STRESS (BASED ON TED VIDEO)

Question 1

HOW DOES CHRONIC STRESS AFFECTS US?

Answer 1

like being overworked or having arguments at home, can affect brain size, its structure, and how it functions, right down to the level of your genes.

• chronic stress increases the activity level and number of neural connections in the amygdala, your brain’s fear center.
• might make it harder for you to learn and remember things, and also set the stage for more serious mental problems, like depression and eventually Alzheimer’s disease.

Question 2

WHAT IS CHRONIC STRESS?

Answer 2

a prolonged and constant feeling of stress that can negatively affect your health if it goes untreated. It can be caused by the everyday pressures of family and work or by traumatic situations.

Question 3

WHERE DO STRESS BEGINS?

Answer 3

begins with something called the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis

Question 4

What is the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis

Answer 4

a series of interactions between endocrine glands in the brain and on the kidney, which controls your body’s reaction to stress.

Question 5

What will happen to your HPA Axis during a stressful situation?

Answer 5

When your brain detects a stressful situation, your HPA axis is instantly activated and releases a hormone called cortisol, which primes your body for instant action.

Question 6

What will happen if we have high levels of cortisol?

Answer 6

• will wreak havoc on your brain
• And as levels of cortisol rise, electric signals in your hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with learning, memories, and stress control, deteriorate.

Question 7

Amygdala

Answer 7

Brains fear center

Question 8

hippocampus

Answer 8

, the part of the brain associated with learning, memories, and stress control.

Question 9

Effect of Cortisol

Answer 9

• High levels of cortisol cause your brain to shrink in size.
• Too much of it results in the loss of synaptic connections between neurons and the shrinking of your prefrontal cortex.
• It also leads to fewer new brain cells being made in the hippocampus.

Question 10

Prefrontal Cortex

Answer 10

the part of your brain that regulates behaviors like concentration, decision-making, judgement, and social interaction.

Question 11

Experiment: Baby Rats with mommy rats

Answer 11

• An experiment showed that the amount of nurturing a mother rat provides its newborn baby plays a part in determining how that baby responds to stress later in life.
• turned out less sensitive to stress because their brains developed more cortisol receptors, which stick to cortisol and dampen the stress response.

Question 12

Experiment: Baby Rats with no mommy rat

Answer 12

The pups of negligent moms had the opposite outcome, and so became more sensitive to stress throughout life.

Question 13

experiment: Swapped Mommy, what will happen?

Answer 13

And these changes can be reversed if the moms are swapped.
But there’s a surprising result.
The epigenetic changes caused by one single mother rat were passed down to many generations of rats after her.
In other words, the results of these actions were inheritable.

Question 14

How to reverse the effect of cortisol?

Answer 14

exercise and meditation, which involves breathing deeply and being aware and focused on your surroundings.
- Both of these activities decrease your stress and increase the size of the hippocampus, thereby improving your memory.