Practice question · True or false
Cortisol acts back on the hypothalamus and pituitary to increase its own release, which is why stress escalates.
Hints
- What ends a stress response?
- The loop is negative, not positive.
Show the answer
False
Why
False. The feedback is negative: cortisol shuts down its own release, because the response is expensive, sustained cortisol suppresses immunity, disrupts sleep and damages the hippocampus. Chronic stress is partly the failure of that shut-off, which is why duration does the damage rather than intensity.
Practise The Endocrine System
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