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 -Amylase in Biobehavioral ResearchRecent Developments and Applications
a Behavioral Endocrinology Laboratory, Departments of Biobehavioral Health and Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA b Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA c Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA d Department of Psychology, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, New York, USA e Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Key Words: salivary alpha-amylase • behavior problems • cognition • health • social relationships • psychobiology of stress • sympathetic nervous system
Address for correspondence: Douglas A. Granger, Behavioral Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Biobehavioral Health, 315 Health and Human Development East, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Voice: 814-863-8402; fax: 814-863-7525. dag11{at}psu.edu
In the history of science, technical advances often precede periods of rapid accumulation of knowledge. Within the past three decades, discoveries that enabled the noninvasive measurement of the psychobiology of stress (in saliva) have added new dimensions to the study of health and human development. This widespread enthusiasm has led to somewhat of a renaissance in behavioral science. At the cutting edge, the focus is on testing innovative theoretical models of individual differences in behavior as a function of multilevel biosocial processes in the context of everyday life. Several new studies have generated renewed interest in salivary
 -amylase (sAA) as a surrogate marker of the autonomic/sympathetic nervous system component of the psychobiology of stress. This article reviews sAA's properties and functions; presents illustrative findings relating sAA to stress and the physiology of stress, behavior, cognitive function, and health; and provides practical information regarding specimen collection and assay. The overarching intent is to accelerate the learning curve such that investigators avoid potential pitfalls associated with integrating this unique salivary analyte into the next generation of biobehavioral research.
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