The DOI matches its Crossref record; 214 of the 216 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Uncertainty and stress: Why it causes diseases and how it is mastered by the brain
Open accessAbstract
The term 'stress' - coined in 1936 - has many definitions, but until now has lacked a theoretical foundation. Here we present an information-theoretic approach - based on the 'free energy principle' - defining the essence of stress; namely, uncertainty. We address three questions: What is uncertainty? What does it do to us? What are our resources to master it? Mathematically speaking, uncertainty is entropy or 'expected surprise'. The 'free energy principle' rests upon the fact that self-organizing biological agents resist a tendency to disorder and must therefore minimize the entropy of their sensory states. Applied to our everyday life, this means that we feel uncertain, when we anticipate that outcomes will turn out to be something other than expected - and that we are unable to avoid surprise. As all cognitive systems strive to reduce their uncertainty about future outcomes, they face a critical constraint: Reducing uncertainty requires cerebral energy. The characteristic of the vertebrate brain to prioritize its own high energy is captured by the notion of the 'selfish brain'. Accordingly, in times of uncertainty, the selfish brain demands extra energy from the body. If, despite all this, the brain cannot reduce uncertainty, a persistent cerebral energy crisis may develop, burdening the individual by 'allostatic load' that contributes to systemic and brain malfunction (impaired memory, atherogenesis, diabetes and subsequent cardio- and cerebrovascular events). Based on the basic tenet that stress originates from uncertainty, we discuss the strategies our brain uses to avoid surprise and thereby resolve uncertainty.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Psychological and neural mechanisms through which uncertainty-inducing stressors elicit negative mental states, particularly anxiety, and may lead to psychopathology have been extensively described in the literature [31,35,36,57,119,120], and these models are broadly relevant in the present context.”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [120]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“While sustained vigilance represents the initial adaptive response under conditions of uncertainty [35,120], it can develop into hypervigilance, that is, increased attention to threatening or potentially threatening stimuli.”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [120]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
A Mathematical Theory of Communication
Shannon, C. E. (1948) · Bell System Technical Journal · doi:10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x · Cited by 88,486
On Information and Sufficiency
Kullback, S., & Leibler, R. A. (1951) · The Annals of Mathematical Statistics · doi:10.1214/aoms/1177729694 · Cited by 20,193 · cited 1×
“From a theoretical perspective, the difference between attainable states and goal states can be formalized by the so-called ‘Kullback Leibler (KL) divergence’ (Kullback and Leibler, 1951).”
The free-energy principle: a unified brain theory?
Friston, K. (2010) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn2787 · Cited by 8,120 · cited 1×
“How exactly these procedures are executed is one of the most fascinating questions in neuroscience (Friston, 2010).”
Self-citationDistributed hierarchical processing in the primate cerebral cortex
Felleman, D. J., & Van Essen, D. C. (1991) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/1.1.1 · Cited by 7,783 · cited 1×
“The brain’s architecture is hierarchically organized (Felleman and Van, 1991).”
Protective and Damaging Effects of Stress Mediators
McEwen, B. S. (1998) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm199801153380307 · Cited by 6,733 · cited 4×
“All of these long-lasting effects of persistently activated stress reactions are called ‘allostatic load’ (McEwen, 1998).”
InfluentialSelf-citationRao, R. P. N., & Ballard, D. H. (1999) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/4580 · Cited by 5,483 · cited 1×
“It has been shown that both perceptual inference and learning can be described as a minimization of free energy or the suppression of prediction errors (Friston, 2005; Rao and Ballard, 1999).”
Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: central role of the brain
McEwen, B. S. (2007) · Physiological Reviews · doi:10.1152/physrev.00041.2006 · Cited by 5,429 · cited 3×
“In the short run, increased vigilance or anxiety in a hostile environment may be adaptive; however, when the danger passes and the behavioral state and the changes in neural circuitry become chronic, which get ‘stuck’, such maladaptation may require an external intervention to get it ‘unstuck’, as is the case for chro…”
Self-citationA theory of cortical responses.
Friston, K. (2005) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2005.1622 · Cited by 4,578 · cited 1×
“It has been shown that both perceptual inference and learning can be described as a minimization of free energy or the suppression of prediction errors (Friston, 2005; Rao and Ballard, 1999).”
Self-citationAston-Jones, G., & Cohen, J. D. (2005) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.28.061604.135709 · Cited by 4,472 · cited 3×
“In this mode, LC projections to cortical areas lead to enhancement of only the few parts of the cortex involved in a specific task (Aston-Jones and Cohen, 2005; Berridge and Waterhouse, 2003).”
Hemodynamic shear stress and its role in atherosclerosis
Malek, A. M. (1999) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.282.21.2035 · Cited by 3,650 · cited 1×
“, 1983) – particularly at branching sites of the blood vessel system (Malek et al., 1999).”
Cited by
Sorted by citations
REBUS and the anarchic brain: Toward a unified model of the brain action of psychedelics
Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Friston, K. J. (2019) · Pharmacological Reviews · doi:10.1124/pr.118.017160 · Cited by 1,180
“…(Carhart-Harris, 2018a), exemplified by findings of increased brain complexity/entropy (Schartner et al., 2017) and decreased modular differentiation (Petri et al., 2014), provides an iconic image of dysregulated global brain function under psychedelics, with the 5-HT2AR as the trigger point.”
BackgroundEarly life stress and development: potential mechanisms for adverse outcomes
Smith, K. E., & Pollak, S. D. (2020) · Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders · doi:10.1186/s11689-020-09337-y · Cited by 500
“There is now a wealth of research in adults demonstrating that individual variability in neurobiological responses to stress is informed through the assessment of factors that shape perceptions and interpretations of stress [10, 179, 180].”
BackgroundSmith, K. E., & Pollak, S. D. (2020) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691620920725 · Cited by 379
“This extended activation alters brain architecture in regions such as the PFC, amygdala, and hippocampus, which undermines adaptive regulation and coping (Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundAn Active Inference Approach to Interoceptive Psychopathology
Paulus, M. P., Feinstein, J. S., & Khalsa, S. S. (2019) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050718-095617 · Cited by 394
“…attentional bias toward threat (Hakamata et al. 2010), increased worry and self-related cognitions, dysfunctional learning about bodily states over time (Van den Bergh et al. 2017), and increased allostatic load leading to increased stress and mental illness (Peters et al. 2017, Sterling 2014).”
BackgroundLevin, M. G. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02688 · Cited by 334
“…Castelfranchi, 2009; Stepp, 2009; Shemesh et al., 2010; Stepp and Turvey, 2010; Mossbridge et al., 2012; Dhar et al., 2013; Goel and Mehta, 2013; Bohm et al., 2016; De Berker et al., 2016; Katz and Springer, 2016; Peters et al., 2017; Wilson et al., 2017; Gagliano et al., 2018; Katz et al., 2018).”
BackgroundAllostasis: A brain-centered, predictive mode of physiological regulation
Schulkin, J., & Sterling, P. (2019) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/j.tins.2019.07.010 · Cited by 265
Older Adults’ Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Stresses and Joys
Whitehead, B. R., & Torossian, E. (2020) · The Gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/gnaa126 · Cited by 271
“The unpredictability of who will get sick, how long it will last, and its long-term effects—elevates feelings of uncertainty and uncontrollability, which serve to magnify one’s sense of distress (Peters et al., 2019; Wheaton & Montazer, 2009).”
BackgroundHappy Entrepreneurs? Everywhere? A Meta-Analysis of Entrepreneurship and Wellbeing
Stephan, U., Rauch, A., & Hatak, I. (2022) · Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice · doi:10.1177/10422587211072799 · Cited by 312
“Consider that stress and allostatic load build up “silently” over time (without symptoms) to potentially lethal consequences (Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundSouchet, A. D., Lourdeaux, D., Pagani, A., & Rebenitsch, L. (2022) · Virtual Reality · doi:10.1007/s10055-022-00672-0 · Cited by 266
Stress-induced plasticity and functioning of ventral tegmental dopamine neurons
Douma, E. H., & de Kloet, E. R. (2019) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.015 · Cited by 235
Online Learning during the COVID- 19 Pandemic and Academic Stress in University Students
Moawad, R. A. (2020) · Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala · doi:10.18662/rrem/12.1sup2/252 · Cited by 217
“As stress occurs when a person is uncertain about something important, it affects both the body and mental health (Peters et al., 2017), Universities across the world should be clear with their”
BackgroundWhat is mood? A computational perspective
Clark, J. E., Watson, S., & Friston, K. J. (2018) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291718000430 · Cited by 204
“This means that allostatic control is precluded – and is replaced by low-level homoeostatic responses (Barrett et al. 2016; Stephan et al. 2016; Peters et al. 2017).”
BackgroundSelf-citationLevin, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2022.768201 · Cited by 195
“Of course, additional subdivisions (dimensions) can easily be added, such as the Unlimited Associative Learning marker [126] or aspects of Active Inference [127; 128; 129; 130].”
BackgroundIn the body's eye: the computational anatomy of interoceptive inference
Allen, M., Levy, A., Parr, T., & Friston, K. J. (2022) · PLOS Computational Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010490 · Cited by 185
“…to demonstrate the potential for generative modelling and ‘ embodied computational phenotyping ’ ; i.e., the identification of specific parameters of brain-body interaction underlying maladaptive interoceptive inference in psychiatric and other health-harming disorders; e.g., (Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundSelf-citationStress Processes: An Essential Ingredient in the Entrepreneurial Process
Rauch, A., Fink, M., & Hatak, I. (2018) · Academy of Management Perspectives · doi:10.5465/amp.2016.0184 · Cited by 192
“If the brain does not succeed in reducing this uncertainty, an energy crisis emerges that impairs the memory, thereby making it even more difficult to reduce uncertainty (Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundLevels of Emotional Awareness: Theory and Measurement of a Socio-Emotional Skill
Lane, R. D., & Smith, R. (2021) · Journal of Intelligence · doi:10.3390/jintelligence9030042 · Cited by 163
“…of impaired emotion processing to the pathophysiological basis of systemic medical disorders associated with persistent, undifferentiated arousal (Peters et al. 2017), as well as functional somatic syndromes (Henningsen et al. 2018) and functional neurological disorders (Pick et al. 2019).”
BackgroundRoles of Oxytocin in Stress Responses, Allostasis and Resilience
Takayanagi, Y., & Onaka, T. (2021) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms23010150 · Cited by 173
“on conditions and activations of emergency systems are adaptive for a short period, while shifts and activations for a long period often cause overloads in various bodily systems, resulting in lifestyle-related disorders (Figure 1) [4,5].”
BackgroundBrain-body interactions underlying the association of loneliness with mental and physical health
Quadt, L., Esposito, G., Critchley, H., & Garfinkel, S. N. (2020) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.015 · Cited by 154
Smith, R. S., Parr, T., & Friston, K. J. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02844 · Cited by 133
Self-citationWu, D., Yu, L., Yang, T., Cottrell, R. R., Peng, S., Guo, W., & Jiang, S. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00243 · Cited by 143
Kraft, P., & Kraft, B. (2021) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.019 · Cited by 141
Top‐down and bottom‐up control of stress‐coping
de Kloet, E. R., de Kloet, S. F., de Kloet, C. S., & de Kloet, A. D. (2018) · Journal of Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1111/jne.12675 · Cited by 130
Collective intelligence: a unifying concept for integrating biology across scales and substrates
McMillen, P., & Levin, M. (2024) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-024-06037-4 · Cited by 122
Corcoran, A. W., Pezzulo, G., & Hohwy, J. (2020) · Biology & Philosophy · doi:10.1007/s10539-020-09746-2 · Cited by 161
Morriss, J., Zuj, D. V., & Mertens, G. (2021) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.05.011 · Cited by 116
“…known as ambiguity) is central to anxiety and stress (Brosschot et al., 2016; Grupe and Nitschke, 2013; Hirsch et al., 2016; Morriss et al., 2019a; Peters et al., 2017; Pulcu and Browning, 2019), and plays a fundamental role in the maintenance and recovery of threat learning (Bouton, 2002; Levy…”
BackgroundThe influence of subcortical shortcuts on disordered sensory and cognitive processing.
McFadyen, J., Dolan, R. J., & Garrido, M. I. (2020) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/s41583-020-0287-1 · Cited by 91
The neurobiology of interoception and affect
Feldman, M. J., Bliss-Moreau, E., & Lindquist, K. A. (2024) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.009 · Cited by 101
“As information is transmitted, sensory signals become smaller in size, or compressed, integrated, and abstracted into lower-dimensional representations that increasingly integrate across sensory modalities.”
Dopamine Neurons Reflect the Uncertainty in Fear Generalization
Jo, Y. S., Heymann, G., & Zweifel, L. S. (2018) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.09.028 · Cited by 108
“Uncertainty is a potent stressor (Peters et al., 2017) and dopamine neurons are sensitive to both stress and stress-associated signaling pathways (Margolis et al.”
Li, X., & Lyu, H. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.563741 · Cited by 112
An insula hierarchical network architecture for active interoceptive inference
Fermin, A. S. R., Friston, K., & Yamawaki, S. (2022) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.220226 · Cited by 101
Self-citationRepresentation Wars: Enacting an Armistice Through Active Inference
Constant, A., Clark, A., & Friston, K. J. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.598733 · Cited by 102
Self-citationFradkin, I., Adams, R. A., Parr, T., Roiser, J. P., & Huppert, J. D. (2020) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/rev0000188 · Cited by 89
“One such target is the subjective importance (i.e. precision) of prior preferences and goals (Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundSensory Nutrition and Bitterness and Astringency of Polyphenols
Osakabe, N., Shimizu, T., Fujii, Y., Fushimi, T., & Calabrese, V. (2024) · Biomolecules · doi:10.3390/biom14020234 · Cited by 102
Rethinking post-traumatic stress disorder – A predictive processing perspective
Κube, T., Berg, M., Kleim, B., & Herzog, P. (2020) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.04.014 · Cited by 107
Tschantz, A., Barca, L., Maisto, D., Buckley, C. L., Seth, A. K., & Pezzulo, G. (2022) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108266 · Cited by 112
Predictive processing and the varieties of psychological trauma
Wilkinson, S., Dodgson, G., & Meares, K. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01840 · Cited by 91
“For example, it has been applied to psychosis (Fletcher and Frith, 2009), auditory verbal hallucination (Wilkinson, 2014), autism (Pellicano and Burr, 2012), hysteria (Edwards et al., 2012), and stress (Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundSmith, R., Lane, R. D., Parr, T., & Friston, K. J. (2019) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.002 · Cited by 89
Self-citationUncertainty Makes Me Emotional: Uncertainty as an Elicitor and Modulator of Emotional States
Morriss, J., Tupitsa, E., Dodd, H. F., & Hirsch, C. R. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.777025 · Cited by 98
“, avoidance of predation, receiving comfort from conspecifics) (Hirsh et al., 2012; Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundResultThe Influence of Caffeine Expectancies on Sport, Exercise, and Cognitive Performance
Shabir, A., Hooton, A., Tallis, J. A., & Higgins, M. F. (2018) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu10101528 · Cited by 92
“Alternatively, the concept of uncertainty in group 3 may have increased blood pressure, which could also help to explain this discrepancy [88].”
BackgroundAn analog of psychedelics restores functional neural circuits disrupted by unpredictable stress
Lu, J., Tjia, M., Mullen, B., Cao, B., Lukasiewicz, K., Shah-Morales, S., Weiser, S., Cameron, L. P., Olson, D. E., Chen, L., et al. (2021) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-021-01159-1 · Cited by 84
“As uncertainty about the future is a major source of stress [59], the paradigm of unpredictable mild stress (UMS), in which different stressors are presented each day at random, well mimics the variability and stochasticity of real-life stress.”
BackgroundCiaunica, A., Seth, A. K., Limanowski, J., Hesp, C., & Friston, K. J. (2022) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2022.103320 · Cited by 91
Self-citationSmith, R. S., Kirlić, N., Stewart, J. L., Touthang, J., Kuplicki, R., Khalsa, S. S., Feinstein, J. S., Paulus, M. P., & Aupperle, R. L. (2021) · Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience · doi:10.1503/jpn.200032 · Cited by 86
How positive affect buffers stress responses
van Steenbergen, H., de Bruijn, E. R. A., van Duijvenvoorde, A. C. K., & van Harmelen, A. (2021) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.03.014 · Cited by 89
Reframing PTSD for computational psychiatry with the active inference framework
Linson, A., & Friston, K. (2019) · Cognitive Neuropsychiatry · doi:10.1080/13546805.2019.1665994 · Cited by 81
“More generally still, our notions of embodied and embedded can be understood in relation to the idea that self-preservation amounts to the maintenance of bodily and mental well-being in the face of threats external and internal to the body/environment boundary (Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundSelf-citationSchiller, D., Yu, A. N. C., Alia‐Klein, N., Becker, S., Cromwell, H. C., Dolcos, F., Eslinger, P. J., Frewen, P., Kemp, A. H., Pace-Schott, E. F., et al. (2023) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105450 · Cited by 89
Morriss, J., Gell, M., & van Reekum, C. M. (2018) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.013 · Cited by 76
“It is probable that the brain is geared towards minimising uncertainty, in order to optimise predictions about potential future outcomes, and to make the appropriate actions and decisions about choices (Mirabella, 2014; Peters et al., 2017).”
Emotions as ComputationsPreprint
Emanuel, A., & Eldar, E. (2022) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104977 · Cited by 84
Sterling, P. (2020) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/11472.001.0001 · Cited by 118
Active information sampling varies across the cardiac cycle
Kunzendorf, S., Klotzsche, F., Akbal, M., Villringer, A., Ohl, S., & Gaebler, M. (2019) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.13322 · Cited by 73
Mental Pain as a Transdiagnostic Patient-Reported Outcome Measure
Fava, G. A., Tomba, E., Brakemeier, E.-L., Carrozzino, D., Cosci, F., Eöry, A., Leonardi, T., Schamong, I., & Guidi, J. (2019) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000504024 · Cited by 70
Desplats, P., Gutierrez, A. M., Antonelli, M. C., & Frasch, M. G. (2019) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.013 · Cited by 74
Berger, R., Czakert, J. P., Leuteritz, J., & Leiva, D. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02788 · Cited by 73
Out-of-step: brain-heart desynchronization in anxiety disorders
Tumati, S., Paulus, M. P., & Northoff, G. (2021) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-021-01029-w · Cited by 75
An evolutionary medicine perspective on pain and its disorders
Nesse, R. M., & Schulkin, J. A. (2019) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0288 · Cited by 76
“Cortisol is often thought of as a stress hormone, but it adjusts the body to opportunities as well as threats that change needs for energy metabolism [59,60].”
BackgroundThe Biological Measurements of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction: A Systematic Review
Reive, C. (2019) · EXPLORE · doi:10.1016/j.explore.2019.01.001 · Cited by 63
NIRS measures in pain and analgesia: Fundamentals, features, and function
Karunakaran, K. D., Peng, K., Berry, D., Green, S. A., Labadie, R. F., Kussman, B. D., & Borsook, D. (2020) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.10.023 · Cited by 69
The metamorphosis of adolescent hormonal stress reactivity: A focus on animal models
Romeo, R. D. (2018) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2017.12.003 · Cited by 63
Childhood adversity, mental health, and oxidative stress: A pilot study
Horn, S. R. G.-V., Leve, L. D., Levitt, P. R., & Fisher, P. A. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215085 · Cited by 64
COVID-19: A Boon or a Bane for Creativity?
Mercier, M., Vinchon, F., Pichot, N., Bonetto, É., Bonnardel, N., Girandola, F., & Lubart, T. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.601150 · Cited by 75
Persiani, S. G. L., Kobaş, B., Koth, S. C., & Auer, T. (2021) · Energies · doi:10.3390/en14010232 · Cited by 67
Sabri, B., & Granger, D. A. (2018) · Health Care for Women International · doi:10.1080/07399332.2018.1491046 · Cited by 60
“This in turn, places individuals at risk for health issues such as depression, and stroke (McEwen, 1998; Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundMorriss, J., Wake, S., Elizabeth, C., & van Reekum, C. M. (2021) · Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science · doi:10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.05.011 · Cited by 52
“role of IU-related biases in threat extinction training and have clear implications for neurobiological models of uncertaintyrelated maintenance of anxiety (27,31,32) and future translational work aiming to target IU in exposure-based therapies (26).”
BackgroundRidder, D. D., & Vanneste, S. (2020) · Progress in brain research · doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2020.07.012 · Cited by 60
“, 2017), which increases the reliability or precision of the prior belief (Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundIntolerance of uncertainty heightens negative emotional states and dampens positive emotional states
Morriss, J., Goh, K., Hirsch, C. R., & Dodd, H. F. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1147970 · Cited by 62
“The key findings from this study revealed that individuals with high levels of IU report: (1) that uncertainty in general and uncertainty under ambiguity are more likely to evoke negative emotional states and less likely to evoke positive emotional states, (2) that uncertainty under risk is less likely to evoke positi…”
BackgroundInfluentialArnaldo, I., Corcoran, A. W., Friston, K. J., & Ramstead, M. J. D. (2022) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104590 · Cited by 56
“If the inability to reduce uncertainty is extended over time the system falls into a state of allostatic load (Peters et al., 2017).”
InfluentialSelf-citationAttention and anticipation in response to varying levels of uncertain threat: An ERP study
Tanovic, E., Pruessner, L., & Joormann, J. (2018) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-018-0632-2 · Cited by 58
Obsessive–compulsive symptoms and information seeking during the Covid-19 pandemic
Loosen, A. M., Skvortsova, V., & Hauser, T. U. (2021) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-021-01410-x · Cited by 57
Marsh, E., Vallejos, E. P., & Spence, A. (2024) · Frontiers in Organizational Psychology · doi:10.3389/forgp.2024.1392997 · Cited by 85
Stress & executive functioning: A review considering moderating factors
Plieger, T., & Reuter, M. (2020) · Neurobiology of Learning and Memory · doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107254 · Cited by 73
Lotfan, S., Shahyad, S., Khosrowabadi, R., Mohammadi, A., & Hatef, B. (2018) · Journal of Applied Biomedicine · doi:10.1016/j.bbe.2018.10.008 · Cited by 56
“In general, when individuals are uncertain about the result of some threats from external environment or within the body, stress system is activated [6].”
BackgroundBorderline personality disorder, trauma, and the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis
Thomas, N., Gurvich, C., & Kulkarni, J. (2019) · Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment · doi:10.2147/ndt.s198804 · Cited by 61
“The brain interprets threats based on the current environment (sensory input), modulated by previous experiences (memory), and is dependent on genotype, trait-like responses, and the current reactivity or state of biological systems.(18)”
BackgroundBuilding Resilience: The Stress Response as a Driving Force for Neuroplasticity and Adaptation
Hermans, E. J., Hendler, T., & Kalisch, R. (2024) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.10.016 · Cited by 65
Valuing what happens: a biogenic approach to valence and (potentially) affect
Lyon, P., & Kuchling, F. (2021) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0752 · Cited by 59
“[56] provide an information-theoretic definition of stress that stems from uncertainty in the FEP sense and includes the observation from earlier empirical work that uncertainty increases energy demand [128], an important, well-supported finding that gestures towards the metabolic cost of computing valence and mountin…”
BackgroundPharmacotherapy for Treatment of Cognitive and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms After mTBI
Rabinowitz, A. R., & Watanabe, T. K. (2019) · Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation · doi:10.1097/htr.0000000000000537 · Cited by 53
Cardiovascular mechanisms of interoceptive awareness: Effects of resonance breathing
Leganes‐Fonteneau, M., Bates, M. E., Muzumdar, N., Pawlak, A. P., Islam, S., Vaschillo, E. G., & Buckman, J. F. (2021) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.09.003 · Cited by 63
Unlocking stress and forecasting its consequences with digital technology
Goodday, S., & Friend, S. H. (2019) · npj Digital Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41746-019-0151-8 · Cited by 56
Garfin, D. R., Fischhoff, B., Holman, E. A., & Silver, R. C. (2021) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied · doi:10.1037/xap0000374 · Cited by 51
“Such uncertainty can amplify the role of episodic exposures in shaping stress responses (Peters et al., 2017), risk perceptions (Lichtenstein et al., 1978), and contingent healthprotective behaviors (Dryhurst et al., 2020).”
BackgroundThe Role of Working Memory for Cognitive Control in Anorexia Nervosa versus Substance Use Disorder
Brooks, S. J., Funk, S. G., Young, S. Y., & Schiöth, H. B. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01651 · Cited by 53
“(2015; Peters et al., 2017) suggesting that high levels of uncertainty in the environment regarding future events (e.”
BackgroundResultNucleus accumbens neurochemistry in human anxiety: A 7 T 1H-MRS study
Strasser, A., Xin, L., Rolf Gruetter, A., & Sandi, C. (2018) · European Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.12.015 · Cited by 51
Gyawali, P., Chow, W. Z., Hinwood, M., Kluge, M. G., English, C., Ong, L. K., Nilsson, M., & Walker, F. R. (2020) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2020.00230 · Cited by 51
Popović, D., Bjelobrk, M., Tesic, M. B., Seman, S., Jayasinghe, S. U., Hills, A. P., Babu, A. S., Jakovljević, D. G., Stoner, L. R., Ozemek, C., et al. (2022) · Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases · doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2022.01.008 · Cited by 52
El-Gabalawy, R., & Sommer, J. L. (2021) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0706743721989162 · Cited by 50
“However, it is possible a significant proportion of people may habituate and adjust to the changes and emotional responses which would have been exacerbated early in the pandemic, which has been previously described.(38) However, rates of habituation may vary according to age.”
BackgroundTrust as Extended Control: Human-Machine Interactions as Active Inference
Schoeller, F., Miller, M. M., Salomon, R., & Friston, K. J. (2021) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2021.669810 · Cited by 54
“Technically, this results in an imprecise belief distribution over policies, which is normally associated with negative affect or some form of angst (Seth and Friston, 2016; Badcock et al., 2017; Peters et al., 2017).”
BackgroundSelf-citationMaisto, D., Barca, L., den Bergh, O. V., & Pezzulo, G. (2021) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/rev0000290 · Cited by 60
Hallucinations in posttraumatic stress disorder: insights from predictive coding
Lyndon, S., & Corlett, P. R. (2020) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/abn0000531 · Cited by 48
Trauma-Informed Design of Supported Housing: A Scoping Review through the Lens of Neuroscience
Owen, C., & Crane, J. W. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph192114279 · Cited by 62
“When working appropriately, these three elements enhance an organism’s ability to survive life-threatening events [57,58].”
BackgroundSobolewski, M., Abston, K., Conrad, K., Marvin, E., Harvey, K. E., Susiarjo, M., & Cory‐Slechta, D. A. (2020) · Environmental Health Perspectives · doi:10.1289/ehp4977 · Cited by 49
“Furthermore, PS mayhave had a larger role using di ff erent types of stressors given that the nature and duration of a stressor have been shown to alter long-term, sex-speci fi c neurophysiological responses (McEwen 2010; Peters et al. 2017).”
Jeanneteau, F. D., Borie, A. M., Chao, M. V., & Garabedian, M. J. (2018) · Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1159/000496392 · Cited by 45
Stress and coping among micro-entrepreneurs of peer-to-peer accommodation
Xu, X., Huang, D., & Chen, Q. (2021) · International Journal of Hospitality Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.103009 · Cited by 51
Ylikoski, J. S., Markkanen, M. A., Pirvola, U., Lehtimäki, J., Ylikoski, M. E., Zou, J., Sinkkonen, S. T., & Mäkitie, A. A. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.570196 · Cited by 46
Children Coping, Contextual Risk and Their Interplay During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Spanish Case
Domínguez-Álvarez, B., López‐Romero, L., Isdahl-Troye, A., Fraguela, J. A. G., & Romero, E. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.577763 · Cited by 50
Reis, J. C., Antoni, M. H., & Travado, L. (2020) · CNS Spectrums · doi:10.1017/s1092852918001621 · Cited by 44
The Case for Octopus Consciousness: Valence
Mather, J. A. (2022) · NeuroSci · doi:10.3390/neurosci3040047 · Cited by 45
Johnson, M. L., & Schulkin, J. A. (2023) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/14840.001.0001 · Cited by 44
Steffey, M. A., Griffon, D. J., Risselada, M., Buote, N. J., Scharf, V. F., Zamprogno, H., & Winter, A. L. (2023) · Frontiers in Veterinary Science · doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1184525 · Cited by 59
“Stress originates from dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty (179).”
BackgroundThe Case for Octopus Consciousness: Temporality
Mather, J. A. (2022) · NeuroSci · doi:10.3390/neurosci3020018 · Cited by 43
Neurons as hierarchies of quantum reference frames
Fields, C., Glazebrook, J. F., & Levin, M. (2022) · Biosystems · doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2022.104714 · Cited by 45
“As discussed in [107, 108, 109], the MB of a single neuron includes the pre- and postsynaptic membranes that mediate interactions with other neurons, as well as the overall cell mem-”
BackgroundOccupational Stress Monitoring Using Biomarkers and Smartwatches: A Systematic Review
Morales, A. S., Barbosa, M. L. K., Morás, L. D., Cazella, S. C., Sgobbi, L. F., Junior, I. G. S., & Marques, G. (2022) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s22176633 · Cited by 46
“The cortisol level cycles throughout the day, starting at high levels and gradually decreasing until its lowest level is reached during the night [3], when the production of melatonin begins.”
BackgroundSeven computations of the social brain
Molapour, T., Hagan, C. C., Silston, B., Wu, H., Ramstead, M. J. D., Friston, K. J., & Mobbs, D. (2021) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsab024 · Cited by 44
“This takes us in the direction of emotional inference and the psychopathology of stress (and avoidance)— all of which are especially relevant for social inference and learning (Peters et al., 2017).”
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Peters, A., McEwen, B. S., & Friston, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Lübeck (DE)
- Rockefeller University (US)
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Peters, Achim
- Venue
- Progress in Neurobiology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-09
- Volume
- 156
- Pages
- 164-188
- ISSN
- 0301-0082 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2618517468
- Cited by
- 652
- References
- 216
- Citations by year
- 2026: 53 · 2025: 65 · 2024: 82 · 2023: 90 · 2022: 97 · 2021: 103 · 2020: 74 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 8
- FWCI
- 4.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Progress in Neurobiology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- uncertainty, stress, free energy principle, information theory, entropy (information theory), surprise, brain energy metabolism, allostasis, allostatic load
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain, Diabetes Mellitus, Humans, Memory Disorders, Stress, Psychological, Uncertainty, Atherosclerosis
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
