Stress may not only have an effect on brain function but also on brain size, according to a Jan. 9 article in Time magazine.

Dr. Rajita Sinha, a professor of psychiatry and neurobiology at the Yale University School of Medicine, examined images of 100 healthy individuals’ brains after they provided information on traumatic and stressful events in their lives. The images showed a lessening of gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, an area that is responsible for self-control and integral physiological functions, such as maintaining correct glucose and insulin levels, according to the article.

Sinha explained in the journal Biological Psychiatry that the brain’s ability to resist dangerous desires or control impulsive behaviors degrades as nerve tissue in the prefrontal cortex disappears because of constant damage from repeated stressful events, according to the article.

The study suggests these changes in brain volume may make humans more susceptible to both mental and social disorders ranging from depression to addiction, according to the article.

Sinha’s research revealed that stressful events, like sudden job loss or a threatening medical diagnosis, affect emotional awareness. Life traumas, like living with a chronic disease or losing a loved one, disrupt mood centers, according to the article.

Les Gellis, visiting assistant professor of psychology at Syracuse University, said stress may be a precursor to a vicious cycle of problems that often lead to the development of a chronic condition in which an individual is prone to a negative outlook. Physiological factors, such as lack of sleep and reduced inactivity, also further problems with mood, he said.

‘Everyone experiences stressful periods in their lives. Then this goes away and the individual is given time to mentally and physically recover,’ Gellis said. ‘It is the ‘life traumas or adverse events’ that overload the system, and an individual is not given the time, or does not have the capacity, to recover.’

Though certain events and life traumas have been associated with smaller brain volumes in these emotion and mood centers, chronic everyday stress doesn’t appear to affect brain volumes on its own, Sinha said in the article. Someone living with chronic stress may be more prone to brain shrinkages in certain areas while they are also facing an adverse event or trauma, she said in the article.

Brooks Gump, an associate professor in the Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition at SU, said chronic stress alone can affect brain volumes, perhaps in areas Sinha’s study did not explore. He said a wealth of prior research has shown how chronic stress can cause shrinking of the hippocampus, the brain’s center for memory and spatial navigation.

Though the study explored the negative effect cumulative stress may have on brain volume, it did not examine how the participants’ ages might play a role in the phenomenon, specifically among college students.

Gump said the age issue is particularly problematic. Though it’s hard to have a definitive answer, college students may not have the same coping resources as adults and could be more stressed as a result. Therefore, they may be more affected in terms of brain volume, Gump said.

‘College students experience significant stressors like everyone else,’ Gellis said. ‘They may still be learning how to handle such events and thus may feel a greater emotional impact due to these events, increasing the likelihood of significant stressors.’

To lessen the harmful effects of stress on the brain, people can meditate, exercise and maintain a healthy social life, according to the article.

Jessica Sturchio, a senior communications design major, said her workload is very demanding and was hard to adjust to at first. She has learned it’s helpful to realize when she’s overwhelmed and to step away from her projects or whatever is causing the stress.

Said Sturchio: ‘Normally, after taking some time to mentally relax, the answers to my design problems are less obscure.’

vdnapoli@syr.edu

 

Published on January 16, 2012 at 12:00 pm