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The Psychosomatic Interface: Hyperprolactinemia

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Prolactin

Part of the book series: Endocrine Updates ((ENDO,volume 12))

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Abstract

Prolactin is practically ignored in the chapter of psychosomatic disorders of textbooks of psychiatry (1). There are two valid reasons for this omission:

First, psychiatric difficulties associated with inappropriate lactation or hyperprolactinemia (except when induced by drugs) are uncommon. Second, there is no conceptual framework to accommodate such uncommon observations that, when reported, appear either as anecdoctal cases or as unexplained associations. For all practical and theoretical purposes the biology of “psychological stress” has been described exclusively in terms of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and/or the sympathetic nervous system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology, Portuguese Cancer Institute, Lisbon, Portugal

    Luis G. Sobrinho

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  1. Luis G. Sobrinho
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  1. University of Cincinnati, USA

    Nelson D. Horseman

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Sobrinho, L.G. (2001). The Psychosomatic Interface: Hyperprolactinemia. In: Horseman, N.D. (eds) Prolactin. Endocrine Updates, vol 12. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1683-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1683-5_6

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