stress, nervous system

KA 99-123

stress

the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging

stressor

Anything that causes stress

stress reaction

subsequent physical and emotional response

Richard Lazarus

• Appraisal of the situation affects our perception
• These are cognitive processes that happen without our awareness
• Use of the emotional "High road" to retrain our responses

appraisal theory of stress

Stress arises less from actual events and more from our interpretation of events

primary appraisal

the first step in assessing stress, which involves estimating the severity of a stressor and classifying it as either a threat or a challenge

secondary appraisal

the second step in assessing a threat, which involves estimating the resources available to the person for coping with the stressor

response to primary appraisal

irrelevant
benign/positive
stressful/negative

irrelevant appraisal

the assessment of potential stressors that have no relevance to us

positive appraisal

The response to a stressor as a challenge

negative appraisal

interpreting events as threatening

if primary appraisal is __, move onto secondary appraisal

negative

categories of secondary appraisal

harm
threat
challenge (how to overcome it)

harm

what damage has been caused

threat

what damage can be caused

challenge

how to overcome it

Categories of stressors

1. significant life changes
2. catastrophes
3. daily hassles
4. ambient stressors (global; e.g., pollution, noise, smog, hard to control)

significant life changes

personal events; life transitions

catastrophic events

large scale disasters

daily hassles

everyday irritations that cause small disruptions, the effects of which can add up to a large impact on health

ambient stressors

Chronic environmental conditions that, although not urgent, are negatively valued and place adaptive demands on people.

most important form of stress

generally daily hassles

Walter Cannon

first identified the fight/flight response to stress and that the hormones secreted during that time are catecholamines

fight or flight

sympathetic nervous system and endocrine system

adrenal glands

a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.

catecholamines

tyrosine derivatives

ectoderm

outermost germ layer; produces sense organs, nerves, and outer layer of skin

adrenal cortex

releases corticosteroids

endoderm

the inner germ layer that develops into the lining of the digestive and respiratory systems

Glucocorticoids

redistribute glucose energy in body and suppress immune system

tend-and-befriend response

under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)

oxytocin

bonding hormone
linked to estrogen

General Adaptation Syndrome

Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance and exhaustion

Hans Selye

General Adaptation Syndrome

alarm

the first phase of the stress response, in which the person faces a challenge and starts paying attention to it.

resistance

The second phase of the stress response, in which the body mobilizes its resources to withstand the effects of the stress.

exhaustion

The third and last stage of the general adaptation syndrome, characterized by depletion of physical and psychological resources.

stress and heart

Stress that leads to elevated blood pressure may result in coronary heart disease, a clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle.

vascular disease

disease of blood vessels

coronary artery disease

atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries that reduces the blood supply to the heart muscle

metabolism

the combination of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks down materials

stress and metabolism

secretes cortisold and glucagon which converts glycogen to glucose
glucose inc in body so can cause heart disease

stress and reproduction

reproduction gets shut down during stress response
FSH/LH and estrogen/progesterone levels are inhibited

Stress and the immune system

if you are stressed, your immune system will be weak and you will be sicker.

most glucocorticoid receptors

hippocampus
frontal cortex

frontal cortex

brain region that regulates personality and goal-directed behavior

anhedonia

inability to experience pleasure

anterior cingulate

in the subcortical region of the brain, the anterior portion of the cingulate gyrus, stretching about the corpus callosum

anterior cingulate

sadness, anger, love, pain, mystical, sex

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman

discovered a connection between coronary risk and Type A Personality

anxiety

An emotional state of high energy, with the stress response as the body's reaction to it.

addiction

A physiological or psychological dependence on a drug

perceived control

the belief that we can influence our environment in ways that determine whether we experience positive or negative outcomes

Robert Sapolsky

Baboons, over many decades, have revealed to him that social hierarchies and one's relative rank within them have much to do with stress and related maladies.

White Hall Study

showed hierarchy based on relative rank in workplace in Britain

optimism

Hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something

social support

relationships with people and groups that can provide us with emotional comfort and personal and financial resources

cognitive flexibility

Ability to use different thinking strategies and mental frameworks (Unit Manager)

reactive coping

responding to current or past stressors

Non-coping

maladaptive coping

Coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

proactive coping

anticipation of problems and stressful situations that promotes effective coping

social coping

stress-reducing technique that involves seeking both instrumental and emotional support from others

meaning-focused coping

Stress-reducing technique that refers to anything you might think, feel, and do to give a positive meaning to a stressful situation

maladaptive coping

Unsuccessful attempts to decrease the anxiety without attempting to solve the problem - the anxiety remains

dissociation

a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

sensitization

a simple form of learning that occurs when presentation of a stimulus leads to an increased response to a later stimulus

safety behaviors

mental or behavioral acts that reduce anxiety in social situations by reducing the chance of negative social outcomes

maladaptive coping strategies

aggression; indulging ourselves by eating drinking, smoking, using drugs, spending money, or sleeping too much; or using defense mechanisms

anxious avoidance

when a person avoids anxiety provoking situations by all means. this is the most common strategy

escape

An individual learns how to get away from an aversive stimulus by engaging in a particular behavior.

types of maladaptive coping mechanisms

overcompensation, surrender, avoidance

overcompensation

exaggerated attempts by individuals to overcome their feelings of inferiority by acting as though they are personally superior to others

surrender

Compliance, Dependence: Relies on others, gives in, seeks affiliation, passive, dependent, submissive, clinging, avoids conflict, people-pleasing

Avoidance coping strategies

Coping strategies designed to distract us from thinking about the source of anxiety.

low-effort syndrome

coping responses of minority groups in an attempt to fit into the dominant culture

low-effort coping

low effort syndrome

basic nervous system functions

motor, sensory, automatic

lower motor neurons

axons leave the CNS, extend through PNS to skeletal muscles. Cell bodies in anterior horns of spinal cord and in cranial nerve nuclei of brainstem

efferent neurons of the PNS synapse on control skeletal muscle

motor unit

A motor neuron and all of the muscle fibers it innervates

neuromuscular junction

region where a motor neuron comes into close contact with a skeletal muscle cell

abnormalities in motor unit

weakness

lmn signs

atrophy, fasciculations
hypotonia
hyporeflexia

Fasciculation

involuntary muscle contraction and relaxation; observed as a muscle twitch

hypotonia

reduced muscle tone or tension

Hyporeflexia

below normal or absent reflexes

somatosensation

The body senses, including body position, touch, skin temperature, vibration, and pain.

Mechanoreceptors

respond to touch, pressure, vibration, stretch, and itch
fast

Nociceptors

pain receptors
slow

Thermoreceptors

respond to changes in temperature
slow

muscle stretch reflex

a sensory neuron detects stretching of a muscle

muscle spindles

receptors sensitive to change in length of the muscle and the rate of that change

somatosensory neurons

afferent in muscle spindles form excitatory synapses in spinal cord w another neuron in spinal cord to excite skeletal muscle cells to contract LMN

gray matter

contains most of the neuron somas

white matter

contains myelinated axons

in spinal cord, gray matter and white matter

gray inside
white outside

axons

go down tracts of white matter

LMN controls

muscles of limbs and trunk
LMNs that pass through cranial nerves control muscles of head and neck

UMN controls

LMN