ENDOCRINE AND IMMUNOLOGICAL PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND ACUTE STRESS DISORDER

Abstract

Stress is the response to exposure of the organism to harm or threat that produces a series of physiological changes and facilitates copying or at least adaptation to the situation. This systematic review aims to identify the endocrine and immunological psychophysiological differences between posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder. For this purpose, a search for empirical articles was conducted in the SCOPUS database. 1000 abstracts were analyzed in the first phase of review, finally selecting and categorizing 13 empirical articles in the second phase. The results showed that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is responsible for generating the cascade of stressful reactions and has an inhibitory effect on the immune system by altering the production of antibodies.