Mental health and validity of the psycho-neurobiological stress model

Mental health and validity of the psycho-neurobiological stress model

José M. BERTOLÍN-GUILLÉN

Doctor and graduate in Medicine and Surgery; Specialist physician in Psychiatry; Graduate in Psychology; Head of Mental Health and Psychiatry Service (retired) in a Department of Health, Ministry for Universal Healthcare and Public Health, Government of Valencia, Spain, EU

Background and objectives: The public costs of self-reported mental stress and distress are enormous. And both the advance of neurobiology and the modern more biological approach of psychiatry as a whole are considerable. This work intends to provide an essential, updated and objective panoramic view on the neurobiology of all kinds of stress in relation to people’s mental health and pathologies.

Method: Bibliographic indexes such as Pubmed, Psycinfo Journal and Índices CSIC, were consulted, among others. The matter being tackled is extremely profuse, varied and complex, therefore the found literature has been as numerous as heterogeneous. It is also so dispersed that we have conducted a narrative non-systematic review that is intended to be impartial and balanced.

Results: This article will concisely discuss the available, prominent and reliable scientific information regarding the main cerebral structures involved in the experience of stress, such as the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hypothalamus. It will also comment on stress physiology, neuroendocrinology and associated psychopathology, as well as specifically certain genetic variations and linked molecular and immune activities.

Conclusion: We have synthesised the relevant and current scientific knowledge of the correlations among stress, mental health and neurobiology as well as of their reciprocal interactions. There is increasing knowledge of these correlations and interactions, but it remains limited. Accordingly, further research is required.

Keywords: Anterior insular cortex; Basolateral amygdala; Functional genomics; Gene expression; Psychiatric genetics

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How to cite this article:

José M. BERTOLÍN-GUILLÉN. Mental health and validity of the psycho-neurobiological stress model. American Journal of Psychiatric Research and Reviews, 2022; 5:34. DOI: 10.28933/ajprr-2021-12-3105

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