Psychobiology of Disease Flashcards
What is the fight or flight response?
Physiological response to stress
What are the three stages of Selye’s general adaptation syndrome?
1: Alarm Reaction: shift to sympathetic dominance –increased arousal
2: Resistance: endocrine system produces ACTH to maintain increased arousal
3: Exhaustion: adrenals lose their ability to function normally
Describe the psycho-psychological and behavioural pathways linking stress and disease.
Events cause stress
Stress leads to physiological + behavioural changes
These lead to disease
Describe the findings of the Steptoe experiment on health behaviour and stress.
Interaction between health behaviour + social support
Smoking: During exam time: high social support smoked less, low social support smoked more
Drinking: at baseline high social support smoked more than low. During exam time: low social support drank more, high social support drank less
What effect does stress have on the immune system?
Immunosuppression
What psychological condition increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease?
Anxiety
What 5 elements characterise Type A behaviour?
Time urgency Free-floating hostility Hyper-aggressiveness Focus on accomplishment Competitive + goal-driven
What is the link between Type A behaviour and cardiovascular disease? What behavioural factor plays a key role in this?
Increased risk of coronary heart disease
Hostility
What is the placebo effect?
An inactive substance can improve a patient’s condition simply because the patient has the expectation that it will be helpful
Describe the relationship between social support/relationships and health.
Adequate social relationships increases likelihood of survival by 50% vs. those with insufficient social relationships
Social support exerts effects beyond the protective psychological role
High social support is associated with decreased mortality
State 7 examples of components of stress management.
Organisation Time management Recognising stress Appraisal review Relaxation techniques Social support Formal support
What is stress?
cognitive appraisals, emotional reactions, physiological responses + behavioural tendencies that occur in response to perceived imbalance between situational demands + resources needed to cope with them
What 2 pathways are activated in response to stress?
Sympathetic nervous system
Hypothalamic pituitari adrenocortical axis
What are the 2 appraisals involved in the stress response?
Primary: Situational demands
Secondary: Availability of resources to cope with demands
What is the relationship between depression and coronary heart disease?
Depression increases risk of developing CHD
Depression worsens the prognosis of CHD (physiological e.g. platelet activity + behavioural changes e.g. lack of activity)
