On World Health Day 2020, let ’s discuss the stress response and the General Adaptation Syndrome (2/3)

The hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis acts to release cortisol into the blood stream, as cortisol calls the body into action to combat stress. When high amounts of cortisol interact with the hypothalamus, the HPA axis will slow down its activity. The amygdala detects stress, while the prefrontal cortex regulates our reactions to stress. Source: Bezdek K and Telzer E (2017) Have No Fear, the Brain is Here! How Your Brain Responds to Stress. Front. Young Minds. 5:71. doi: 10.3389/frym.2017.00071 _______ [Editor’s note: Continued from yesterday’s Exploring the human brain and how it responds to stress (1/3)] Stress was put on the map, so to speak, by a Hungarian — born Canadian endocrinologist named Hans Hugo Bruno Selye (ZEL — yeh) in 1950, when he presented his research on rats at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association. To explain the impact of stress, Selye proposed something he called the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), which he said had three components. According to Selye, when an organism experiences some novel or threatening stimulus it responds with an alarm reaction. This is followed by what Selye referred to as the recovery or resistance stage, a period of time during which the brain repairs itself and stores the energy it will need to deal with the next stressful event. He said that if the stress-causing events continue, neurological exhaustion can set in. This phenomenon came to be referred to popularly as burnout. Itâ...
Source: SharpBrains - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Education & Lifelong Learning Health & Wellness #WorldHealthDay brain burnout cognition Cortisol GAS General Adaptation Syndrome homeostasis memory neurobiology neurological exhaustion Stress Source Type: blogs