Chapter 7 Flashcards
Lesions
When a sign involves the specific disturbance of bodily tissue, such as a gastric ulcer, or the abnormal functioning of a bodily system, such as high blood pressure,
Behaviour
is a discrete and potentially observable act, such as eating, being physically active, exercising, smoking cigarettes, and so forth
Psychological Process
is not observable directly, but may be inferred reasonably on the basis of other phenomena that are. For example, we cannot see another’s depression, but we can see evidence—in facial expression, in the way the individual speaks, in changes in sleeping, and even in responses to a questionnaire—that allows us to infer with some confidence that depression is present.
Endocrine System
-Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) Axis)
-When activated, secretes adrenocroticotropic hormone (ACTH) into the circulation
-Targets for ACTH are cells in the adrenal cortex
-Secrete a stress hormone, the glucorticoid cortisol into the circulation
Automatic Nervous system
1) Sympathetic branch
-Aroused= produces changes that prepare the body for vigorous action (increased blood pressure, heart rate, and perspiration, and decreased digestove)
=Fight or flight, and prepares the body for action in response to stress or danger
2)Parasympathetic
=Rest and digest response promoting relaxation and recovery
The Immune System
The immune system comprises a network of cells and organs that defends the body against external, disease-causing forces (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi) or internal pathogens (e.g., cancerous cells) known as antigens. The immune system performs this function through the complex actions of a variety of white blood cells
Three categories of immune response
Nonspecific, cellular, and humoral
1) Nonspecific immuse responses
One of the three general categories of immune response, in which circulating white cells called granulocytes and monocytes identify invading antigens and destroy them by phagocytosis: engulfing and digesting them
2)Cellular Immunity
One of the three general categories of immune response, based on the action of a class of blood cells called T-lymphocytes. The “T” designation refers to the locus of their production, the thymus gland. Cellular immunity results from a cascade of actions of various types of T-lymphocytes.
Humoral Immunity
One of the three general categories of immune response, in which invading antigens are presented by macrophages to B-lymphocytes. (“B” stands for bursa, an organ in which such cells are produced in birds. B-lymphocytes derive from the liver and bone marrow in humans.) This causes the B-cells to reproduce—a process reinforced by the lymphokine secretion from the helper T-cells. Some of the activated B-cells remain as memory B-cells. Others go on to be plasma cells, secreting antibodies called immunoglobulins that neutralize antigens in a number of different ways, such as clumping, presenting the antigen to phagocytic cells, or rupturing the antigen.
Phases of stress
1) Alarm= body mobilizes its defence
2) resistance phase= during which it actively copes with the challenge through immune and neuroendocrine changes. In the short term, these adaptive responses enhance the body’s ability to ward off threats.
3) Exhaustion phase: Energy is depleted and resistance can no longer be maintained. At this point, the characteristic tissue changes described above occur and the organism may succumb to a disease of adaptation, such as an ulcer.
4) General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)= A stereotyped pattern of bodily changes that occur in response to diverse challenges to the organism, first described by Hans Selye. The syndrome comprises three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. The GAS was the first formal description and definition of stress.
Transactional Model of Stress
A model of stress that conceives of stress as a property neither of stimulus nor of response, but rather as an ongoing series of transactions between an individual and their environment. Central to this formulation is the idea that people constantly evaluate what is happening to them and its implications for themselves.
Appraisals
In the transactional model of stress, evaluations that people constantly make about what is happening to them and its implications for themselves.
Primary Appraisal
In the transactional model of stress, an appraisal, which may occur quite unconsciously, that takes place when a person is faced with an event that may have adaptational significance. It is as if the individual asks: “Is this a threat to me?” The primary appraisal sets the stage for further events that may or may not lead to stress.
Secondary Appraisals
In the transactional model of stress, a set of appraisals that occur after a primary appraisal if the individual concludes there is an element of threat, equivalent to the question: “Is there anything I can do about this?”
Problem Focused Coping
The individual may have a number of options available, such as seeking the advice of a physician or trying to discern what will be on the final examination. Such approaches have been termed problem-focused coping because they attempt to identify and rectify the threat.
