1 / 19

Biology of Resilience: Oxytocin, Positive Adaptation, and Health

Biology of Resilience: Oxytocin, Positive Adaptation, and Health. Laura D. Kubzansky, PhD, MPH Harvard School of Public Health. Workshop on Advancing Integrative Psychological Research on Adaptive and Healthy Aging NIA / IPSR University of California, Berkeley May 21, 2009.

kiona
Download Presentation

Biology of Resilience: Oxytocin, Positive Adaptation, and Health

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Biology of Resilience: Oxytocin, Positive Adaptation, and Health Laura D. Kubzansky,PhD, MPH Harvard School of Public Health Workshop on Advancing Integrative Psychological Research on Adaptive and Healthy Aging NIA / IPSR University of California, Berkeley May 21, 2009

  2. Psychosocial Distress vs. Conventional Risk Factors for Acute MI: The INTERHEART Study Attributable Risk = 32.5% From Yusuf et al. Lancet, 364:937-952, 2004

  3. Can Emotions Confer Resilience? Emotional Vitality and CHD Adjusted for known coronary risk factors & depression From Kubzansky & Thurston, Archives of General Psychiatry, 2007

  4. Informing the Agenda on Resilience and Disease Prevention • Positive factors are more than the absence of negative factors • Findings for positive and negative emotion importance of regulating emotion • Leads to a life course perspective on emotion • Biologically basic • Learning to regulate is a major developmental task with consequences for later adaptation • Patterns of response shaped by social processes • Significant neurobiological component

  5. Emotional response patterns start early, are shaped by social processes, and have cumulative health effects over the life course What is the underlying neurobiology?

  6. Neurobiological Underpinnings: Oxytocin, Stress Buffering, & Resilience Positive Social Interaction • Inhibits stress-induced responsivity of • HPA axis • Central regulator of attachment and • prosocial behavior OXYTOCIN RELEASE Attachment or Bonding HEALTH Sustained Anti-Stress Effects & Growth Effective Emotion Regulation OXYTOCIN RELEASE

  7. Neurobiological Underpinnings:Oxytocin, Stress Buffering, & Resilience Research in progress… • Established the Society & Health Psychophysiology Laboratory • Studying biological & behavioral effects of oxytocin and social support on stress response in humans • Experimental methodology • Placebo-controlled double blind design • Manipulate oxytocin and social support • Measure cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, affective responses in men and women

  8. Stress-Buffering Effects of Oxytocin& Social Support: Preliminary Findings From NIA R21: Biology of Resilience: Oxytocin, Social Relationships, and Health

  9. Stress-Buffering Effects of Oxytocin & Social Support: Preliminary Findings From NIA R21: Biology of Resilience: Oxytocin, Social Relationships, and Health

  10. Stress-Buffering Effects of Oxytocin & Social Support: Preliminary Findings From NIA R21: Biology of Resilience: Oxytocin, Social Relationships, and Health

  11. Neurobiological Underpinnings:A Cells to Society Approach Link molecular / cellular information with higher level adaptational processes … • Molecular mechanisms underlying effects of emotions • How do these get laid down over time? • Set up trajectories for future outcomes? • Translate questions derived from population-based research into experimental studies • Elucidate mechanisms • Address concerns of reverse causality or spuriousness

  12. Core Research Team • Gail Adler, MD • Jason Block, MD • Markus Heinrichs, PhD • Wendy Berry Mendes, PhD • Research Assistants and Study MDs

  13. General Model of Emotion and Health Social Context Personality Positive emotional responses Benign appraisal Negative emotional responses Appraisal of demands and coping capabilities Perceived stress Physiological responses (immune, ANS, HPA) Behavioral responses Disease Processes

  14. Distress and Incident CHD: Prospective Epidemiologic Studies Depression Anxiety From Kubzansky LD. Cleve Clin J Med, 74(Suppl 1):S67-S72, 2007.

  15. Pathways Between Emotion and CHD: Cumulative Effects • Biological pathways (direct effects) • SNS, HPA activation • Electrical stability of the heart (HRV) • Platelet aggregation and thrombosis • Immune function/inflammation • Social and behavioral pathways (indirect effects) • Health behaviors (smoking, physical activity) • Coping resources • Social relationships (emotions promote / disrupt)

  16. Benefits of Healthy Psychological Functioning • Flexibility • Rapid recovery from negative experiences • Enhanced resources • Positive and negative emotions are not bipolar ends of a continuum • Capacity for managing emotions

  17. General Model of Emotion and Health Social Environment Physical Environment Personality / Temperament Behavioral responses Emotional Responses (positive or negative) Health & Disease Biological responses Neurobiology Early Life Adolescence Adulthood Later Life

  18. Childhood Psychological Attributes and Adult Physical Health Adjusted for SES, sex, race/ethnicity, child health From Kubzansky et al., Health Psychology, In press.

More Related