Does Stress Affect The Brain’s Structure And Functions Positively or Negatively?
By Adhya Raina
During our lives, we have all experienced some stress; whether it be from exams, or a deadline, stress is an important thing in our lives. It can be useful for an extra burst of energy and focus, for competitive sports or public speaking. But when that stress becomes continuous, this begins to change our brain. Chronic stress, a type of stress formed from being overworked, can affect the brain. This can change the brain’s size, structure and even how it functions.
Stress begins when the endocrine glands in the brain and the kidney communicate. This series of interactions is called hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis, and it controls your body’s reaction to stress. When the brain detects stressful situations, your HPA axis is instantly activated, releasing a hormone called cortisol, priming your body for instant action. Although small amounts of cortisol are beneficial and can regulate mood and reduce sensitivity to pain, high levels of cortisol over long periods of time do not help your brain.
Chronic stress increases activity level and the number of neural connections in the amygdala (brain’s fear centre). As levels of cortisol rise, electric signals in the hippocampus (part of the brain associated with learning, memory and stress control) deteriorate. The hippocampus also inhibits activity of the HPA axis, so when it weakens, so does your ability to control stress.
Cortisol can cause our brains to shrink in size. Too much of it results in the loss of synaptic connections between neurons and the shrinking of your prefrontal cortex (part of your brain that regulates behaviours like concentration, decision-making, judgement and social interaction. It also leads to fewer new brain cells being made. This means that chronic stress might make it harder for you to learn and remember things, also possibly setting the stage for more serious mental problems like depression, and even eventually Alzheimer’s disease.
The effects of stress may even filter right down to your brain’s DNA. A research experiment showed that the amount of nurturing a mother rat provides its newborn baby plays a part in determining how that baby responds to stress later in life. The pups of nurturing mums turned out less sensitive to stress because their brains developed more cortisol receptors which stick to cortisol and dampen the stress response. The pups of negligent mums had the opposite outcome and so became more sensitive to stress throughout life. These are considered epigenetic changes, meaning that they affect which genes are expressed without directly changing the genetic code. These changes can be reversed if the moms are swapped. The epigenetic changes caused by a single mother rat were passed down to many generations of rats after her, meaning these actions were inheritable.
Overall, stress is something that can be useful in small doses, but when there are large amounts of it, stress can be detrimental.
3 Comments
-
Priya
Very well researched and very well written.
Great going Adhya!
Waiting for more such articles! -
Revati Nehru
Fantastic article Adhya! So well researched and put together .. and also very interesting! Looking forward to more articles like this from you
All the best
POST COMMENT
Related Posts
Beyond the Hashtag: The Struggle To Truly Live In the Moment
In a world where every second is documented, filtered and shared, the
Between Fear and Belonging: One Afternoon in Soura
After returning to Kashmir for a friend’s wedding, Sudesh Manvati fi
Celluloid Memories: Kashmir’s Cinematic Golden Era
Step inside the lost world of Kashmiri cinema, where childhood memorie
The Forgotten Promise
In 1975, a barefoot boy named Ramkishen arrived at the Dhar home, carr
Planet
A vivid poetic journey through the birth and transformation of a plane
The Second Bloom: A Hidden Throb
When the quiet routine of Sandeep Ji’s solitary life in Delhi is une
Rajender Koul
Your story on STRESS, was incredible!
The way you outlined that small amounts of stress are useful I personally totally agree.
The elaboration of the brain and Kidney relationship made me feel deeply connected to your page
I especially appreciate the way you explained —it was unexpected and really added depth to the narrative.
I can tell you that you have put a lot of thought into this, and it is truly exceptional .
Keeping writing at this age will make you feel encouraging.
All the best .gbu