Rethinking Homeostasis: Allostatic Regulation in Physiology and Pathophysiology

Jay Schulkin

MIT Press, 2003 - Medical - 296 pages

An overview of allostasis, the process by which the body maintains overall viability under normal and adverse conditions.

Homeostasis, a key concept in biology, refers to the tendency toward stability in the various bodily states that make up the internal environment. Examples include temperature regulation and oxygen consumption. The body's needs, however, do not remain constant. When an organism is under stress, the central nervous system works with the endocrine system to use resources to maintain the overall viability of the organism. The process accelerates the various systems' defenses of bodily viability, but can violate short-term homeostasis. This allostatic regulation highlights our ability to anticipate, adapt to, and cope with impending future events.

In Rethinking Homeostasis, Jay Schulkin defines and explores many aspects of allostasis, including the wear and tear on tissues and accelerated pathophysiology caused by allostatic overload. Focusing on the concept of motivation and its relationship to the central nervous system function and specific hormonal systems, he applies a neuroendocrine perspective to central motive states such as cravings for water, sodium, food, sex, and drugs. He examines in detail the bodily consequences of the behavioral and neuroendocrine regulation of fear and adversity, the endocrine regulation of normal and preterm birth, and the effects of drug addiction on the body. Schulkin's presentation of allostasis lays the foundation for further study.

Contents

• Chapter: 1
• Feedforward Neuroendocrine Systems: 29
• Adrenal Steroid: 63
• Chapter 4: 103
• Chapter 5: 131
• Adaptation Allostasis and Anticipation: 161
• References: 175
• Name Index: 279
• Subject Index: 287

Popular passages

Page 177 - Antoch, MP, Song, EJ, Chang, AM, Vitaterna, MH, Zhao, Y, Wilsbacher, LD, Sangoram, AM, King, DP, Pinto, LH, and Takahashi, JS (1997).‎

Page 209 - PW (2000) Oral administration of a corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor antagonist significantly attenuates behavioral, neuroendocrine and autonomic responses to stress in primates. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 97: 6079-6084.‎

Page 255 - Sawchenko PE and Swanson LW (1982) The organization of noradrenergic pathways from the brainstem to the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei in the rat.‎

Page 192 - Persistent elevations of cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of corticotropin-releasing factor in adult nonhuman primates exposed to earlylife stressors: Implications for the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders.‎

Page 221 - Hellhammer, DH (1995). Persistent high Cortisol responses to repeated psychological stress in a subpopulation of healthy men.‎

Page 260 - Smith GW, Aubry JM, Dellu F, Contarino A, Bilezikjian LM, Gold LH, Chen R, Marchuk Y, Hauser C, Bentley CA, Sawchenko PE, Koob GF, Vale W, Lee KF: Corticotropin releasing factor receptor 1-deficient mice display decreased anxiety, impaired stress response, and aberrant neuroendocrine development.‎

Page 239 - Reduced corticotropin releasing factor binding sites in the frontal cortex of suicide victims.‎

Page 255 - Kuhn, CM (1984). Tactile and nutritional aspects of maternal care: specific regulators of neuroendocrine function and cellular development.‎

About the author

Jay Schulkin is Research Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Georgetown University, where he is also a member of the Center for the Brain Basis of Cognition.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Rethinking Homeostasis: Allostatic Regulation in Physiology and Pathophysiology; Bradford Bks; Mit Press
• Author: Jay Schulkin
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: MIT Press, 2003
• ISBN: 0262194805, 9780262194808
• Length: 296 pages
• Subjects: Medical / Endocrinology & Metabolism; Medical / Hematology; Medical / Neuroscience