The Enchanted LoomTeasing sturdy threads from

neuroscience masterworks

Teasing 10 threads fromBruce McEwen’s…

Thread 1:

Stress refers to the pres- sure that life exerts on us and the way this pres- sure makes us feel.

(pg. 3)

Thread 2:

Homeostasis describes an organism’s need to maintain a steady internal state. Allostasis comes from the Greek word allo, meaning variable. Allostasis works to keep the body stable by being able to change. (pg. 6)

Thread 3:

Allostatic load is the damage that allostasis causes when it functions improperly.

(pg. 7)

Thread 4:

Deforming a powerful mechanism like allostasis, which evolved over millions of years to help us cope, into a source of disease, is not something that happens quickly. It signals an imbalance of long standing.(pg. 16)

Thread 5:

Throughout our mortal life, our identities are fused into the physical integrity of the brain.

(pg. 18)

Thread 6:

Stress begins in the brain. Only humans can become stressed out from things that exist in idea only, such as a rehash of an old argument until it activates the auto- nomic nervous system, aggravating clogged arteries.(pg. 34)

Thread 7:

More circuits, and bigger ones, go from the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex than come back the other way. This imbalance is probably why psychotherapy is such a lengthy process. (pg. 38)

Thread 8:

As perhaps the ultimate social stressor and cause of isolation, bereavement can weaken the immune system. Under certain circum- stances the death of a loved one may increase one’s own risk of dying.(pg. 93)

Thread 9:

Think of DNA as a piano. A piano always has 88 keys and they are always the same 88 notes, but no music comes out until the keys are pressed. Then, there’s no limit to the music a piano can produce.(pg. 129)

Thread 10:

Type II diabetes is a form of allostatic load. The combi- nation of walking and a sensible diet is almost twice as effective as the front-line medical treatment.

(pg. 137)

Thread 11:

Learned helpless- ness often results in us losing our ability to cope altogether. It is thought to be a model for depressive illness in humans.(pg. 53)

Image Credits:

Title Page: http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/23193-personality-traits-brain-scans

Slide 3 - http://www.gocomics.com/adamathome/2016/03/03

Slide 12 - http://www.deviantart.com/art/Until-death-do-us-part-357322688

Slide 2 - http://bit.ly/2d5lwna

Slide 6 - https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/10/22/the-stigma-of-mental-illness/

Slide 5 - http://igbiologyy.blogspot.com/2014/03/133-homeostasis.html

Slide 11 - http://www.deviantart.com/art/Piano-in-Krakow-186178911

Slide 10 - http://www.deviantart.com/art/Bereaved-254163533

Slide 14 - http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/23193-personality-traits-brain-scans

Slide 9 - http://www.deviantart.com/art/F-e-a-r-43037919

Slide 8 - http://www.deviantart.com/art/Ruin-10661862

Slide 7 - http://www.deviantart.com/art/s-e-c-r-e-t-part-II-84418877

Slide 4 - http://www.stresshacker.com/6-worst-and-6-better-ways-to-manage-time/

Slide 13 - http://chryssalis.deviantart.com/art/LEARN-NOT-TO-BREATHE-284613944

Mark Brady, PhDTheEnchantedLoom@gmail.com

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