Neural Mechanism Behind Resilience to Stress

Stress resilience can be measured and controlled by neural mechanisms in the brain and body as per a study presented at Neuroscience 2021, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Resilience to stress is the ability of an individual to cope with hardship and overcome stressful events. Understanding the neural basis may help formulate better treatment for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and other disorders.

Hence, the study team used rodent models to assess the short- and long-term effects of stress. It was found that activation of a subset of touch neurons in the skin could reduce stress hormones after minor stress.

However, the elimination of these neurons leads to depression-like behavior.

Stress and Resilience

Findings from other studies that were presented were:

• In rats who exhibit high anxiety and passive coping behavior, biological sex moderates the presence of resilience and active coping styles in adulthood after adolescent stress.
• Exposure to stress (PTSD-prone rats) significantly alters the gut microbiota with higher urinary adrenaline.

“Stress affects us in many ways, and these studies show us that resilience is also multi-faceted. Discovering the brain mechanisms of resilience is arguably the holy grail of psychiatry. These findings will contribute to new treatments for PTSD and other anxiety and mood disorders,” says press conference moderator Martha Farah, Walter H. Annenberg Professor in Natural Sciences and director of the Center for Neuroscience & Society at the University of Pennsylvania.

Source-Medindia