Drugs and Stress

Paper Summary:

The paper examines how drugs may change the perception of stress or activities under stress and affect adaptation to stress. The paper discusses how medications have an effect on the brain under stress and stress perception may be altered by circuitously avoiding the effects of normal neuro-transmissions, such as with Ecstasy and Prozac. The paper also looks at drugs such as Inderal and other antidepressant medication that alter the response to stress in the brain, allowing the body to function as it would normally under stress-free situations. Copies of the sources used for the paper are appended to this document.

From the Paper:

"Stress may make a person alert, but it also restricts the activities of the mind and body. A study done at Ohio State University finds that taking a common drug, a beta-blocker sold as Inderal and by other generic names, restores the mental flexibility that disappears when stress takes over the brain. Inderal restores problem-solving ability in people under stress. The findings were reported in 2005 at the Society for Neuroscience in Washington. A group of people made about 40% fewer correct answers on a test after watching a stressful movie than they did after watching a comedy film, yet memory was not affected."

Sample of Sources Used:

• DeNoon, D. (2005). Drug counters mental effect of stress. Annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Washington: Ohio State University. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/517206.
• Harris, S.M. (2005). Unified theory of the nervous system and behavior. Retrieved from http://www.stevenharris.com/theory/139.html.
• Holroyd, K., O'Donnell, F.J. (2001). Management of chronic tension-type headache with Tricyclic Antidepressant medication, stress management therapy and their combination. Journal of American Medical Association. Vol. 285, No. 17, May 2, 2001.
• Maes, M., Song, C., Lin, A., deJohng, R., van Gastel, A, Kenis, G., et al. (1999). The effects of psychological stress on humans: increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and a th1-like response in stress-induced anxiety. Clinical Research Center for Mental Health. Antwerp, Belgium. Retrieved from http://paperairplane.mit.edu/16.423J/Space/SBE/projects/Immunology/REFERENC/MAES1998.PDF.
• Song, C, Kenis, G., van Gastel, A., Bosmans, E., Lin, A., de Jong, R., Neels, H., Scharpe, et al. (1999). Influence of psychological stress on immune-inflammatory variables in normal humans. Part II. Altered serum concentrations of natural anti-inflammatory agents and soluble membrane antigens of monocytes and T lymphocytes. Psychiatry Research, Vol. 85, 3. Retrieved from http://www.psy-journal.com/article/PIIS0165178199000128/abstract.

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