Why are people belligerent?

Answer 1

Belligerence is an act of an individual who willingly irritates, harass and slander others for the sole purpose of making others feel hostile. They are people who willingly blackmail others. Most of these kind of people act in that way for they are jealous and/or irritated of the other individual. Many of belligerent people suffer from severe trauma from when they were young caused by various factors such as death of a relative or severe abuse that they might have experienced growing up. That type of behavior is due to imbalances of Cortisol, known more formally as hydrocortisone,is a steroid hormone, more specifically a glucocorticoid, produced by the zona fasciculata of theadrenal cortex. It is released in response to stress and a low level of blood glucocorticoids. Its primary functions are to increase blood sugar throughg luconeogenesis; suppress the immune system; and aid in fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism. It also decreases bone formation. Various synthetic forms of cortisol are used to treat a variety of diseases.

Production and releaseCortisol is produced in the human body by the adrenal gland in the zona fasciculata, the second of three layers comprising the adrenal cortex. The cortex forms the outer "bark" of each adrenal gland, situated atop the kidneys. The release of cortisol is controlled by thehypothalamus, a part of the brain. The secretion of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) by the hypothalamus triggers cells in the neighboring anterior pituitary to secrete another hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), into the vascular system, through which blood carries it to the adrenal cortex. Main functions in the bodyCortisol stimulates gluconeogenesis (formation, in the liver, of glucose from certain amino acids, glycerol, lactate and/or propionate) and it activates anti-stress and anti-inflammatory pathways.

It downregulates the Interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) on "Helper" (CD4+) T-cells. This results in the inability of Interleukin-2 to upregulate the Th2 (Humoral) immune response and results in a Th1 (Cellular) immune dominance. This results in a decrease in B-cell antibodyproduction. Cortisol prevents the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation. This is why cortisol is used to treat conditions resulting from over activity of the B-cell mediated antibody response such as inflammatory and rheumatoid diseases, and Allergies. Low-potency hydrocortisone, available over the counter in some countries, is used to treat skin problems such as rashes, eczema and others.

Cortisol plays an important role in glycogenolysis, the breaking down of glycogen toglucose-1-phosphate and glucose, in liver and muscle tissue. Glycogenolysis is stimulated by epinephrine and/or norepinephrine, however cortisol facilitates the activation of glycogen phosphorylase, which is essential for the effects of epinephrine on glycogenolysis.

Elevated levels of cortisol, if prolonged, can lead to proteolysis and muscle wasting.

Several studies have shown a lipolytic (breakdown of fat) effect of cortisol, although under some conditions, cortisol may somewhat suppress lipolysis.

Another function is to decrease bone formation.

PregnancyDuring human pregnancy, increased fetal production of cortisol between weeks 30 and 32 initiates production of fetal lung surfactant to promote maturation of the lungs. In fetal lambs, glucocorticoids (principally cortisol) increase after about day 130, with lung surfactant increasing greatly, in response, by about day 135,[7] and although lamb fetal cortisol is mostly of maternal origin during the first 122 days, 88 percent or more is of fetal origin by day 136 of gestation.[8] Although the timing of fetal cortisol concentration elevation in sheep may vary somewhat, it averages about 11.8 days before the onset of labor.[9] In several livestock species (e.g. the cow, sheep, goat and pig), the surge of fetal cortisol late in gestation triggers the onset of parturition by removing the progesterone block of cervical dilation and myometrial contraction. The mechanisms yielding this effect on progesterone differ among species. In the sheep, where progesterone sufficient for maintaining pregnancy is produced by the placenta after about day 70 of gestation,[10][11] the pre-partum fetal cortisol surge induces placental enzymatic conversion of progesterone to estrogen. (The elevated level of estrogen stimulates prostaglandin secretion and oxytocin receptor development.) In the pregnant cow, where progesterone maintaining pregnancy is provided by the corpus luteum, luteolysis is induced by endometrial release of prostaglandin F2alpha, in response to fetal cortisol (and estrogen).[12]

Exposure of fetuses to cortisol during gestation can have a variety of developmental outcomes, including alterations in prenatal and postnatal growth patterns. In marmosets, a species of New World primates, pregnant females have varying levels of cortisol during gestation, both within and between females. Mustoe et al. (2012) showed that infants born to mothers with high gestational cortisol during the first trimester of pregnancy had lower rates of growth in body mass indices (BMI) than infants born to mothers with low gestational cortisol (approximately 20% lower). However, postnatal growth rates in these high-cortisol infants was more rapid than low-cortisol infants later in postnatal periods, and complete catch-up in growth had occurred by 540 days of age. These results suggest that gestational exposure to cortisol in fetuses has important potential fetal programming effects on both pre- and post-natal growth in primates.

Other effectsCortisol is released in response to stress, sparing available glucose for the brain, generating new energy from stored reserves, and diverting energy from low-priority activities (such as the immune system) in order to survive immediate threats or prepare for the exertion of rising to a new day. However, prolonged cortisol secretion (which may be due to chronic stress or the excessive secretion seen in Cushing's syndrome) results in significant physiological changes. Health disparitiesCortisol, as well as other glucocorticoids, have been used as biomarkers of psychological stress.

Cohen et al. found that "lower socioeconomic status and being black were associated with higher evening levels of cortisol. These relationships were independent of one another and socioeconomic status associations with cortisol were similar across racial categories.