagnostic knowledge on patient subgroups, development of individual illness concepts, and evaluation of psychotherapeutic interventions. © 2014 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.