Stress Worksheet Flashcards
The activation of what brain region triggers the stress system
The hypothalamus
How many axis are there in the stress system?
2 axis
What are the names of the axis in the stress system
SAM
- Sympathetic neurons, Adrenal Medulla
HPA
- Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Adrenal cortex
What are the characteristics of the SAM axis
-acts fast through the nervous system
-causes the release of epinephrine
What are the characteristics of the HPA axis
- acts slower through hormones
- causes the release of cortisol
What is the role of the amygdala in the stress response?
- Treat detection
- necessary for fear conditioning involving explicit cues
What is the role of the locus coeruleus in the stress response?
-Startle response
What is the role of the hippocampus in the stress response?
- Bind fear to context
- required for fear conditioning in a particular context or location
What is the role of the prefrontal cortex in the stress response?
- evaluation of fear
- works with the amygdala
What is the role of the hypothalamus
- Keeps body in homeostatic state
- Activates axis
What were the findings of the shutter box experiment?
- a button that does not control the shocks increases learned helplessness
- a cage with uncontrollable shocks increases learned helplessness
- Longer escape latency indicates more learned helplessness
- Freezing indicates more learned helplessness
Mineralocorticoid receptors
- high affinity for cortisol at rest
-sets baseline levels of cortisol
-if there are less receptors this results in a higher baseline
Glucocorticoid Receptors
- low affinity for cortisol at rest
-involved in stress response recovery
-less receptors causes slower recovery
How does exercise training affect stress receptor levels?
increases glucocorticoid receptors speeding up recovery time
Type I immune cells
-T cell type
-Immunity
-immune protection
-immune pathology
- T Helper I
- cell-mediated
- viruses, bacteria and cancer
-autoimmunity
Type 2 immune cells
-T cell type
-Immunity
-immune protection
-immune pathology
- T Helper 2
-Humoral (extracellular)
-Parasites
-allergies
What happens to immune cells when under stress?
-decrease in T Helper 1 and increase in T Helper 2
- Causes an increased risk for viruses, bacteria and caner, as well as allergies
How do SSRI drugs work?
They block the reuptake of serotonin into the pre-synaptic cell increasing serotonin availability within the synapse
Why do SSRI drugs not work for people with drug-resistant depression
Depression is caused by inflammation, not lack of serotonin
Describe the study preformed by Paolucci et al. on the benefit of exercise for depression
-Compared HITT and MCT under high level stress
-measured anxiety, depression, stress and inflammation
-found that both increased resistance to depression and MCT decreased stress and inflammation
Describe the study preformed by Rethorst et al on the benefit of exercise for depression
- Individuals with drug resistant depression performed a 12 week exercise program
-everyone benefited from the program
-those with high TNF alpha had greatest reduction in symptoms
-indicates that exercise may be medicine for non-responders
Explain the effects of reappraisal vs ignoring stressors
Reappraisal causes a decrease in vasoconstriction, increase in cardiac efficiency and decrease in great negativity bias
Should everyone be advised to use positive affirmations to improve mood?
No
-high self-esteem = boosted mood with affirmations
- low self-esteem = felt worse with affirmations
- need to believe the affirmations
What brain region is associated with PTSD
the amygdala
How may mindfulness meditation help PTSD
By activating the pre-frontal cortex to inhibit the amygdala
Def: Stressor
Anything that disrupts homeostasis
Selyes generalized adaptive syndrome
A common response to all stressors that help mobilize energy to help defeat the threat
How are exercise and psychological stress similar and different?
- Exercise Stress: Voluntary and acute
- Psychological Stress: Involuntary and chronic
Nocebo Effect
Negative effect produced by a sham treatment that cannot be attributed to the properties of the treatment itself and therefore, must be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment
Fear conditioning
-Repeatedly pairing an innocuous cue (CS) with a threat (US)
- Eventually innocuous cue (CS) alone evokes fear
What can prevent learned helplessness?
- Gaining control over the situation
- Regular physical exercise
Allostasis
Stability through change
How does chronic stress make us anxious
Reduces GRs by adding methyl group to GR genes
- Exercise remove methyl from GR genes
Can psychological stress increase your susceptibility to infectious diseases?
Psychological stress is associated with an increase in your susceptibility to infectious diseases
How can vaccine injections affect your mood
Cause negative mood states
-increase inflammatory cytokines
-cytokines interact with amygdala to increase social withdrawal
Can chronic physical illness cause depression
- Chronic inflammatory diseases are associated with depressive symptoms
- 12 weeks of cytokine therapy for cancer increased rates of major depression
- Depressed individuals who are otherwise healthy have higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines
How does psychological distress alter the brain?
AMYGDALA: experiences neural growth and hyperactivity
PCF AND HIPPOCAMPUS: neural shrinkage and hypoactivity
Def: Resiliency
Adapting well in the face of adversity
Effect of exercise on resiliency
Exercise increases our resilience to psychological distress
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Rewires the brain to help you rewrite the narrative about fear
Mindfulness meditation
Reduces psychological distress by bolstering the PFC and its inhibition of the amygdala
