[Stress: postulates, analysis in terms of the general theory of functional systems]

Further developing of the general theory of stress, put forward by Selye, the theory of functional systems treats stress, of any origin, as a systemic response of the organism to a conflict situation. The theory of functional systems regards, along with the action of stressors, the conflict behavioral situation in which the subjects are deprived of a possibility to satisfy their main requirements, i. e. attainment of useful adaptation results, as the leading cause of stress. It is the conflict behavioral situation that gives rise to the primary reaction of the organism, viz. psychoemotional stress. Cerebral mechanisms of emotional stress in terms of the theory of functional systems are primary in the pathogenesis of psychomotor disorders in stress. The specific neurochemical changes in the limbico-reticular structures of the brain, certain neurochemical disintegration of the neuronal elements, constituting the limbico-reticular structures of the brain, underlie emotional stress. Our experiments showed that predisposition to emotional stress is accounted for by the decreased level of catecholamines and certain oligopeptides such as substance PI (?), beta-endorphins, peptide, causing delta-sleep in the limbico-reticular structures of the brain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)