Cited by 1,715Stress Responses and CortisolResilience and Mental HealthHealth, psychology, and well-being

Central role of the brain in stress and adaptation: Links to socioeconomic status, health, and disease

Open access
McEwen, Bruce S., Gianaros, Peter J.·2010·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Abstract

The brain is the key organ of stress reactivity, coping, and recovery processes. Within the brain, a distributed neural circuitry determines what is threatening and thus stressful to the individual. Instrumental brain systems of this circuitry include the hippocampus, amygdala, and areas of the prefrontal cortex. Together, these systems regulate physiological and behavioral stress processes, which can be adaptive in the short‐term and maladaptive in the long‐term. Importantly, such stress processes arise from bidirectional patterns of communication between the brain and the autonomic, cardiovascular, and immune systems via neural and endocrine mechanisms underpinning cognition, experience, and behavior. In one respect, these bidirectional stress mechanisms are protective in that they promote short‐term adaptation ( allostasis ). In another respect, however, these stress mechanisms can lead to a long‐term dysregulation of allostasis in that they promote maladaptive wear‐and‐tear on the body and brain under chronically stressful conditions ( allostatic load ), compromising stress resiliency and health. This review focuses specifically on the links between stress‐related processes embedded within the social environment and embodied within the brain, which is viewed as the central mediator and target of allostasis and allostatic load.

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05331.x

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  • The autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are the two main stress response systems of humans.

    “The autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) are considered the two main stress response systems of humans (9, 10).”

    From Physiological attunement and flourishing: understanding the influence of relationships on health (2025) · cites this paper as [9]

    The “Stress, allostasis, and allostatic load” section identifies the HPA axis and autonomic nervous system as systems involved in adaptation to stress. It also lists several other systems and does not designate the HPA axis and ANS as the two main human stress-response systems. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Chronic stress exposure during early development has lasting effects on stress responses.

    “exposure to chronic stress during early development has lasting effects on stress responses (see McEwen & Gianaros 2010 for a review)”

    From Adolescent Suicide as a Failure of Acute Stress-Response Systems. (2019) · cites this paper as McEwen & Gianaros 2010

  • The brain plays a critical role in appraising stressors and in modulating immune system reactivity to physical and social threat.

    “the brain plays a critical role in appraising stressors, as well as in modulating immune system reactivity to physical and social threat”
  • Allostatic load theory holds that physiological wear and tear results from chronic activation of stress systems.

    “This idea is formalized in allostatic load theory, which holds that physiological wear and tear result from chronic activation of stress systems (McEwen & Gianaros, 2010; McEwen & Stellar, 1993).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [76]McEwen BS Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: central role of the brain. Physiol. Rev 2007 87 873 904 17615391
  2. [105]Kuroda Y McEwen BS Effect of chronic restraint stress and tianeptine on growth factors, GAP-43 and MAP2 mRNA expression in the rat hippocampus. Mol. Brain Res 1998 59 35 39 9729259
  3. [195]Phillips ML Neurobiology of emotion perception II: implications for major psychiatric disorders. Biol. Psychiatry 2003 54 515 528 12946880
  4. [269]Szeszko PR Brain-derived neurotrophic factor val66met polymorphism and volume of the hippocampal formation. Mol. Psychiat 2005 10 631 636 15768049

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Authors
McEwen, B. S., & Gianaros, P. J.
Affiliations
  • Rockefeller University (US)
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
Corresponding author
McEwen, Bruce S.
Venue
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2010-02
Volume
1186
Issue
1
Pages
190-222
ISSN
  • 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
  • 1749-6632
OpenAlex
W1686749590
Cited by
1,715
References
331
Citations by year
2026: 99 · 2025: 117 · 2024: 91 · 2023: 101 · 2022: 135 · 2021: 120 · 2020: 138 · 2019: 109 · 2018: 98 · 2017: 117 · 2016: 102 · 2015: 111 · 2014: 100 · 2013: 89 · 2012: 95
FWCI
7.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health (MH41256, MH58911)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL089850)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (5P01 MH58911, K01MH070616, R01 MH41256, P50MH058911, R01MH041256)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, psychology, and well-being
Keywords
stress, allostasis, allostatic load, socioeconomic status, stress reactivity, coping, hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, stress resilience, neuroimmune interactions, chronic stress, health and disease, social environment
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Physiological, Amygdala, Brain, Health Status, Hippocampus, Humans, Social Class, Stress, Physiological, Allostasis

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