ABSTRACT
W e hop e t o cal l attentio n t o severa l ne w line s o f evidenc e tha t hav e potentia l
importance fo r th e analysis o f human stres s responses. These line s o f evidenc e in -
clude: (1 ) a growing body o f experimental literature documenting CNS influence s
on thyroi d function ; (2 ) a substantia l bod y o f researc h i n th e framewor k o f
human biochemica l genetics documentin g geneti c source s of variation in secretio n
and transport o f thyroid hormones , includin g severa l abnormalitie s o f clea r clinica l
significance; (3 ) a cumulative record o f clinical and experimenta l evidence indicat -
ing powerfu l effect s o f thyroi d hormon e o n brai n an d behavior , especiall y i n a
developmental perspective ; an d (4 ) a tendenc y i n stres s researc h an d psycho -
somatic medicin e t o neglec t a variet y o f provocativ e observation s bearin g o n th e
possible significanc e o f undersecretion o f thyroid hormone s i n some circumstance s
of emotiona l distress . Altogether , b y examinin g thyroi d functio n a s i t relate s t o
brain an d behavior , w e hop e t o indicat e th e promis e o f a n integrate d behavior -
endocrine-genetic approac h t o stres s problems.
