Chapter 9 - Stress, Trauma, and Psychopathology

Question 0

Immune System

Answer 0

The body’s system to recognize foreign agents in the body and then destroy them.

Question 1

Psychological Stress

Answer 1

Experienced when an individual is confronted with a situation that is beyond their responses to control.

Question 2

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis

Answer 2

The hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal pathway, which is activated in times of stress.

Question 3

Autonomic Nervous System

Answer 3

A brain pathway that innervates a variety of organs including the adrenal medulla that results in the release of catecholamines (norepinephrine and epinephrine) from the terminal of sympathetic nerves.

Question 4

Psychoneuroimmunology

Answer 4

The study of how psychological factors can influence the immune system.

Question 5

Hypothalamus, Pituitary, and Adrenal Pathway

Answer 5

A stress pathway referred to as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

Question 6

Fight-or-Flight Response

Answer 6

The overall stress reaction in which the body prepares you either to fight or to leave the scene.

Question 7

Sympathetic Division

Answer 7

The element of the autonomic nervous system that connects with its target organs through the middle part of the spinal cord, responsible for the fight-or-flight response.

Question 8

Parasympathetic Division

Answer 8

The element of the autonomic nervous system involved in the restoration of bodily reserves and the elimination of body waste; it connects through the upper and lower parts of the spinal cord.

Question 9

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Answer 9

The body reacts similarly to a variety of different stressors in three stages: the alarm stage, the resistance stage, and the exhaustion stage.

Question 10

Allostasis

Answer 10

Refers to the body’s ability to achieve stability through an active process of change often involving the brain. This is in contrast to the older term “stress” in which responses to change were seen as passive and fixed.

Question 11

Tend-and-Befriend Response

Answer 11

A response to stress associated with the tendency of females to take care of others and form social connection in times of stress.

Question 12

Allostatic Load

Answer 12

Cumulative wear and tear on the body by responding to stressful conditions.

Question 13

Adjustment Disorders

Answer 13

Disorders in which reactions to events are out of proportion to the severity of the event.

Question 14

Acute Stress Disorder

Answer 14

A short-term reaction to traumatic events that lasts from 3 days to 1 month.

Question 15

Exposure Therapy for PTSD

Answer 15

A therapy designed to have the individual with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) re experience the original trauma; the person confronts her fears and expectations such that they are reduced.