We all have a little stress in our lives. But after studying nerve cells in a banana-shaped area of the brain called the hippocampus, a hub for learning and memory, neuroscientists say chronic stress can have devastating effects on our brains.

“[Nerve cells] have these wonderful trees [with branches] that are called dendrites, places where other nerve cells make connections and transmit chemical signals,” says McEwen. These cells connect to each other at junctions called synapses.

“When we look at these individual nerve cells from an animal that’s stressed or not stressed, we could see some very characteristic changes. For example, the branches become shorter and less branched, as a result of repeated stress. That means there are fewer synaptic connections, and it means these cells are not receiving as much information as they normally do. When you look at many of these cells you realize that many of the cells in this brain area called the hippocampus show this shrinkage after repeated stress.”

McEwen’s team found the opposite was happening in the part of the brain that regulates fear and emotion, the amygdala . “With a chronic stress, neurons in the amygdala grow, they become larger,” says McEwen. “And there’s evidence that in depressive illness the amygdala may even become larger, and it certainly becomes more active.”

So, after exposure to chronic stress, if the cells in your hippocampus are shrinking, and the cells in your amygdala are growing, “you may have all sorts of anxieties and anger and fear, and yet you don’t have the hippocampus to help you connect it to where you were and what you were doing to make it specific. So you may have generalized anxieties as a result of this.”

Yes ..its an interesting one and of course it is generally known that long term stress can and does have devestating effects on the body ..such as wieght loss ..panic disorders ..generalized anxiety disorders ...skin problems ..such as psoriasis ect ..can play a part in pre cancerous cells of the cervix ...responses to stress include fainting ..irrational behaviour ...and violence ..in the case of fainting that nwould be the brains way off shutting off for a few mins to give the body time to recover ..fear ect or just general panic ...sometimes after a particular stressful event in ones life ..it could be a year or so later ..that person may develop post traumatic stress ...the onset of that can be very sudden or a slower more gradual change or withdrwal into one self ! seeking help for stress or after a stressful event is advisable . Not everyone is the same though and some people can actually have a major stressful event or near death experience and they can and fdo get over that without councilling ..but in general its advisable to see a dr as soon as your feeling out of sorts

Both negative and positive stressors can lead to stress. Some common categories and examples of stressors include: sensory input such as pain, bright light, or environmental issues such as a lack of control over environmental circumstances, such as food, housing, health, freedom, or mobility. Social issues can also cause stress, such as struggles with conspecific or difficult individuals and social defeat, or relationship conflict, deception, or break ups, and major events such as birth and deaths, marriage, and divorce. Life experiences such as poverty, unemployment, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, heavy drinking, or insufficient sleep can also cause stress. Students and workers may face stress from exams, project deadlines, and group projects.

yes i agree ..thank you funguyfff

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