An overview of the physiology and neurobiology connected to acute and chronic stress. Intended audience is for those who work with farming families who are dealing with stress and critical decision making. For more information, see: www.agsafety.info

1. Our Brain on Stress
John Shutske, Professor
Extension Specialist
Agricultural Health & Safety for Farmers
and Farm Families

2. Objectives
1. Review and explain the brain
science connected to how people
experience acute stress.
2. Describe how acute stress evolves
toward chronic stress and three
specific outcomes of chronic stress
exposure.
3. Explain three specific stress coping
mechanisms that positively change
our brains and bodies, alleviating
stress effects including those which
can be recommended or facilitated
by agricultural professionals and
service providers.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/science/your-
amazing-brain/#brain.jpg

3. A reflection…
• Not new content
• Most ASH professionals have had
exposure to fundamental stress response
• On a scale from 1 (very low familiarity) to
5 (very high familiarity) how much do you
know about the “stress response” that
occurs in our body?

6. Several additional items
forthcoming…
www.agsafety.info

7. A reflection…
• Our approach these last few months has
been to engage ag service providers and
helping professionals.
• Pragmatic explanation of biological,
physiological, neurochemical processes
and how we might harness that info in our
helping role.

8. Creative Commons photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Rept0n1x

9. Let’s Take 10 awkward
seconds…
One Thing That’s Stressed You
Out in the Last Few Weeks?

11. Original work from Jessica Malisch and Theodore Garland - Wikipeda

12. Cortisol (plus Adrenaline)
• Fight
• Flight
• Freeze
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response - Image Creative Commons

13. Biochemical Response
• Heart Rate
• Blood pressure
• Red blood cell count
• Blood sugar
• Pupils dilate
• Digestive system
• Reproductive system
• Fear center
stimulated
• Fear/emotional
memories cemented
• Higher level thinking
becomes difficult**

14. Is the HPA Axis Response
Good or Bad?
Good? Bad? Or, it depends?

15. We need stress…
The gazelle needed stress
Stress helped us as children to
get from third to fourth grade
Stress in marriage, children, jobs,
growing older (and being young)

16. Case Study

17. Case Study
• In our case study – You see stress impacts
on ALL family members.
• Obvious impacts – health, injury, anxiety,
depression.
• But, there are also quiet impacts – on the
elderly patriarch of the family, on Jan, and
on Jessica who works off the farm and is
expecting twins late this winter.

18. Shift Gears a bit…
In the case, you also see the
impacts of LONG TERM, chronic
stress

19. • Point number 1
Photo credit – slide is adapted from original by http://www.enricobanchi.com/
Prefrontal
Cortex

21. Original work from Jessica Malisch and Theodore Garland - Wikipeda

22. Lupien S.J., McEwen B.S.,
Gunnar M.R. & Heim C.
(2009). Effects of stress
throughout the lifespan on
the brain, behavior, and
cognition. Nature Reviews
Neuroscience 10(6):434-
45.

23. Impacts – Chronic Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
https://pixabay.com/en/rain-man-person-human-male-face-785245/ - labeled as public domain

24. Seven Impacts – Chronic
Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
• Physical health effects

25. Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator, Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License 2006

26. https://pixabay.com/en/immune-system-defense-infection-1359197/ - public domain

27. https://pixabay.com/en/diabetes-blood-sugar-diabetic-528678/ - labeled as public domain

28. Seven Impacts – Chronic
Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
• Physical health effects
• Impact on Decision Making, Distraction, and
Memory
• Fear and anxiety

29. Cortisol….
A. Inhibits function of the PFC
B. Causes amygdala tissue to grow
stronger
C. Shrinks size and reduces
connections in hippocampus
D. All of the above

30. • Point number 1
http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v15/n5/fig_tab/nn.3093_F1.html

31. Seven Impacts – Chronic
Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
• Physical health effects
• Impact on Decision Making, Distraction, and
Memory
• Fear and anxiety
• Learning, Adaptation, Resilience

32. Amy F. T. Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress
signaling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex
structure and function. Nature Reviews
Neuroscience 10(6): 410–422.

33. Amy F. T. Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress
signaling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex
structure and function. Nature Reviews
Neuroscience 10(6): 410–422.

34. Seven Impacts – Chronic
Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
• Physical health effects
• Impact on Decision Making, Distraction, and
Memory
• Fear and anxiety
• Learning, Adaptation, Resilience
• Addiction Behaviors & Risk

35. Seven Impacts – Chronic
Stress
• Chronic stress as a vicious cycle
• Physical health effects
• Impact on Decision Making, Distraction, and
Memory
• Fear and anxiety
• Learning, Adaptation, Resilience
• Addiction Behaviors & Risk
• Communication & Support Impacts

36. https://pixabay.com/en/father-son-family-1383159/ - labeled as public domain

37. Some Other Key Factors
Image adapted from presentation - http://www.slideshare.net/kimappel/psy-150-403-chapter-11-slides

38. Let’s simplify this a bit…
 In hundreds of experiments (including lots of
variations)…
 Two groups of rats can be subjected to a really
terrible stimulus – like a painful electrical shock
 If one group has the ability to exert SOME control --
like shutting off the shock once it’s started….
 They will show effects similar to a control group that
has no painful stimulus – in other words, the
stimulus is not as stressful
 The rats experiencing the same pain, but with no
means to control will waste away

39. Helping people regain a
sense of control

42. Previous slide reference…
Keller, A., Litzelman, K., Wisk, L. E., Maddox,
T., Cheng, E. R., Creswell, P. D., & Witt, W. P.
(2012). Does the perception that stress affects
health matter? The association with health
and mortality. Health Psychology, 31(5), 677.

43. McGonigal’s Summaries
• Also in book “The Upside of Stress”
(2015)
• Do not fear stress response
• It’s a call to action
• It should call for us to reach out, build
relationships, and personal networks with
family, loved ones, and community

44. Exercise
• It’s kind of a big deal!
• Release of natural endorphins
• Strengthen circulatory, respiratory, brain
function, immune system
• Positive cortisol effects (receptors, size of
hippocampus, positive effects on PFC)
• Brain oxygen, nourishment (20% of energy)

45. (A) Example of hippocampus segmentation and graphs demonstrating an increase in
hippocampus volume for the aerobic exercise group and a decrease in volume for the
stretching control group.
Kirk I. Erickson et al. PNAS 2011;108:3017-3022
©2011 by National Academy of Sciences

46. Meditation & Mindfulness
• Grow, strengthen and thicken hippocampus
• Diminish influence of the amygdala
• Oxygen, breathing
• Focus on here and now increases sense of
control
• Likely an area of new research

47. Photo Creative Commons from https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsmidwest/

48. Counseling – Third Party
Help
• Provide perspective and moderate emotional
conversations.
• Reinforce positive behavioral and lifestyle changes.
• Accountability and follow-through.
• Our DATCP offers vouchers for support.

49. Some Comments and
Specific Thoughts on Your
Role

50. Conclusion…
• Stress is complicated. But, not really (helping people fix things IS complex)
• Acute stress is a necessary part of life
• Acute stress can and does evolve toward chronic stress
• Chronic stress can really alter the brain – impacts are reversible, but health is
crucial
• There are at least seven impacts – and they can “pile on” to each other
• Helping people help themselves takes patience, time, and a multitude of
approaches
• Part of the impact of stress is our VIEW of how it effects our lives. That
framing is critical for people’s health. CONTROL and helping people regain a
sense of positive control is really critical!