Health Psych Exam 3

HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis)

Slower response; ACTh stimulates Adrenal cortex which secretes glucocorticoids (cortisol)

sympathetic nervous system

Fight or flight; adrenal medulla releases epinephrine and NE

General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye)

The body's generalized attempt to defend itself against a stressor; alarm, resistance and exhaustion

Alarm reaction stage (GAS)

first stage when the body begins SNS defense -> increase HR, BP, blood flow, respiration

Resistance stage (GAS)

organism begins to adapt to stressor; hormonal and neurological changes take place

diseases of adaptation

illnesses caused or worsened by stressors

Exhaustion stage of GAS

no more ability to resist and the system breaks down; PNS kicks in a tries to get you back to homeostasis which can lead to depression and death

Cons of Selye's research

animal testing, ignores situational, social and psychological factors, too simplistic

Lazarus's View of Stress

the perception or interpretation of the event is more important than the event itself; Effect of stress based more on feeling of threat, vulnerability and their ability to cope; 3 kinds of appraisal

3 kinds of appraisal (Lazarus)

primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, reappraisal

primary appraisal

first thing that happens and thinking about how its going to effect your well being

- benign positive (good implications)

- irrelevant/neutral

- stressful/harmful

secondary appraisal

people form an impression about their ability to cope or control the harm, threat, or challenge; ask 3 questions:

1. What are my options to deal with the situation?

2. Can I actually apply the necessary strategies to deal with the situation?

3. Will the strategies actually work?

Reappraisal

with new information, you reevaluate your primary and/or secondary appraisal

Central idea to Lazarus's model of stress

Coping: constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage stress (NOT controlling stress)

Sources of stress

cataclysmic events, life events, daily hassles

cataclysmic events

Sudden, unique and powerful single life events that can be intentional or unintentional

- important: physical proximity to event, emotional proximity, time elapsed since event, intention of perpetrators

Measurements of stress

heart rate, galvanic skin response (perspiration), respiration rate, blood pressure, blood samples (cortisol, epinephrine, etc.) - Physiological Measures of stress have greatest reliability and validity

Life Events Scale

self report checklist designed to measure stress

Personal Resources that Influence Coping

social support, personal control, optimism

Personal coping strategies

problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping

Problem focused coping

aimed at changing the source of stress; ie. Studying, budgeting; typically better

emotion focused coping

aimed at managing emotions about the stress

Behavioral interventions for managing stress

1. Relaxation Training (PMR)

2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

3. Emotional Disclosure

4. Mindfulness

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

therapy aimed at developing beliefs, attitudes and thoughts as well as skills to make positive changes in your behavior ; one of best strategies for managing stress

Stress inoculation (CBT)

used to decrease anxiety and raise performance under stress

3 stages:

1. conceptualization: identifying and clarifying the problem; typically in therapy

2. skills acquisition and rehearsal: learn and practice new ways of coping

3. application and follow through: keep practicing

Emotional Disclosure

emotion focused coping method; talk therapy; meant to be cathartic and be a release of your emotions

Mindfulness

focusing on the moment, your breathing, thoughts, body sensations

lymphatic system

Immune system spreads throughout the body in this form — consists of tissue components of blood that aren't red blood cells and platelets

Leukocytes

White blood cells that circulate in blood stream after production and eventually some will go through capillaries and enter the lymphatic system where they are then found in lymph

Leukocytes are made in these 2 parts of the body

Bone marrow and thymus

types of lymphocytes

T cells, B cells, Natural killer cells

Two types of T cells

Helper T cells and Cytotoxic T cells (killer T)

B lymphocytes (B cells)

Blood cells

T lymphocytes (T cells)

Thymus cells

Helper T cells secrete...

Cytokines

Cytokines

Proteins or molecules that coordinate immune response; when released, cause other parts of immune system to become active; facilitate chemotaxis (attracting other immune cells)

Phagocytes

A type of lymphocyte that engulfs and destroys invaders; macrophages and neutrophils

dendritic cells

specialized white blood cells that patrol the body searching for antigens that produce infections

Primary function of immune system

To defend against foreign substances that the body encounters

Nonspecific immune response

responses cells can carry out without learning; 2 mechanisms: phagocytosis and inflammation

Phagocytosis (nonspecific immunity)

when cells engulf and destroy invaders "to eat and destroy;" neutrophils and macrophages

Neutrophils

swarms to site of infection in response to invading molecules and in response to molecules that signal inflammation (mlcs that signal inflammation: Histamines, bradykinin, prostaglandins); act as phagocytes and engulf the tissue; cytotoxins (cell killers) released from granules of neutrophils

Macrophages

scavenge for worn out cells and debris; secrete proteases (enzymes that destroy proteins)

Inflammation (nonspecific immunity)

restores tissue that's been damaged by invaders; caused by blood vessels dilating and blood flow to tissue (warmth and redness surrounding an injury); damaged cells also release enzymes/molecules that attract phagocytes (neutrophils and macrophages)

Histamine

Increase blood flow and cause inflammation

Bradykinin

Causes blood vessel dilation and plays role in pain perception

Prostaglandins

Produced at site of injury and help to regulate blood flow and produce blood clots

Specific immune response

body's targeted fight against particular pathogens such as viruses and bacteria

Notes:

Mediated by all the lymphocytes (B and T cells)

The T-cells then become sensitized to the invader based on protease fragments, causing them to develop specific receptors on their surface

T-cells become an army of cytotoxic T-cells and directly attack the invader. -> Killer T Cell army -> Cell-mediated immunity - actually detecting DNA of invading organisms

• T cells are reprogramming the invader to undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death)

Helper T cells activate and direct the B-cells to secrete antibodies for a specific antigen (invader)

• antibodies circulate in body and find antigens that they're synthesized to find -> antibodies attach to antigen which signals phagocytes to destroy

Secondary immune response

Occurs after subsequent exposure; Utilizes Memory lymphocytes (b cells) - stay in the system and activated if antigen is detected again; occurs in bloodstream -> humoral immunity

Creating immunity

A. Expose self to pathogen

B. Vaccination

C. Infants receive antibodies from mothers blood stream and milk

immune deficiency

inadequate immune response; can occur naturally, be in response to drugs, caused by disease ; ie. AIDs, allergies, autoimmune disease

autoimmune disease

a disease in which the immune system attacks the organism's own cells; ie. Rheumatoid arthritis , lupus, MS

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

Interactions between immune, endocrine and nervous systems; research aims to develop an understanding of the role of behavior in changes in the immune system and the development of disease

Ader and Cohen (1975)

Classically conditioned immune response in rats

Diathesis Stress model

suggests that some individuals are vulnerable to stress related diseases because either their genetics or biochemical imbalance inherently predisposes them to those diseases; two factors are necessary to produce disease -> The person must have a relatively permanent vulnerability or predisposition to the disease, That person must experience some sort of stress

Senescence

the natural physical decline brought about by aging

Telomeres

caps at the end of each chromosome that protect the ends of chromosomes and prevent them from fraying; TTAGGG

How many nucleotides are lost from telomeres when a cell divides?

25-250 -> when they run out either apoptosis or senescence

Effects of long term stress on health

Headaches (tension and vascular), disease progression, decreases vaccine effectiveness, more susceptible to flu and cold, heart attack, reactivity, ulcers, diabetes and asthma, Rheumatoid arthritis, birth outcomes, psychological disorders

Type 1 diabetes

insulin dependent

type 2 diabetes

insulin resistance

Stress causes these 2 psychological disorders

Depression and PTSD

congenital analgesia

a disorder in which an individual is born incapable of experiencing pain

somatosensory system

Conveys all sensory information from your PNS to the CNS

Pain

The unpleasant feeling caused by illness or injury and is important for survival; an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage

Afferent (sensory) neurons

Relay information from the sensory organs to the brain

Nociceptors

Pain receptors in skin and organs that respond to various types of stimulation that may cause tissue damage (Noci=to harm)

A-delta fibers

Myelinated fibers transmitting sharp, localized pain; goes to SSC

C fibers

Unmyelinated fibers transmitting long, dull pain; go to SSC and anterior cingulate cortex where suffering is recognized

Thalamus

sensory relay station where all sensory input synapses before going to cortex (except smell)

Somatosensory cortex (parietal lobe)

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes touch or stimulation

secondary somatosensory cortex

Recognizes input as pain

ascending pain pathway

Pathway transmitting pain signals to the brain

descending pain pathway

Pathway modulating pain signals from the brain descending down sprinal cord form locus coeruleus and raphe nuclei

locus coeruleus uses what NT to modulate pain?

Norephinephrine

Raphe nuclei uses what NT to modulate pain?

serotonin

Locus coeruleus and Raphe nuclei do these 2 things

Inhibit substance P, which stimulate nociceptors, to block pain signals AND enhances the release of endogenous opiates

Gate control theory of pain

the nervous system can close a gate in the spinal cord that will prevent further brain signals from being sent to your brain; gate believed to be in substantia gelatinosa

Receptors for ______ discovered in 1973

Opiates

Endogenous opiates

natural morphine-like substances in the body that modulate pain transmission by blocking receptors for substance P

4 types of endogenous opiates

1. Beta endorphins (most potent)

2. Enkephalins

3. Dynorphins

4. Nocistatin (in spinal cord and likely controlling the gate)

The more you activate opiate receptors...

The lower sensory pain score and less suffering