Stress and Neuroplasticity Flashcards
What are the three types of stress?
Positive, tolerable, and toxic.
What is positive stress?
A brief increase in heart rate and mild elevation of stress hormones. These are quick instances and can be beneficial to the person.
What is tolerable stress?
Serious, temporary stress responses, buffered by supportive relationships. Tolerable stress can help build resilience.
What is toxic stress?
Prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships. This type of stress can be very dangerous.
What main areas of the brain are affected by stress?
The prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, and the hippocampus.
How is the prefrontal cortex impacted by stress?
The prefrontal cortex is especially vulnerable to an elevation of brain chemicals caused by stress.
When does the prefrontal cortex mature?
Later in childhood.
How is the amygdala affected by stress?
Elevated cortisol levels cause hyperactivity in the amygdala.
How does the amygdala change in children who experienced trauma in their childhood?
They have abnormally larger amygdalas.
What is the function of the prefrontal cortex?
It is responsible for executive function, including thoughts, emotions, and actions.
What is the function of the amygdala?
The amygdala triggers emotional responses and detects whether a stimulus is threatening.
What is the function of the hippocampus?
It is the centre of short-term memory, spatial navigation, and connects the emotion of fear to the context in which the threatening event occurs.
When do the amygdala and hippocampus mature?
Both of them mature early in childhood.
How does stress impact the hippocampus?
Elevated cortisol levels caused by stress can affect growth and performance. The hippocampus will then be limited in fear learning, and a narrows focus around fear.
How does chronic stress affect neurons?
Chronic stress can cause neurons to grow, or shrink, but not necessarily to die.
What happens to the neurons in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus?
The neurons in this area will shrink.
What happens to the neurons in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex?
Neurons here will grow. This is possible because the amygdala becomes hyperactive.
How come some children suffer from more anxiety than others?
Genetically some people are more sensitive to stress.
What is a dandelion child?
A dandelion child resembles a child who is resilient and indifferent to external conditions. No matter where they are planted, they can adapt and are stable.
They have a minimally reactive stress response and have average health under most conditions.
What percent of the population are dandelion children?
80%.
What is an orchid child?
Like orchids, these children are very sensitive to their external conditions. They have a highly reactive stress response but tend to have the best or worst health and performance depending on their environment.
Do orchid children benefit from the environment?
They benefit the most from interventions and support because they take more from their environment, regardless if it is good or bad.
How will a child develop in a nurturing environment?
This type of environment will support healthy brain development.
How will a child develop if deprived and neglected?
Damage to proliferation and pruning of neural networks.
How will a child develop if they are in an environment of active threat or abuse?
Induces fear learning in the hippocampus, and shortens the plasticity.
