Emotion, Stress & Health
Mind and Body
► Can
the body affect the
mind?
► Example?
► How about the mind
affecting the body?
► Example?
► Two-way communication
between mind and body
Psychosomatic Medicine
► Psyche
(mind)
► Soma (body)
► Butterflies in the
stomach
► Anxious before giving
speech
► Indigestion, nausea
► Stress may contribute
to getting an ulcer.
Relieve stress
► Meditation
► Listening
to soothing
music
► Taking a quiet walk
► Reduce stress
► Eliminate butterflies
Affects on long-term health
► Attitude
towards illness can
affect healing.
► Thought, beliefs and
emotions have major
impact on physical health.
► Link between mind and
body is the immune
system.
What is
Emotion?
Internal conscious states
that we infer in ourselves
and others.
► Emotions
are private
experiences.
► We use operational
definitions because we
cannot actually see
feelings.
► We infer observable
behavior associated with
emotion.
Emotions are
Multidimensional
Four components of Emotion
Feelings
SocialExpressive
Significant life event
Emotion
Sense of
Purpose
Bodily
Arousal
Feeling component
► Emotions
are subjective feelings
► Make us feel in a particular way.
► Anger or joy.
► Meaning and personal significance.
► Vary in intensity and quality.
► Rooted in mental processes
(labeling).
Bodily Arousal
► Biological
activation.
► Autonomic and hormonal systems.
► Prepare and activate adaptive
coping behavior during emotion.
► Body prepared for action.
► Alert posture, clenched fists.
Purposive component
► Give
emotion its goal-directed force.
► Motivation to take action.
► Cope with emotion-causing circumstances.
► Why people benefit from emotions.
► Social and evolutionary advantage.
Social-Expressive component
► Emotion’s
communicative aspect.
► Postures, gestures, vocalizations,
facial expressions make our
emotions public.
► Verbal and nonverbal
communication.
► Helps us interpret the situation.
► How person reacts to event.
Emotions read in the face
The Japanese Female Facial Expression (JAFFE) Database
Biological Response to Emotion
► Scream,
Run away…infers fear.
► Gut reaction:
► Heart races, energy boost.
► What coordinates body response?
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic
Reactions
► Every
situation calls for its own special mixture of
arousal by the sympathetic (fight or flight) and
parasympathetic (conservation of energy) N.S.
► Flight
or Flight: Sympathetic response
prepares body to meet a crisis.
► Rest or Digest: Parasympathetic calms
body to aid in digestion.
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic flow of
Autonomic Nervous System
Limbic System
► Brain
mechanism in emotion
► A group of structures in the interior of
brain
► Form a border around brain stem
► Critical for emotion
Limbic System
James-Lange Theory
► Autonomic
arousal and skeletal actions come
before emotional response
 I experience fear because I run away
► Cognitive
awareness is separate
 Brain can categorize events as pleasant or unpleasant
in as little as 120 milliseconds
► What
we experience as an emotion is actually
the label we give to our response.
 I am afraid because I run away
 I am angry because I attack
Common Sense vs. James-Lange
Common Sense right?
Frightening Situation
Fear
Running Away and
Increased Heart rate etc.
James-Lange Theory
Frightening Situation
Running Away and Increased Heart
rate etc.
Fear
James-Lange
Key Assumptions:
1. Body’s response comes before emotion
2. Each specific emotion produces a different
body response
Two stage theory
► Schachter-Singer
Theory
► Physiological changes happen first.
► Followed by cognitive labeling.
► Heart rate goes up.
► If in graveyard  fear.
► If at a party  excitement.
LeDoux and the snake
► Walking
in woods.
► See what may be a snake.
► Limbic system responds
first: CAUTION! STOP!
► Cortex catches up a second
or two later.
► Poisonous?
► Why did I sleep through
that lecture on snakes of
Connecticut?
Emotion and Cognitive Paths
Visual thalamus
Visual cortex
Amygdala
Stress and Health
► Stress
is the nonspecific response of the body to
any demand made upon it.
►Failing
grades
► Scary movie
 Even positive events in your life such as:
► Graduation
►New
► Stress
job
activates the Autonomic Nervous System
rapidly
► Stress activates the Hypothalamus-PituitaryAdrenal (HPA) Axis more slowly.
► Both systems have major effect on health and
well-being.
Short term reaction to stress
► Level
of responsiveness
► Sympathetic NS easily
triggered.
► Hostile heart syndrome.
► Tense, impatient.
► Road rage causes 4X
more accidents than
drunk driving.
Executive Monkey (Brady)
► Pair
of monkeys.
► Both could get shock.
► One monkey could press
bar to avoid shock for him
and his yoked control.
► Monkey with active bar
called “active” monkey.
► Other monkey in pair
called “passive”.
► One member of pair likely
to get ulcers.
► Which one?
Brady’s experiment
► Active
Active
Passive
monkey is
on the left.
► Press lever to
avoid shock.
► Passive monkey
is on the right.
► Pressing the
lever does not
affect shock
delivery
Brady’s mistake
► Brady
found executive (active) monkeys got
more ulcers.
► First monkey to learn task  active.
► Attempts to replicate yield the opposite
result: passive monkeys get ulcers.
► Passive monkeys lack control over situation.
► More stressful if you have no control over
occurrence of stress.
Reducing the effects of stress
► Stress
is less harmful if
► Have some control (even if just belief).
► Predictable (“going to feel a little pinch”).
► Know the duration.
► Coping mechanism.
► Some way to relieve stress.
► Positive attitude.
► Active participant in process.
Long term stress
► What
if stress continues for months or
years?
► Stressful occupations: air traffic controllers
► Whether stress is real or imagined doesn’t
matter to the brain and body.
► Respond in the same way.
► Brain activates the adrenal cortex.
Brain and Adrenal Cortex
►
Prolonged stress leads to the
secretion of the adrenal
hormone cortisol
►
Cortisol (stress hormone)
elevates blood sugar and
increases metabolism.
►
Body is then able to sustain
prolonged activity
►
Also reduces inflammation
Response to injury
► Sprains
ankle.
► Inflammation causes
swelling and pain.
► Reduce ability to move.
► Life threatening injury.
► Cortisol reduces
inflammation.
► Mobilizes energy.
► Survival value.
General Adaptation Syndrome
► Phases
of GAS
► 1: Alarm reaction:
►
Body’s first response.
► 2: Resistance:
►
Body adapts to stressor.
► 3: Exhaustion:
►
Body breaks down.
► Changes in immune system
Hans Selye
1907-1982
Father of Stress
GAS timeline
Alarm
Resistance
Immune function
and energy
time
Exhaustion
The Immune System
► Cells
that protect the body against intruders
such as viruses and bacteria.
►
Like a police force
 Too weak and criminals (viruses etc.) run wild
 Too strong and it attacks law-abiding citizens:
►The
body’s own cells (Autoimmune disease)
 Ex. Rheumatoid arthritis
Immune system
Leukocytes (White blood cells)
► Most important elements
► Patrol the blood & fluids
► Antigens: Intruders have different surface
proteins (nonself) than our own (self)
► WBCs attack antigens
► Macrophages and B Cells are specific defenses
► T cells: cytotoxic and helper
 Cytotoxic: direct attack
 Helper: stimulates Ts & B’s to multiply rapidly
Immune Response to Bacteria
Effects of Stress on Immune System
► Psychoneuroimmunology:
 The study of the relationship between the
nervous system and immune systems.
► All
experiences, especially stressful ones,
can alter the immune system.
► The Immune system in turn influences the
central nervous system.
Effects of Stress
► Continued,
long term anxiety, anger or
stress is harmful.
 A body focused on the cycle of increased
cortisol & increased metabolism, it is not
producing new proteins for the immune system
and other systems.
► High
cortisol levels damage hippocampus
 Learning and memory suffer as a result
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD)
► Traumatic
experience leads to:
 Months or even years of flashbacks and nightmares
 Exaggerated arousal response to noises etc.
 Avoidance of reminders of the event
► Combat
veterans, rape victims, 9/11
► Most PTSD victims have a smaller than average
hippocampus
Emotions, Stress and Health
► They
are all intricately related.