Neurobiology of Stress

A cross-sectional national telephone survey was used to determine whether Christian Scientists (N = 230), a religious group that uses mind/body (including spiritual) healing, self-report more or less illness than non-Christian Scientists (N = 589). The primary outcome measure was the proportion of Christian Scientists and non-Christian Scientists that, during the previous 12 months: a) experienced any of 13 common medical conditions or symptoms; and b) used conventional medicine, unco […]

Stress is a well-known risk factor in the development of addiction and in addiction relapse vulnerability. A series of population-based and epidemiological studies have identified specific stressors and individual-level variables that are predictive of substance use and abuse. Preclinical research also shows that stress exposure enhances drug self-administration and reinstates drug seeking in drug-experienced animals. The deleterious effects of early life stress, child maltreatment, a […]

This study evaluated the efficacy of the relaxation response on the postoperative recovery of 27 cardiac surgery patients randomly assigned to one of two groups. Thirteen experimental group patients received educational information and practiced eliciting the relaxation response before and after surgery. The 14 patients in the control group received only information. Experimental and control groups were compared before and after surgery on both physiological and psychological recovery […]