The "Cortisol Awakening Response": Ontogenesis and Impact of Episodic and Prospective Memory Functioning

皮质醇唤醒反应(CAR)作为衡量下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺(HPA)轴反应性的指标，在心理生物学研究中得到了广泛的应用。然而，这辆车的确切功能仍然难以捉摸。最近的证据表明，海马体在汽车的诱导过程中起着关键作用。与海马体相关的关于自我和空间和时间定向的记忆表征相一致，人们很容易推测情景记忆和前瞻记忆的过程可能与CAR的产生有关。我们提出了一系列研究，初步建立了个体发育中CAR首次出现的时间模式。这项研究将纳入不同年龄段健康儿童对CAR的重复评估。接下来，我们将研究汽车与记忆表现(情节、预想)之间的关联。这一系列针对儿童的研究将首次调查CAR的个体发育和海马区功能的心理测量的参与。最终，这些研究的结果可能会为从睡眠到清醒的转变过程中发生的这种显著的内分泌反应的性质提供洞察，并在临床研究中改善对CAR的解释。

Assessment of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) as a measure of hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity has found broad application in psychobiological research. However, the exact function of the CAR is still elusive. Recent evidence suggests a pivotal role for the hippocampus in the induction of the CAR. In concert with hippocampus-related memory representations about the self and orientation in space and time, it is tempting to speculate that processes of episodic and prospective memory may be related to the production of a CAR.We propose a series of studies in which we initially establish the time pattern of first appearance of the CAR in ontogenesis. This study will incorporate repeated assessments of the CAR in healthy children of different age groups. Next, we will study the association between the CAR and memory performance (episodic, prospective). This series of studies in children will be the first to investigate the ontogeny of the CAR and the involvement of psychological measures of hippocampal functioning. Eventually, results from these studies may provide insight into the nature of this significant endocrine response occurring at the transition from sleep to wakefulness and improve interpretations of the CAR in clinical studies.