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Science 17 March 1967:
Vol. 155. no. 3768, pp. 1421 - 1422
DOI: 10.1126/science.155.3768.1421
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Articles

Circadian Pattern of Plasma 17-Hydroxycorticosteroid: Alteration by Anticholinergic Agents

Dorothy T. Krieger 1 and Howard P. Krieger 1

1 Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York 10029

Atropine, administered to cats just prior to the time of the expected circadian rise in levels of 17-hydroxycorticosteroid in plasma, blocks this rise. Atropine does not alter this circadian pattern when administered at other times in the circadian cycle. Results similar to those obtained with atropine have been observed with short-acting barbiturates. Dibenzyline administered just prior to the time of the expected circadian rise is ineffective in blocking this rise. These findings support the hypothesis that the circadian pattern of plasma 17-hydroxycorticosteroid levels reflects activation, by the central nervous system, of the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis during a "critical time period" in the circadian cycle.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Plasma Cortisol Response to Dexamethasone Suppression in Depressed and Control Patients.
B. Shopsin and S. Gershon (1971)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 24, 320-326
   Abstract »    PDF »
Corticotropin Release: Inhibition by Intrahypothalamic Implantation of Atropine.
G. A. Hedge and P. G. Smelik (1968)
Science 159, 891-892
   Abstract »    PDF »
Corticosteroids in Depressive Illness: I. A Reevaluation of Control Issues and the Literature.
E. J. Sachar (1967)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 17, 544-553
   Abstract »    PDF »


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