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Our Brain on Stress
John Shutske, Professor
Extension Specialist
Agricultural Health & Safety for Farmers
and Farm Families
Objectives
1. Review and explain the brain
science connected to how people
experience acute stress.
2. Describe how acute stress evolves
toward chronic stress and three
specific outcomes of chronic stress
exposure.
3. Explain three specific stress coping
mechanisms that positively change
our brains and bodies, alleviating
stress effects including those which
can be recommended or facilitated
by agricultural professionals and
service providers.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/science/your-
amazing-brain/#brain.jpg
A reflection…
• Not new content
• Most ASH professionals have had
exposure to fundamental stress response
• On a scale from 1 (very low familiarity) to
5 (very high familiarity) how much do you
know about the “stress response” that
occurs in our body?
A reflection…
• Our approach these last few months has
been to engage ag service providers and
helping professionals.
• Pragmatic explanation of biological,
physiological, neurochemical processes
and how we might harness that info in our
helping role.
Cortisol (plus Adrenaline)
• Fight
• Flight
• Freeze
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response - Image Creative Commons
Biochemical Response • Heart Rate
• Blood pressure
• Red blood cell count
• Blood sugar
• Pupils dilate
• Digestive system
• Reproductive system
• Fear center
stimulated
• Fear/emotional
memories cemented
• Higher level thinking
becomes difficult**
We need stress…
The gazelle needed stress
Stress helped us as children to
get from third to fourth grade
Stress in marriage, children, jobs,
growing older (and being young)
Case Study • In our case study – You see stress impacts
on ALL family members.
• Obvious impacts – health, injury, anxiety,
depression.
• But, there are also quiet impacts – on the
elderly patriarch of the family, on Jan, and
on Jessica who works off the farm and is
expecting twins late this winter.
• Point number 1
Photo credit – slide is adapted from original by http://www.enricobanchi.com/
Prefrontal
Cortex
Lupien S.J., McEwen B.S.,
Gunnar M.R. & Heim C.
(2009). Effects of stress
throughout the lifespan on
the brain, behavior, and
cognition. Nature Reviews
Neuroscience 10(6):434-
45.
Impacts – Chronic Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
https://pixabay.com/en/rain-man-person-human-male-face-785245/ - labeled as public domain
Seven Impacts – Chronic Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
• Physical health effects
• Impact on Decision Making, Distraction, and Memory
• Fear and anxiety
Cortisol….
A. Inhibits function of the PFC
B. Causes amygdala tissue to grow
stronger
C. Shrinks size and reduces
connections in hippocampus
D. All of the above
Seven Impacts – Chronic Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
• Physical health effects
• Impact on Decision Making, Distraction, and Memory
• Fear and anxiety
• Learning, Adaptation, Resilience
Amy F. T. Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress
signaling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex
structure and function. Nature Reviews
Neuroscience 10(6): 410–422.
Amy F. T. Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress
signaling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex
structure and function. Nature Reviews
Neuroscience 10(6): 410–422.
Seven Impacts – Chronic Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
• Physical health effects
• Impact on Decision Making, Distraction, and Memory
• Fear and anxiety
• Learning, Adaptation, Resilience
• Addiction Behaviors & Risk
Seven Impacts – Chronic Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
• Physical health effects
• Impact on Decision Making, Distraction, and Memory
• Fear and anxiety
• Learning, Adaptation, Resilience
• Addiction Behaviors & Risk
• Communication & Support Impacts
Some Other Key Factors
Image adapted from presentation - http://www.slideshare.net/kimappel/psy-150-403-chapter-11-slides
Let’s simplify this a bit…
In hundreds of experiments (including lots of
variations)…
Two groups of rats can be subjected to a really
terrible stimulus – like a painful electrical shock
If one group has the ability to exert SOME control --
like shutting off the shock once it’s started….
They will show effects similar to a control group that
has no painful stimulus – in other words, the
stimulus is not as stressful
The rats experiencing the same pain, but with no
means to control will waste away
Previous slide reference…
Keller, A., Litzelman, K., Wisk, L. E., Maddox,
T., Cheng, E. R., Creswell, P. D., & Witt, W. P.
(2012). Does the perception that stress affects
health matter? The association with health
and mortality. Health Psychology, 31(5), 677.
McGonigal’s Summaries
• Also in book “The Upside of Stress”
(2015)
• Do not fear stress response
• It’s a call to action
• It should call for us to reach out, build
relationships, and personal networks with
family, loved ones, and community
Exercise
• It’s kind of a big deal!
• Release of natural endorphins
• Strengthen circulatory, respiratory, brain
function, immune system
• Positive cortisol effects (receptors, size of
hippocampus, positive effects on PFC)
• Brain oxygen, nourishment (20% of energy)
(A) Example of hippocampus segmentation and graphs demonstrating an increase in hippocampus volume for the aerobic exercise group and a decrease in volume for the
stretching control group.
Kirk I. Erickson et al. PNAS 2011;108:3017-3022
©2011 by National Academy of Sciences
Meditation & Mindfulness
• Grow, strengthen and thicken hippocampus
• Diminish influence of the amygdala
• Oxygen, breathing
• Focus on here and now increases sense of
control
• Likely an area of new research
Counseling – Third Party Help
• Provide perspective and moderate emotional
conversations.
• Reinforce positive behavioral and lifestyle changes.
• Accountability and follow-through.
• Our DATCP offers vouchers for support.
Conclusion… • Stress is complicated. But, not really (helping people fix things IS complex)
• Acute stress is a necessary part of life
• Acute stress can and does evolve toward chronic stress
• Chronic stress can really alter the brain – impacts are reversible, but health is
crucial
• There are at least seven impacts – and they can “pile on” to each other
• Helping people help themselves takes patience, time, and a multitude of
approaches
• Part of the impact of stress is our VIEW of how it effects our lives. That
framing is critical for people’s health. CONTROL and helping people regain a
sense of positive control is really critical!