Reading: Sapolsky Chapter 1- Why Don’t Zebras Get Ulcers

Question 1

What has changed with illness over time

Answer 1

o Over the course of time the times of illnesses and diseases we worry about have changed. Whilst we used to worry about infectious disease, the advancement of medicine to address this (aside from AIDS and Tuberculosis) has meant we now worry about illness caused by an accumulation of damage – eg. Heart disease, cancer etc

Question 2

What has changed regarding our attitudes towards stress

Answer 2

o Over the course of time the times of illnesses and diseases we worry about have changed. Whilst we used to worry about infectious disease, the advancement of medicine to address this (aside from AIDS and Tuberculosis) has meant we now worry about illness caused by an accumulation of damage – eg. Heart disease, cancer etc
o We have also shifted our attitudes to acknowledge that stress can be a driver or accelerant of illness
o Stress physiology = the study of how the body responds to stressful events
o Stress can be associated with emotional turmoil, psychological characteristics, our position in society and how our society treats people of that position. It can influence medical issues like cholesterol in the blood, insulin resistance and therefore diabetes and whether neurons in the brain will survive without oxygen during cardiac arrest.

Question 3

Stress Physiology

Answer 3

o Stress physiology = the study of how the body responds to stressful events

Question 4

o Types of stress events;

Answer 4

 Actue physical crises
* Eg. Zebra attacked by a lion and trying to escape
* Eg. A lion hungry needing to attack in order to survive
o The body is very well adapted to handle these sorts of situations
 Chronic physical challenges
* Locusts have eaten your crops – leaving you stuck without food
* Drought
* Famine etc
o These are central events for non-westernised humans and most other mammals
o The body is pretty bood at handling sustained disasters
 Psychological and social disruptions
* Social security
* Family relations etc
o These events despite being somewhat arbitrary can elicit large physiological stress responses

Question 5

 Homeostasis

Answer 5

the maintenance of a stable internal environment

Question 6

 Stressor

Answer 6

Anything in the outside world that knocks you out of homeostatic or allostatic balance or even the anticipation of something happening

Question 7

 Stress response

Answer 7

what your body does to re-establish homeostasis or allostasis

Question 8

 Allostatic Load;

Answer 8

Allostatic load refers to the cumulative burden of chronic stress and life events. It involves the interaction of different physiological systems at varying degrees of activity. When environmental challenges exceed the individual ability to cope, then allostatic overload ensues.

Question 9

Preparatory component of the stress response

Answer 9

o A large part of the stress response if preparatory. When we activate a stress response to something that turns out to be stress-worthy we congratulate ourselves and when we stress about something that isn’t in fact a risk we label the experience anxiety, neurosis, paranoia or needless hostility
o The stress-response can be mobilised not only in response to physical or psychological insult but in expectation of them

Question 10

o What your body does to adapt to an acute stressor

Answer 10

 Irrespective of the initial stressor, your body responds to stress in the same way – this is often through the secretion of certain hormones and the inhibition of others or the activation of certain parts of the nervous system etc
 At the core of the stress response for vertebrates is the idea that muscles are likely to be. Therefore, a marker for the stress response is the rapid movilisation of energy from storage sites and the inhibition of further storage – glucose and the simplest forms of protein and fats exit your fat cells, liver and muscles all to stoke whatever muscles you need in the stress response. Downstream of this is the increase in heart rate, blood pressure and breathing used to transport nutrients and oxygen at a greater rate to the muscles
 Equally, the body will halt long-term expensive building projects of sorts. Therefore, digestion is inhibited, along with growth, reproduction and tissue repair etc
* Men secrete less testosterone and have issues being aroused
* Women are less likely to ovulate or hold a pregnancy
 Along with this, the immune system is inhibited
 Blunted perception of pain – stress-induced analgesia
 During stress, sifts occur in our cognitive and sensory skills. Certain aspects of memory improve which is always helpful if you’re trying to figure out how to escape an emergency – senses become sharper. You have better memory

Question 11

Who introduced the fight or flight model

Answer 11

Walter Cannon

 This model was overwhelmingly positive about the body’s ability to detect risk
 However, when under chronic stress levels the stress-response can become more damaging than the stressor itself