Neurobiological Stress Response Systems Flashcards
What is positive stress?
A brief increase in heart rate, mild elevations in stress hormone levels
What is tolerable stress?
Serious, temporary stress responses, buffered by supportive relationships
What is toxic stress?
Prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships
What is stress?
Stress is a biological and psychological response experienced when encountering a threat that we feel we do not have the resources to deal with
What is a stressor?
The stimulus/threat that causes stress
- Can be external or internal
What does the left side of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) do?
It conserves energy
- rest and digest part of our system
What does the right side of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) do?
It mobilizes energy
- Fight or flight
What is a part of the endocrine system?
The Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis
What are the two stress response systems?
The Sympathetic Adrenal Medullary (SAM) and the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis
What does the Sympathetic Adrenal Medullary (SAM) do?
- Releases adrenaline and noradrenaline
- Prepares for sudden action, “fight or flight”
What does the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis do?
- Releases cortisol
- Helps cope with stress
- cortisol is typically released 20 mins after you experience the stressor and it is to help you regulate
Why respond to stress?
Stress biology evolved to ensure survival
When does stress become a problem?
The problem/challenge is when we have to indicate these systems chronically or repeatedly
What is allostatic load?
Costs endured on the body following repeated or chronic bouts of stress
- Severe when repeated stress
- Physiological “wear and tear”
What are the two functions of the HPA axis?
- stress response
- diurnal rhythm
What is the typical diurnal rhythm of cortisol?
High cortisol in the morning, low cortisol at night
What function does the typical diurnal rhythm of cortisol have?
It serves basal, non-stressed functions
It supports temperature regulation, learning, daily metabolism, immune system functioning, normal brain growth
What happens to children’s cortisol following neglect?
Children who experienced neglect or abuse were more likely to have low or blunted morning cortisol
- includes post-institutionalized children and infants/toddlers in foster care
- All of these children were removed from the situation
What is the summary of the professor’s study?
- Children continuing to live in stressful environments show more atypical cortisol regulation than children placed in foster care
- Blunted pattern has been linked to risk for later psychiatric disorders and substance use
- Blunted pattern (hypoactivation) may reflect down-regulation of the system following heightened cortisol production (hyperactivation). Shutting off of the system
What does stress impact?
- Brain development
- Physical health
- Psychological health
