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Allostasis and the human brain: Integrating models of stress from the social and life sciences.

Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: We draw on the theory of allostasis to develop an integrative model of the current stress process that highlights the brain as a dynamically adapting interface between the changing environment and the biological self. We review evidence that the core emotional regions of the brain constitute the primary mediator of the well-established association between stress and health, as well as the neural focus of wear and tear due to ongoing adaptation. This mediation, in turn, allows us to model the interplay over time between context, current stressor exposure, internal regulation of bodily processes, and health outcomes. We illustrate how this approach facilitates the integration of current findings in human neuroscience and genetics with key constructs from stress models from the social and life sciences, with implications for future research and the design of interventions targeting individuals at risk.
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1997961959
FWCI: 9.113
Cites: 502
Cited by: 376
Related to: 10