Issue 1
Vol. 42
2000
|
|
|
Autonomic,
Neuroendocrine, and Immune Responses to Psychological Stress Although stress may be necessary for survival, it can also alter susceptibility to disease. Stress, particularly if prolonged or repeated, can produce cardiovascular changes that can contribute to a narrowing of blood vessels and to heart attacks or strokes and reduce the strength of immunological activities in the body. Stress may alter cardiovascular function, immune function, and health through various pathway. Stress may obscure symptoms, increase appraisal and patient delays and reduce medical compliance. Stress can activate maladaptive behaviors that reflect attempts to cope with negative emotional responses. Persons experiencing psychological stress may engage in unhealthy practices such as smoking, not eating or sleeping properly, and not exercising, and these behaviors may foster accidents, cardiovascular disease, and suppressed immune function. Nerve fibers connecting the central nervous system and immune tissue provide another path by which stress may influence immunity. Stress also evokes a variety of adaptational somatic responses, including stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and the sympathetic adrenal medullary (SAM) system. The pituitary and adrenal hormones and other neuropeptides play an important role in the modulation of the immune system. Hormones such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol circulate in the blood and can act on visceral as well as cellular immune receptors. These neuroendocrines, therefore, are an important gateway through which psychological stressors affect the cellular immune response. The association between stress and immune function has received considerable attention in recent years. This review focus on the association between autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immune responses to psychological stress. Key words: stress, immune response, cardiovascular system. Psychologische Beiträge, Band 42, 2000, S. 4-23 J.T.
Cacioppo, Ph.D, Professor of Psychology
|
