Cortisol and chronic stress

Question 1

HPA axis

Answer 1

hypothalamus produces CRH into bloodstream. causes pituitary gland to release ACTH. stimulates adrenal cortex to release hormones such as cortisol

Question 2

Kuhlmann et al

Answer 2

administered cortisol to group of women who were asked to memorise list of 30 words. those given cortisol showed significant reduction in number of words recalled, particularly negative words. explains why ‘mind goes blank’ in stressful situations e.g. exams

Question 3

Kiecolt-Glaser et al

Answer 3

measure natural killer cell activity in 75 med students on month before their first exam and during the exam period. NK cell activity significantly reduced during the exams. students also completed the SRRS. those with highest scores has lowest NK cell activity.

Question 4

General Adaption Syndrome

Answer 4

proposed by Selye in the 1930s. no matter what stressor rats faced, response was always the same. it is adaptive as its best what to deal with a extreme stress, up to a point. suggested continuous stress leads to depletion of resources e.g. sugars, hormones. ‘exhaustion phase’.
recent research suggests exhaustion phase linked with increased hormone activity (cortisol) rather than depletion of resources.