Stress and Health

A brief primer. The brevity allows flexibility in how instructors may use the book and keeps it useful and appealing to undergraduate as well as graduate students. Given the audience of behavioral (not biological) students, Lovallo's guiding principle is to avoid making the biological side of the equation overly complex.

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'This is one of the best books written to address effects of stress on health. It is well written and it is easy to understand. Experts as well as those new to the field will find this book informative and enjoyable. In his approach to the topic of stress and health, Dr. Lovallo presents well-integrated, coherent coverage of the latest scientific finding from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine. This is indeed a rich and interesting reading to scientists and clinicians all over the world' -Mustafa al'Absi, University of Minnesota School of Medicine How can the state of our mind affect the state of our body? Our daily lives pose a constantly changing set of challenges that evoke our emotions and sometimes cause us distress. These experiences can alter the state of our bodies, and as a result affect our health. This second edition examines the biological links between our emotions and changes in our health. Author William R. Lovallo provides an introduction to the concept of psychological stress, its physiological manifestations, and its effects on health and disease.The book concentrates on the psychophysiological relationship between cognitions, emotions, brain functions, and the peripheral mechanisms by which the body is regulated.
Key Features Gives behavioral science students an overview of the biological effects of stress without being overly complex Includes pedagogical features such as chapter-opening introductions, figures and tables, chapter summaries, and recommendations for further reading Allows for flexibility of use in the classroom since the book's brevity makes it applicable to a variety of course settings New to the Second Edition All chapters have been updated, and emerging areas of research have been given increased coverage Two new chapters have been added on stress and the endocrine system (Chapter 7) and on genes, stress, and behavior (Chapter 10) Chapter 4 more closely integrates the discussion of the autonomic nervous system, endocrine function, and the central nervous system in terms of both normal function and stress conditions Chapter 6 on central nervous system integrations of the psychological stress response emphasizes how the brain forms emotional states Chapter 12 concludes the book by incorporating new studies of gene-environment interactions and the correlation of mind-body issues Illustrations have been improved throughout the text Stress and Health is the only book on the biology of psychological stress for students and researchers in the behavioral sciences.It is an excellent textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying the relationship between stress and health in psychology, physiology, behavioral medicine, nursing, the neurosciences, and related fields.