Revisiting the Stress Concept: Implications for Affective Disorders

Over the last 50 years, the concept of stress has evolved significantly, and our understanding of the underlying neurobiology has expanded dramatically. Rather than consider stress biology to be relevant only under unusual and threatening conditions, we conceive of it as an ongoing, adaptive process of assessing the environment, coping with it, and enabling the individual to anticipate and deal with future challenges. Though much remains to be discovered, the fundamental neurocircuitry that underlies these processes has been broadly delineated, key molecular players have been identified, and the impact of this system on neuroplasticity has been well established. More recently, we have come to appreciate the…

• HF
  Hope for Depression Research Foundation
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: MH41256
• OO
  Office of Naval Research

  Awards: N00014-12-1-0366, N00014-12-1, N00014
• NI
  National Institute of Mental Health

  Award: MH41256