The Effect of Sustained Affect on the Diurnal Rhythm of Adrenal Cortical Activity

Abstract

Interactions between sex, affect intensity, and the circadian rhythm were found to be related to urinary excretion, but not plasma concentrations of 17-OHCS. Men excreted more 17-OHCS than women, but the sex difference was concentrated mainly in the morning hours near the peak of the diurnal curve. The increment in 17-OHCS excretion associated with sustained affective distress in men was also concentrated mainly at the peak of the curve. In women, the increment in urinary 17-OHCS associated with affective distress was concentrated in the “trough” of the curve, during the afternoon and evening hours. It is suggested that the failure of plasma concentrations to reflect these differences could have resulted from the action of a closed loop controller, coupled with differences in cortisol disposal rates similar to those suggested by other workers. Affective distress was also associated with increased between-subject differences in diurnal trend similar to, but less marked than, those observed by other workers in patients with brain damage.