Psychobiology of Disease Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is the fight or flight response?
This is the physiological response to stress
What are the three stages of Selye’s general adaptation syndrome?
Stage 1: Alarm Reaction– shift to sympathetic dominance –increased arousal Stage 2: Resistance – endocrine system produces ACTH to maintain the increased arousal Stage 3: Exhaustion– adrenals lose their ability to function normally
Describe the psycho-psychological and behavioural pathways linking stress and disease.
Events cause stress Stress leads to physiological changes e.g. increased cortisol levels and behavioural changes e.g. smoking and drinking These lead to disease
What is Type A behaviour?
Time urgency Free-floating hostility Hyper-aggressiveness Focus on accomplishment Competitive and goal-driven
What is the link between Type A behaviour and cardiovascular disease? What is the feature of type A behaviour that causes this?
Increased risk of coronary heart disease Hostilty is the key factor that increases CVD risk
What is the placebo effect?
An inactive substance can sometimes improve a patient’s condition simply because the patient has the expectation that it will be helpful
Describe the relationship between social support/relationships and health.
Individuals with adequate social relationships have a 50% greater likelihood of survival compared to those with poor or insufficient social relationships Social support exerts effects beyond the protective psychological role High social support is associated with decreased mortality
What is stress?
Stress can be a stimulus Events that place strong demands on us are known as stressors Stress can be a response Physiological response to stress e.g. ‘Fight-Flight’ response Also negative emotions such as feeling tense, difficulty concentrating and losing your temper easily
What is the definition of stress?
Combination of stimulus and response as a person-situation interaction Stress can be defined as a pattern of cognitive appraisals, emotional reactions, physiological responses and behavioural tendencies that occur in response to a perceived imbalance between situational demands (primary appraisal) and the resources needed to cope with them (secondary appraisal).
What is the nocebo effect?
A negative effect that occurs after receiving treatment (therapy, medication), even when the treatment is inert/sham
What are the implications of the nocebo effect?
Warnings about the possible side effects of a medicine makes it much more likely that the patient will report experiencing those effects The effect of many interventions can be increased by the way they are presented – both in form and manner
What is the effect of a stressor?
Activation of the SNS to release NA and adrenaline from the adrenal medualla Activation of the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenocortical Axis to release cortisol from the adrenal cortex Both lead to increased energy
Draw out transactional model of stress
