PSY 3301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Neuroimaging, Amygdala, Cortisol
30 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Stress and the city: neuro-imaging study reveals how being raised in the city affects brain function when an individual is faced with a stressful situation. Overcrowding can induce stress and illness in species ranging from insects to rodents, primates, and humans. Mental illness has been linked to living in an urban environment. Authors measured regional brain activities while putting participants under a stressful task. The task was solving hard arithmetic problems under a time constraint with negative feedback from the experimenter. This task increased heart rate, blood pressure, and salivary levels of cortisol. Reduced amygdala-pacc connection is a genetic contribution for schizophrenia. Response to critique two: authors examined confounding variables and found that non of these factors had an effect on urbanity, suggesting that living in the city may have a discrete social stressor implication. Substantial factor accounting for results may be the perceived degree of control one has in their daily life.
