PULSATILE ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE - AN OVERVIEW

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is secreted by corticotrophic cells in pulsatile bursts. This paper reviews the extant literature on the phenomenon of phenomenon of pulsatile. ACTH after addressing basic iss ues of hormone pulsatility in neuroendocrine systems. The following th emes emerged from reviewing 51 studies measuring plasma ACTH at interv als of 20 min or less: marked inter-individual variability in the patt ern of ACTH, the dependence of pulse identification on sampling freque ncy, the similarity in ACTH pulse amplitude and frequency across speci es, and rite predominance of amplitude over frequency changes in ACTH pulses in altered physiological states. As the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenocortical (HPA) axis plays a critical role in orchestrating adapt ation and survival, the ability to modulate the shape of ACTH signals may prove to be an important means of transmitting complex information , to ACTH responsive cells. The clinical and neurobiological significa nce of temporal alterations in ACTH secretion represents an area for f uture investigation. (C) 1997 Society of Biological Psychiatry.