TY - JOUR
T1 - Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy
AU - Field, Tiffany
AU - Hernandez-Reif, Maria
AU - Diego, Miguel
AU - Schanberg, Saul
AU - Kuhn, Cynthia
N1 - Funding Information:
In this article the positive effects of massage therapy on biochemistry are reviewed including decreased levels of cortisol and increased levels of serotonin and dopamine. The research reviewed includes studies on depression (including sex abuse and eating disorder studies), pain syndrome studies, research on autoimmune conditions (including asthma and chronic fatigue), immune studies (including HIV and breast cancer), and studies on the reduction of stress on the job, the stress of aging, and pregnancy stress. In studies in which cortisol was assayed either in saliva or in urine, significant decreases were noted in cortisol Received 22 November 2004. The authors would like to thank the participants, the volunteer massage therapists, and the research assistants who helped with this research, which was supported by an NIMH Merit Award (#MH46586) and NIMH-I Senior Research Scientist Award (#Ml-100331) to Tiffany Field and funding from Johnson & Johnson to the Touch Research Institutes. Address correspondence to Tiffany Field, Touch Research Institutes, University of Miami School of Medicine, P.O. Box 016820 (D-820), Miami, FL 33101, USA. E-mail: tfield@med.miami.edu
Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2005/10
Y1 - 2005/10
N2 - In this article the positive effects of massage therapy on biochemistry are reviewed including decreased levels of cortisol and increased levels of serotonin and dopamine. The research reviewed includes studies on depression (including sex abuse and eating disorder studies), pain syndrome studies, research on autoimmune conditions (including asthma and chronic fatigue), immune studies (including HIV and breast cancer), and studies on the reduction of stress on the job, the stress of aging, and pregnancy stress. In studies in which cortisol was assayed either in saliva or in urine, significant decreases were noted in cortisol levels (averaging decreases 31%). In studies in which the activating neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) were assayed in urine, an average increase of 28% was noted for serotonin and an average increase of 31% was noted for dopamine. These studies combined suggest the stress-alleviating effects (decreased cortisol) and the activating effects (increased serotonin and dopamine) of massage therapy on a variety of medical conditions and stressful experiences.
AB - In this article the positive effects of massage therapy on biochemistry are reviewed including decreased levels of cortisol and increased levels of serotonin and dopamine. The research reviewed includes studies on depression (including sex abuse and eating disorder studies), pain syndrome studies, research on autoimmune conditions (including asthma and chronic fatigue), immune studies (including HIV and breast cancer), and studies on the reduction of stress on the job, the stress of aging, and pregnancy stress. In studies in which cortisol was assayed either in saliva or in urine, significant decreases were noted in cortisol levels (averaging decreases 31%). In studies in which the activating neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) were assayed in urine, an average increase of 28% was noted for serotonin and an average increase of 31% was noted for dopamine. These studies combined suggest the stress-alleviating effects (decreased cortisol) and the activating effects (increased serotonin and dopamine) of massage therapy on a variety of medical conditions and stressful experiences.
KW - Cortisol
KW - Dopamine
KW - Massage therapy
KW - Serotonin
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U2 - 10.1080/00207450590956459
DO - 10.1080/00207450590956459
M3 - Review article
C2 - 16162447
AN - SCOPUS:24744469623
VL - 115
SP - 1397
EP - 1413
JO - International Journal of Neuroscience
JF - International Journal of Neuroscience
SN - 0020-7454
IS - 10
ER -