A series of American studies revealed that increased heart rate, acceleration of breath and the increase in physical strength that accompanies a person in danger situations, is actually caused by a hormone is not known much produced by bones.
Tests in humans and animals have identified the hormone ostocalsin as responsible for responding to acute stress that helps us out of danger rather than adrenaline.
These findings, published in Cell Metabolism, contradict decades of firm thought about the role of adrenaline, produced by the adrenal glands, just above the kidneys.
"The idea that the bone mediates the stress response is a whole new idea, as well as the idea that the adrenal glands do not mediate the stress response," said Professor Gerard Karsenty of Columbia University. "This proves the concept that bones are partly designed as a tool to resist extreme risk."
`` If you think of bones as something that has evolved to protect the body from danger - the skull protects the brain from trauma and the skeleton allows vertebrates to escape predators, and even the bones in the ear alert us to the imminent danger - the hormonal functions of ostocalsin are beginning to make sense. ''
One study by the university team showed that people involved in stressful situations, such as public speeches, suffer from ostocalcin imposition.
At the same time, another study in mice showed that hormone mutations were accompanied by high heart rate, body temperature and glucose normally associated with adrenaline.
The researchers believe that these studies help explain why young people, who have more active and healthier bones, have a greater response to extreme stress.
These researchers plan to extend their research to primates in order to try to identify command paths from the brain to the bones.