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Psychoneuroendocrinology is the research field that studies how psychological states, the nervous system and the hormone (endocrine) system influence one another, most often in the stress response and in neuropsychiatric illness. In practice, much of its laboratory work rests on hormone measures such as salivary cortisol, and how those measures are timed and chosen determines whether a study’s results can be interpreted. This page is general information for researchers and laboratory staff, not medical advice.
Short answer
Psychoneuroendocrinology (often abbreviated PNE) is a multidisciplinary field linking psychology, neurobiology and endocrinology, with immunology, neurology and psychiatry also in scope. Its central question, as the field’s own journal describes it, is how psychobiological factors interact in the stress response and in neuropsychiatric illness. Its best-known measurement problem is cortisol: a single value says little, and a 2016 systematic review found that trials measured it inconsistently.
Definition and scope
The term names both a field and the journal that carries its name. Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISSN 0306-4530) is published by Elsevier as the official journal of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology and appears in 12 issues a year. Its published scope covers psychology, neurobiology, endocrinology, immunology, neurology and psychiatry, with emphasis on multidisciplinary work that connects these areas through basic research or clinical implications. Article types include original research, reviews, commentaries, short communications and book reviews; reviews, editorials and commentaries are usually by invitation (Elsevier journal page, read 2026-11-11).
The field overlaps with, but is not the same as, its neighbours. Endocrinology studies hormone systems in their own right, neurobiology studies the nervous system, and psychiatry is the clinical discipline concerned with mental disorders. Psychoneuroendocrinology sits at the intersections, typically asking how a psychological or environmental exposure changes a hormonal readout, or the reverse.
How it is used in practice: the cortisol example
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulates the stress response, and cortisol is its most commonly measured product. In a healthy axis, cortisol peaks within roughly 30-45 minutes of waking and reaches a nadir around midnight (Ryan et al., 2016). Because the level changes through the day, one number taken at an arbitrary time is hard to interpret.
Ryan and colleagues reviewed how salivary diurnal cortisol was used as an outcome in randomised controlled trials and defined three summary measures of the daily rhythm.
| Measure | What it is | Interpretation caution |
|---|---|---|
| Cortisol awakening response (CAR) | The rise in cortisol over the 30-45 minutes after waking | Depends on sampling being anchored to the actual waking time |
| Diurnal slope | The decline in cortisol from morning to evening | Needs samples spread across the day |
| Area under the curve (AUC) | Total cortisol exposure across the daytime | Hard to interpret without a rhythm measure, because both low and high cortisol have been linked to chronic stress |
Source: Ryan R, Booth S, Spathis A, Mollart S, Clow A. Ann Behav Med 2016;50:210-236, doi:10.1007/s12160-015-9753-9 (read 2026-11-11).
What the evidence shows about measurement practice
The same review screened 2,374 records and included 78 adult randomised trials. The audit it reports is the clearest sourced picture of why measurement design matters:
- 57 of 78 trials (73.1%) sampled saliva on only one day.
- 39 (50%) measured at least one rhythm parameter.
- Only 2 (2.6%) measured all three of CAR, slope and AUC.
- Cortisol results and clinical findings agreed in only 50% of the studies that reported both.
The authors describe cortisol as measured inconsistently across trials. They also set out a design checklist (their Box 1) that readers planning or appraising a study can use:
- Sample saliva on at least 2 days before and at least 1 day after the intervention.
- Anchor sampling to waking time.
- Collect enough time points to compute CAR, slope and AUC.
- Pre-specify one primary cortisol parameter before the analysis.
Related concepts
Closely related labels describe overlapping territory. The Elsevier journal scope names immunology alongside endocrinology, and the literature also uses the broader label psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology for work that adds immune measures. Neuroendocrinology, which studies how the nervous system controls hormone release, is the narrower neighbour; the endocrinology guide covers the hormone side.
Where it matters for labs and study design
For a laboratory or study team, the practical consequence is that the sampling protocol is part of the science. A trial that collects one saliva sample on one day cannot separate a change in rhythm from ordinary day-to-day variation, and a study that reports only AUC cannot distinguish low from high cortisol exposure. Protocols should state which cortisol parameter is primary, when samples are timed relative to waking, and how many days are sampled. Teams should confirm collection and assay requirements against their own ethics approval and the assay manufacturer’s instructions.
Common misunderstandings
- A single cortisol value is an HPA-axis readout. It is not; the axis follows a daily rhythm, so timing relative to waking matters.
- Higher cortisol always means more stress. The review notes that both low and high cortisol have been linked to chronic stress, which is why AUC alone is ambiguous.
- Hormone and clinical outcomes move together. In the audited trials that reported both, they agreed only half the time.
- It is a clinical specialty. It is a research field; the clinical discipline in this area is psychiatry or endocrinology, depending on the condition.
FAQ
What does psychoneuroendocrinology mean?
It is the study of interactions among psychological processes, the nervous system and the endocrine (hormone) system, most often in the stress response and in neuropsychiatric illness.
Which disciplines does it draw on?
The field’s journal lists psychology, neurobiology, endocrinology, immunology, neurology and psychiatry.
Why is salivary cortisol sampled on more than one day?
The cited review’s design checklist recommends at least 2 days before and at least 1 day after an intervention, anchored to waking time, because the rhythm needs repeated measures to interpret.
Sources
- Elsevier. Psychoneuroendocrinology journal page, shop.elsevier.com/journals/psychoneuroendocrinology/0306-4530 (read 2026-11-11).
- Ryan R, Booth S, Spathis A, Mollart S, Clow A. Use of salivary diurnal cortisol as an outcome measure in randomised controlled trials: a systematic review. Ann Behav Med 2016;50:210-236. PMC4823366 (read 2026-11-11).
