Manipulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: effects on cognitive and emotional information processing and neural connectivity

Thesis

Despite extensive evidence documenting abnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning as a risk factor for the development of depression and other psychiatric disorders, and experimental evidence from acute stress manipulations, the effects of sustained cortisol alterations on clinically relevant cognitive-behavioural and neural processing remain poorly understood. The aim of this thesis was to characterise how non-acute changes in cortisol levels modify behavioural and neu...

Expand abstract

Authors: Schmidt, K

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Cortisol; Emotional processing; Stress; Memory; Neuroimaging
• Subjects: Psychiatry; Cognitive Neuroscience; Psychoneuroendocrinology; Psychopharmacology; Psychology