Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Beulig, Alfred

Area of Concentration

Biopsychology

Abstract

This thesis reviews recently published literature regarding the physiological manifestations of stress as they dangerously threaten homeostasis. Enough adversity or traumatic experiences accumulates to overstimulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and promote chronic stress, which may appear in addiction, metabolic syndrome, sleep disorders, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, mood and psychiatric disorders, and other stress-related illnesses. A review of the psychoneuroimmunology of chronic stress concludes that some of the greatest damage from this stress response is due to excess glucocorticoid release from the adrenal cortex, as well as the effects of other related hormones. This thesis emphasizes the inextricable link between neurobiology and consciousness, which illustrates that perceived stress can manifest physiologically and can become just as detrimental to health as physical stressors can be. This is specifically found in addiction, whereby perceived stress may promote relapse vulnerability in recovering addicts. The recognition that all of the components involved in the phenomenon of stress have reciprocal communication pathways is an important emerging concept when identifying and resolving stress-related illnesses.

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