“CONDITIONING” VERSUS “PERMISSIVE” ACTIONS OF HORMONES

Abstract

The concepts of conditioning and permissive actions of hormones are discussed in connection with a variety of concrete examples. The term "permissive" action implies that the factor so designated is entirely inert in itself, although it allows another stimulus to act. The term "conditioning" has no such connotation. This is an advantage, especially in the field of stress-research, because many of the effects of adaptive hormones (e.g., corticoids) are largely dependent upon concurrent metabolic changes induced by stress; yet, most of them are demonstrable, even in the absence of stress, if larger doses of such hormones are given.