Stressed people fall into habits and their behaviour is not goal-directed. That the neurotransmitter norepinephrine plays a decisive role here is now reported in the Journal of Neuroscience by scientists from Bochum led by Dr. Lars Schwabe (RUB Faculty of Psychology). If the effect of norepinephrine is stopped by beta blockers, the stress effect does not occur. “The results may be important for addictive behaviours, where stress is a key risk factor” said Schwabe. “They are characterised by ingrained routines and habits.”
Stress experienced with and without beta blockers
In a previous study, the Bochum researchers had already found that stress affects goal-directed behaviour during a learning task. Now they explored how these negative effects can be prevented. Schwabe and his colleagues subjected half of the participants to a stressful situation. Beforehand, the researchers administered the drug propranolol, a beta blocker, to part of the stressed group. This occupies certain receptors and thus prevents norepinephrine from working. The remaining subjects took a placebo pill. [continue reading…]
In her article Elizabeth waxes lyrical about that after-work period when we are tired, hungry, desperate to unwind yet still thinking about work. With dinner to make, kids to feed and quite often a mate requiring attention. Here’s a link to read the article… while you’re there take a peek at some of the comments!!! Oh deary dear.. come back and tell us what you think Oh and while you’re at it (make mine a martini shaken not stirred) 😉
Stressed-out parents make lasting impressions on their kids, according to a new study that finds the negative experience causes changes to a child’s genes that are still present in their teenage years.
The finding reveals a mechanism by which childhood experiences impact a person’s biology, the researchers said.
“This is very exciting, because we’ve shown that day-to-day stress in early childhood can predict changes in DNA that can be observed in adolescence,” said study researcher Marilyn Essex, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health. “It’s further proof of the importance of those early years and the lasting effects of children’s family environments during infancy and preschool.” Curious? Continue reading
Does Dad’s stress affect his unborn children? According to the results of a new study in Elsevier’s Biological Psychiatry, it seems the answer may be “yes, but it’s complicated”.
The risk of developing depression, which is significantly increased by exposure to chronic stress, is influenced by both environment and genetics. The interplay of these two factors is quite complex, but in fact, there is even a third factor that most of us know nothing about – epigenetics. Epigenetics is the science of changes in genetic expression that are not caused by actual changes in DNA sequencing. It is these mechanisms that have been the recent focus of intergenerational investigations into the transmission of stress vulnerability. [continue reading…]
Stressed people fall into habits and their behaviour is not goal-directed. That the neurotransmitter norepinephrine plays a decisive role here is now reported in the Journal of Neuroscience by scientists from Bochum led by Dr. Lars Schwabe (RUB Faculty of Psychology). If the effect of norepinephrine is stopped by beta blockers, the stress effect does not occur. “The results may be important for addictive behaviours, where stress is a key risk factor” said Schwabe. “They are characterised by ingrained routines and habits.”
