This lecture explored the relationships between psychology, biology, physiology and socio-economic status. Prof Steptoe shared many interesting insights concerning health and health inequality, developed by the emerging field of psychobiology.

Stress is a condition of the mind that differs among individuals and reflects not only major life events but also the conflicts and pressures of daily life that elevate physiological systems so as to cause a chronic stress burden. This burden reflects not only the impact of life experiences but also of genetic load and early life experiences that set life-long patterns of behaviours and physiological reactivity. While hormones associated with the chronic stress burden protect the body in the short-run and promote adaptation, in the long run they promote changes in the body that impair function, for the immune system and the brain. In this lecture, Professor McEwen will discuss how social ordering in human society is associated with gradients of disease, and describe the relationship between mortality, morbidity and socioeconomic status. Though these relationships are complex, Professor McEwen will argue that they are likely to reflect, not only differences in lifestyle, but also the cumulative burden of coping with limited resources and negative life events and the resulting chronic impact on physiological systems of adaptation.

Individual differences in response to stressful experiences are a hallmark of the human condition. The same experiences that some people find aversive are considered neutral or rewarding by others. Paradoxically, experiences that are rewarding can also be defined as stressful because they activate stress hormone systems, such as the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. Despite this activation, however, the brain is often buffered against the negative effects of high stress hormones when the experience is perceived as rewarding or "positive". The adult brain is structurally plastic, undergoing changes in the birth of new neurons, a process called neurogenesis, and remodelling of dendrites. Positive and negative stress can modulate brain structure and these changes are believed to participate in cognitive function (the processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning) and mood regulation. In this lecture, Professor Gould will discuss the influence of stress hormones on plasticity in the adult brain under aversive and rewarding conditions. Negative stress inhibits adult neurogenesis and results in atrophy of some types of neurons as a result of elevated levels of stress hormones. While positive stress results in even greater increases in such levels, these experiences are associated with brain growth. Professor Gould will argue that the effects of stress on the brain are complex and can be mediated by the social context, which may buffer the brain from negative consequences.

In this lecture Dr Burns reflects that recent trends show relative improvements in some Scottish health indices compared to other countries. However, health inequality remains an obstinate challenge in Scotland, with the greatest difficulties found largely in the Clydeside conurbation. The policy implications of this and the findings of recent research on the effects of stress on brain structure are considered.

Seminar Series 7 concluded on Tuesday 10th May 2011 at St Andrew's in the Square, Glasgow. Everyone faces stressful experiences. They are facts of life. Not everyone handles stressful experiences in quite the same way, however. And not all stressful experiences are the same. Some are brief. Others are chronic. Some are psychological. Others are physical. Some make us grow and give us an opportunity to flourish. Others make us flounder and undermine our wellbeing. The different ways in which stress can affect people either positively or negatively ultimately depends on the brain. This is because the brain is the central organ that filters our experiences as being positive or negative - and it ultimately determines how we handle these experiences throughout life. The purpose of this lecture was to provide a general overview of what we know and what we don’t know about how the human brain processes and responds to stressful experiences, both in the short-term and over the long-term. A particular emphasis was placed on the strengths and weaknesses of brain imaging studies to address open questions about the bodily pathways linking stressful experiences to health, particularly physical health. To this end, the speaker’s work on the neurobiology of stress and cardiovascular disease risk was used for illustrative purposes. The lecture concluded by considering how future studies on this complicated topic can deepen our understanding of how stressful experiences can become embodied by the brain to influence health throughout life.

International Network of Stroke secondary Prevention REsearchers