PSY BEH 102C Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Allostatic Load, Psychological Manipulation, Allostasis
1 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
The brain is the central organ of stress and adaptation: perceives what is threatening * Wear and tear the body accumulates over time to adapt to the environment. Allostatic overload is when the body cannot adapt to so many changes: the body starts to engage in remodeling. Starts to, in an attempt to adjust, changing structures (like organs and organ functions) depending on how long the allostatic overload occurs. Therapeutically, gives us the window to make people look at things in a way that is not threatening. Notions of cognitive appraisals, evaluations and coping mechanisms: initiates behavioral and physiological responses. The brain regulates the body via: neuroendocrine, autonomic, immune, metabolic systems. Mediators of adaptation have both protective as well as damaging aspects associated with them. The body is trying to create stability through change that enhances survivability: it is not homeostasis, it is allostasis. Exposure to stress can lead to remodeling of the brain altering its ability to: self-regulate anxiety/mood.
