Year: 2006
Type: article
Abstract: Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1991), and impaired mental and physical health compared to individuals who reported higher levels of social support (Cacioppo et al., 2000).Despite a large literature demonstrating that social interactions modulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and improve health outcome, very little is known concerning the physiological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.The goal of this dissertation is to describe how both positive and negative social interactions alter HPA axis activity and peripheral immune function in mouse species that exhibit various social structures.Also, this thesis will examine the effects of both positive and negative social interactions on post-stroke peripheral immune function. What is Stress?Activation of the HPA axis is the most thoroughly characterized neuroendocrine response to stress.Adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH), corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), and glucocorticoids, such as cortisol (or corticosterone in rodents), are the three primary hormones of the HPA axis.Collectively, these three hormones are often referred to as "stress" hormones because they increase following stress and return to basal concentrations after the termination of the stressor.Nonetheless, these hormones are critical even under non-stressful condition, as they are essential in maintaining homeostasis and energetic balance (McEwen and Wingfield, 2003;Sapolsky et al., 2000).The term "stress" was originally used in the field of engineering to describe a force that exerts physical strain on a structure.The profound physiological consequences of stress in the biological sense were first shown empirically in Hans Selye's seminal
Author: Erica R. Glasper
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Behavioral Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2409846712