Chronic Stress Could Damage Brain

[Guest guest]

Chronic Stress Could Damage Brain

April 14, 1999

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NYT Syndicate) - Prolonged stress may damage the brain,

according to one prominent neuroscientist speaking Tuesday at a scientific

meeting.

Discussing research findings at " Neuroscience 2000, " a worldwide gathering of

neurologists sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based Society for

Neuroscience, Sapolsky of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.,

described the havoc caused by the constant release of stress hormones — a

phenomenon triggered by modern life, in his view.

Much of Sapolsky's research involves stress hormones called glucocorticoids.

Mammals release such stress hormones at times of extreme physical danger,

when the compounds are needed to provide quick bursts of energy. But this

stress response may be triggered continually over the course of a

tension-filled modern day, Sapolsky argued. " Thinking about the ozone layer,

ethnic cleansing, Tripp — these are not appropriate sources of stress

for healthy mammals, " he said.

Over the long term, research in his lab has shown, glucocorticoids kill brain

cells associated with memory. Much of the memory loss that people take for

granted as a normal part of aging may result from stress-induced brain

damage, Sapolsky suggested. In particular, he said, one part of the brain

called the hippocampus atrophies under repeated assault by stress hormones, a

phenomenon seen in people with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure and colitis all have stress

components, he added. Scientific findings have revealed stressed-out people's

brains trigger the release of glucocorticoid hormones, which can exacerbate

these ailments.

Body functions not immediately needed for survival are shut down during

stress, and digestion, growth and reproduction activities all slow.

Gastrointestinal disorders and impotence can happen as a result. The immune

system shuts down as part of the stress response as well, lowering resistance

to infectious disease, according to the researcher.

Doctors' use of certain stress hormones to treat arthritis should generate

concern, said Sapolsky. Steroids such as hydrocortisone, a stress hormone

used to treat the joint ailment, may damage the hippocampus and has been

linked to cases of " steroid dementia, " he noted.

Stress-alleviation activities, like exercise, that lower blood pressure and

improve cardiovascular fitness overall can help people avoid stress-related

disorders, said Sapolsky, who cautioned that each individual has different

tastes. " What you enjoy doing may be someone else's version of hell, " he

joked.

A celebration of the 1990s' designation as the " Decade of the Brain, "

Neuroscience 2000 took place here Monday and Tuesday at the National Academy

of Science. Researchers at the meeting spoke on advances in brain imaging,

chemistry and treatment achieved over the past 10 years. Dr. Rodolfo Llinas,

a neurologist at New York University, displayed real-time magnetic resonance

images of the electrical activity inside the brain of a running man, a

scientific first. Neurologists have only recently started seeing how all

parts of the brain work together to perform specific functions, said Llinas.

" A lot will happen in the field in the next century, " he predicted.

Copyright 1999 The New York Times Syndicate. All rights reserved.