Lecture 6 Flashcards
(37 cards)
What is the fight or flight response?
physiological responses that ready us for intense efforts, whether to confront a threat or to escape from it
Who wrote the wisom of the body?
walter B. connon, the pioneer of the stress response concept
Who is hans seyle?
pioneer of the concept of general adaptation syndrome
What are two types of stressors?
psychosocial stressors
biogenic stressors - extreme cold, no shelter, no food etc.
How does a psychosocial stressor work?
- must work through cognitive appraisal mechanics, cannot directly cause the stress response
- they are real or imagined environmental events
How does a biogenic stressor work?
Work directly on neurological triggering nuclei, no cognitive affective processing
e.g. caffeine, nicotine, pain, extreme heat/cold
What is eustress?
moderate or normal psychological stress
“good stress”
- positive form of stress that may be perceived as pleasurable
- it is in a positive response to demands
What are the effects of eustress?
can have similar physiological effects as distress: increased heart rate and elevated glucocorticoids
How long does distress take to occur?
developed over relatively long period of time however acute distress can also occur in response to a short, intense stressor
Therefore animal may be in distress even if it appears to recover rapidly after the removal of the stressor
What are some adaptations to stress responses?
- evolved to handle physical threats such as temperature changes or appearance of predator, psychological threats elicit the same response
- coping mechanisms
- activation of sympathetic NS and adrenal medulla
- secretion of stress hormones
- mobilization of immune system
- behaviour
What is stress?
complex term referring to psychological or physiological changes that occur in response to real or perceived threats to homeostasis - allostasis
What is allostasis?
process of achieving stability
What is an allostatic response?
active response to a stressor promotes adaptation
What is allostatic load?
allostatic systems are overstimulated or do not perform normally
What are the steps to a stress response?
stressor event-> cognitive appraisal and integration-> neurological triggering.) physiological response-> target organ activation-> coping behaviour
What is cognitive appraisal?
process of cognitive interpretation
What is affective integration?
blending and colouring of felt emotion into the cognitive interpretation
What does the cognitive-affective complex do?
represents how stressors are perceived
What are the anatomical epicenters of the brain?
brainstem
limbic system
What are the three physiological pathways of a stress response?
neural axis - stress response via neural innervation of target organs
neuroendocrine axis - fight/flight
endocrine axis - most chronic aspects of the stress response, greater intensity to activate
What are the three neural axes of a stress response?
sympathetic NS: generalized arousal within end organs - most common form of neural stress responsiveness - noradrenalin is responsible
parasympathetic NS: inhibition, slowing - ACh is responsible
neuromuscular system: prime target for immediate activate but limited ot ability to release ntunder chronically high stimulation
What are the pivotal organs in the fight or flight response?
amyglada: highest point of fight/flight origination
downward flow of neural impulses to the hypothalamus
descend through the thoracic spinal cord
innervating adrenal gland
resulting in a hormonal output of catecholamines
What is the sam system?
sympathetic adrenal medullary system:
- hypothalamus and sympathetic NS stimulate the adrenal medulla to release epinephrine and norepinephrine
- they initiate rapid activation of sympathetic NS
What is the adrenal cortical axis?
Hypothalamus (CRF)
->
Anterior Pituitary (ACTH)
->
Adrenal cortex (glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids)
