Stress & Health: Biological and Psychological Interactions (Behavioral Medicine and Health Psychology) - Hardcover

Lovallo, William R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803970005 ISBN 13: 9780803970007

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc, 1997

Synopsis

`An exemplary introduction to the concept of psychological stress, its physiological mechanisms, and its effects on health and disease.... Each chapter contains a summary and list of further reading. There is an interesting historical section as well as sound treatment of current research. His thesis is that we are "living beings whose behaviour is not separate from our physical makeup and whose health is not separate from our thoughts and emotions"' - Scientific and Medical Network Journal

This thought-provoking book examines the biological links between how we think and feel, and the potential changes in our health that result from stress.

The author examines: how the mind/body dichotomy developed historically, with resultant difficulties for research into how social processes and emotions improve or worsen health; the psychophysiological linkages between cognition, emotion, the brain and peripheral mechanisms by which the body is regulated; and how individual differences in physiology and evaluations of events can have physical and long-term consequences. The book also provides a general understanding of how central nervous system mechanisms connect thoughts and emotions to autonomic and endocrine processes.

About this title

Review:

"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 2004-04-01)

"This book does a splendid job of filling a gap in the literature on stress and health; that gap being the need for an articulate introductory compendium that integrates what is know about the physiology of stress with that of thoughts and emotions. This updated and expanded second edition also ventures into new territories, including two new chapters, one on the topic of central nervous system control of stress hormone secretion and the other on the topic of genes, stress and behavior, describing how genes shape the stress response and how genes can create vulnerabilities to stress. Given the increasing importance that modern medicine is placing on genomics, this chapter is particularly timely. Considering that the new National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research initiative emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research that is inclusive of behavior for the success of future clinical research, the material in this new edition will be useful for students and scientists wishing to better understand mechanisms of how our mind and psychosocial factors affect states of health and disease."

(Paul J. Mills 2004-04-01)

"Stress and Health...Second Edition is an excellent graduate-level textbook that explores the 'black boxes' that may account for the associations observed between psychological stress and disease.... In sum, this book is highly recommended to instructors of graduate level or advanced undergraduate courses with a focus on the psychophysiology of stress.... This will be a useful addition to your library." (Thomas Kamarck PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, 42(2005) 2005-12-21)

About the Author:

William R. Lovallo (PhD, biological psychology, University of Oklahoma, 1978) conducts research on relationships between stress, biological responses, and their implications for health. His current projects address cardiovascular and endocrine responses during mental stress and effects on persons at risk for alcoholism and other addictions. He has served as director of the Behavioral Sciences Laboratories and as senior research career scientist at the VA Medical Center and is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. Lovallo has also served as associate director of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Research Network on Mind-Body Interactions. He is on advisory committees for the National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Administration.

About this edition

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0803970005
• ISBN 13: 9780803970007
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224