Stress and Illness

Question 1

Stress

Answer 1

Presence of a significant physiological or psychological threat resulting in an acute or persistent strain on the body’s compensatory system. Alarm reaction in response to a stressor.

Question 2

Homeostasis

Answer 2

Termed by Walter Cannon. Collective processes that maintain an internal equillibrium. Behaviors and emotions act in concert with autonomic and endocrine regulation to maintain homeostasis

Question 3

Allostasis

Answer 3

Activity required for the individual to maintain stability through change to adapt. Adaptive reactions may require integration of autonomic, endocrine, and behavioral response systems

Question 4

Episodic Stress

Answer 4

Repeated episodes, but goes away. Comes and goes

Question 5

Acute Stress

Answer 5

Short term, goes away.

Question 6

Chronic Stress

Answer 6

Stress that is continuous and does not go away. Adaptation continues, leads to exhaustion phase

Question 7

Physiological Stress

Answer 7

Exs: Cold, heat infection, injury. Use bottom up processes (signals from body reach brainstem and hypothalamus to evoke responses in order to maintain homeostasis).

Question 8

Psychological stress

Answer 8

Provoke responses using “top-down” mechanisms- originate as thoughts or learned behaviors in higher structures of the brain. Affect the hypothalamic and brainstem mechanisms involved in control of the same regulatory systems that maintain homeostasis in response to physical threats. The most severe psychological stressors accompany fear of potential physical harm and concomitant feelings of helplessness.

Question 9

Bottom-up processes

Answer 9

Starts in local tissue of physiological stress, progresses to spinal cord –> brainstem –> hypothalamus/limbic system & PFC. Top regulatory levels responsible for responsible for shaping behavioral/emotional aspects of the stress response.

Question 10

Hypothalamus

Answer 10

Regulates autonomic output at the level of the brainstem as well as endocrine and motor functions. Critical for maintaining homeostasis during periods of increased physical demand. Involved in responses to threats that call for elaborate physiological and behavioral responses that are beyond basic reflexes.

Question 11

Cortex and Limic System response to physiological stressor

Answer 11

responsible for shaping the behavioral and emotional aspects of the stress response that is dependent on activation of visual, auditory, olfactory and motor systems

Question 12

Stress Responses

Answer 12

Compensatory response that deviate from the “normal” range. Considered extensions of normal physiological regulation that sustain life. Stress responses protect living things against severe threats (stressors)

Question 13

Cortisol Response/Release

Answer 13

Associated with negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger, and physical/mental distress. Elevated cortisol helps keep stress responses under control; hallmark of stress.

Question 14

Adaptation

Answer 14

“Regression to mean”. Exposure to stressor over time decreases peak cortisol release in response to stressor

Question 15

Low Stress

Answer 15

Low performance, low health (unadapted), Diseases of underuse

Question 16

Optimum Stress

Answer 16

High performance, high health rating (Stress is a good thing!)

Question 17

High stress

Answer 17

Low performance, low health (breakdown), diseases of overuse

Question 18

Role of ANS in Stress

Answer 18

Studied first by Walter Cannon. Nerves from each branch (SNS/PNS) innervate many of the same organs/areas of the body, but effects are opposite.

Question 19

Sympathetic

Answer 19

Fight or Flight

Question 20

Parasympathetic

Answer 20

Rest and restoration/assimilation

Question 21

General Adaptive Syndrome

Answer 21

Hans Seyle. Profile of how organisms response to stress. Alarm stage –> Resistance –> Exhaustion

Question 22

Alarm Stage (General Adaptation Syndrome)

Answer 22

1) Shock phase; body endures a stressor and resistance to stressor drops temporarily. 2) Antishock phase: Body starts to respond and is in a state of alarm –> sympathetic nervous system is activated (release of norepinephrine, cortisol)

Question 23

Resistance Stage (General Adaptation Syndrome)

Answer 23

Coping with the threat. Increase in systemic glucocorticoid levels –> increased [glucose, fat, protein] in blood. A need for adaptation to persistent stressor –> body’s resources gradually become depleted

Question 24

Exhaustion Stage (General Adaptation Syndrome)

Answer 24

If exhaustion is extended, long term damages of stress will result (ulcers, the beetus, angina pectorus, depression). Recovery or restoration of homeostasis may follow when compensatory mechanisms overcome the stressor effect.

Question 25

Most damaging stressors (According to Selye)

Answer 25

“Mental tensions, frustrations, insecurity, (and) aimlessness are among the most damaging stressors, and psychosomatic studies have shown how often they cause migraine headache, peptic ulcers, heart attacks, hypertension, mental disease, suicide, or just hopeless unhappiness”

Question 26

HPA Axis

Answer 26

Limbic-Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis. External events are processed by sensory pathways that feed into the temporal lobe, which contains the hypothalamus and amygdala, regions important for memory formation and recall (among other things). Both structures interact with subcortical structures such as nucleus acumbens, bed nuclei of stria terminalis, and anterior cingulate gyrus with interact with other areas (notable the PFC). Stressed activation of amygdala –> activation of brainstem aminergic nuclei to release catecholaminergic NTs (5-HT, DA, NE) –> NE related release of corticotropin releasing factor (CRH) from hypothalamus, initiates FIGHT OR FLIGHT. CRF releases high levels of glucocorticoids: cortisol, epinephrine. CRH release triggers synthesis and secretion of adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) –> stimulate more glucocorticoids from adrenal glands

Question 27

Summary of HPA Axis

Answer 27

STRESS REPONSE PERCEIVED BY SENSORY NEURONS: Info goes to temporal lobe amydala/Hippocampus release NE/5-HT/DA –> Activates hypothalamus, releases CRH –> Activates Anterior Pituitary, releases ACTH –> Activates adrenal gland of kidney, releases further cortisol.

Question 28

Long Feedback Loop

Answer 28

Glucocorticoids released by the adrenal gland/kidneys inhibit anterior pituitary (ACTH), hypothalamus (CRH), and amygdala/hippocampus (DA/5-HT/NE)

Question 29

Short Feedback Loop

Answer 29

ACTH inhibits CNS (amygdala/hippocampal release of NTs) & Hypothalamus (CRH)

Question 30

Role of Amydala

Answer 30

Fear processing, processing emotional reactions, particularly negative (facial expressions). Central and lateral amydala differntial responses.

Question 31

PFC and fear processing

Answer 31

Distal, far away threats. Slow, cognitive, concious. Perception and appraisal of threat. Communication between PFC and lateral amygdala.

Question 32

Medial Amygdala

Answer 32

Proximal, close threats. Fast, unconcious fight or flight response (Sympathetic system). No communication with PFC.

Question 33

Role of Hippocampus

Answer 33

Learning and memory, sensory processing/integration. Rich in glucocorticoid receptors –> stress response effects hippocampus significantly due to glucocorticoid release –> tissue atrophy. BDNF can reverse effects of stress on hippocampus

Question 34

Resilience vs Vulnreability to stress

Answer 34

Genetic component + Prenatal & early life stress components (nurturing mother, etc) will predispose an individual to be more resillient or more vulnreable to stress.

Question 35

Allostatic Load

Answer 35

Cost of maintaining homeostasis to the body and brain –> physioloical wear and tear

Question 36

Illnesses associated with stress

Answer 36

CV disorders, GI disorders, Immune system decreased, Chronic Pain.

Question 37

Stress and mortality

Answer 37

Stress increases male mortality (especially younger, healthier men); does not affect female mortality.

Question 38

Manifestations of Stress

Answer 38

Functional arousal (focusing), cardiovascular (tachycardia, hypertension), sweating, GI, muscle tension, tremor, appetite disturbance, sleep disturbance, difficulty thinking, emotional changes (anxiety, fear, helplessness)