Title: The Effects of Stress on the Brain - Hey Sigmund
Headings: The Effects of Stress on the Brain
The Effects of Stress on the Brain
What does stress do to the brain?
What about positive stress?
The research. What they did.
What They Found.
Other Effects of Stress on the Brain
Mindfulness: A Heroic Defence Against Stress
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Content: The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, has found that stressful life events interact with certain genes to change the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that processes emotions and transfers new information into long-term memories. An effectively functioning hippocampus is critical for learning. What does stress do to the brain? The hippocampus is particularly sensitive to stress because of the damaging effects of cortisol, the stress hormone. When the body is subject to stress, cortisol attacks the neurons and the hippocampus shrinks in size. This is commonly seen in people with depression and is the reason for some of the physical symptoms. The effect of cortisol is to force attention onto the emotions being experienced, while at the same time compromising the capacity to take in new information. The duration of stress can be almost as damaging as the degree of stress. What about positive stress? On the other hand, positive stress, such as that which is experienced in exciting social situations, can cause the hippocampus to increase in size.