The Influence of Stress on Dopamine Levels :: Biology Essays Research Papers

The Influence of Stress on Dopamine LevelsIn the by-line to survive, every living organism is provide with the armor to withstand the upholds of stress. The Afri fag end savanna leaves the zebra in an anxiety-ridden position of vulnerability to predators. Stress may toilette be as basic as the lack of food, habitat, or productive success. Humans be especially aware of the impacts of stress due to the record of todays contemporary lifestyle. Too many daily demands push aside give a person anything from insomnia to indigestion to depression. Every person is equipped to naturally deal with turgid amounts of stress, but when these amounts exceed what the body can handle, discomfort is considerable.Besides the qualitative approach to coping with stress, what bodily mechanisms are responsible for dealing with anxiety? The sick system is almost altogether credited with this task. The complex interaction system between billions of individual neurons facilitates large number of be haviors that result due to inputs originating inside and outside the organism. Spaces between attached neurons are called synapses, and one way in which they communicate is by send chemical signals called neurotransmitters across the presynaptic membrane to the postsynaptic membrane. Years of nervous system investigate have determined that stress activates the neurotransmitter, dopamine.The functions of dopamine are numerous, but in general it inhibits transmission of nerve impulses. This transmitter is found throughout the body, though mainly housed in the brains interior basil ganglia, in the frontal lobe of the information-processing center of the brain, or in the limbic system (1). galore(postnominal) chronic diseases result from the overproduction or underproduction of dopamine. The dopamines softness to move into the frontal lobe of the brain results in the inability to control delicately motor movement and is familiarly called Parkinson Disease(1) . If the flow of dopamin e throughout the nervous system is not allowed to circulate as usual, then schizophrenia follows (1). forthwith that the extreme abnormalities of dopamine have been discussed, lets look at how dopamine affects the average person who is subjected to a stressful environment. One reflect maintains that the chewing behavior of mice is a response to stress, and therefore it serves as a coping device. The body responds to stress by the activation of the cerebral dopaminergic (DA) system. The work shows that when given the option of chewing, the activation of mouse DA system is emaciated out (2) In other words, when allowed to chew, a mouses body will have prolonged the presence of stress-managers this coping mechanism reduces the impact of the stress.