Stress and Alcoholism

According to Dr. Hans Selye, stress can be defined as the nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed upon it to adapt, whether that demand produces pleasure or pain. Although stressors can elicit different responses in different individuals depending on ‘‘conditioning’’ or interactions with the environment, the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis are typically activated.

This stress response or ‘‘stress cascade’’ is responsible for allowing the body to make the necessary physiological and metabolic changes required to cope with the demands of a homeostatic challenge.

Sympathetic nervous system responses include an increase in heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, a shift in blood flow to skeletal muscles, an increase in blood glucose, dilation of the pupils and a stimulation of respiration. Thus, the activation of the sympathetic nervous system results in a variety of physiological processes which prepare the organism for flight or fight, whether to face the stressor or attempt to escape it, to maintain homeostasis.

The preclinical literature suggests that stress increases reward associated with psychomotor stimulants, possibly through a process similar to sensitization. 

Sunil Kumar                                          Jayasudha Kamaraj

Founder                                                 Co-founder

http://mindzone.in/

MIND ZONE