This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Purpose: The primary aims of the proposed study are to examine whether childhood abuse (CA; sexual or physical) is associated with alterations in adrenergic receptor function and sympathetic nervous system responses to stress, and whether such alterations contribute to greater somatic complaints and greater sensitivity to experimental pain tests. This work will specifically compare women meeting strict psychiatric criteria for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), since our prior work has indicated a very high abuse rate (> 60%) with non-PMDD women. Half of each group will be specifically recruited with CA histories. We will assess sympathetic (blood pressure, heart rate, plasma norepinephrine) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (plasma cortisol and -endorphin) responses to laboratory speech and math stress, voluntary tolerance to experimental pain tests, and responsiveness of the heart to infusions of the -adrenergic receptor agonist isoproterenol, as an index of -adrenergic receptor function. On two subsequent laboratory visits, subjects will be given either a -adrenregic receptor blocker (propranolol) or placebo intravenously and re-tested for cardiovascular stress responses and pain sensitivity.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 782 publications
