[Stress and allostasis: problems, outlooks and relationships]

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Psychology
• Neuroscience

Context:

• The concept of stress has evolved significantly since its early descriptions.
• Understanding stress requires an interdisciplinary approach, integrating physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and subjective aspects.
• Existing stress models face challenges in terminology, the dual nature of stress (distress and eustress), and the integration of cognitive factors.

Purpose:

• To critically examine the concept of stress and its historical development.
• To address the ambiguities and contradictions within the stress concept.
• To propose the theory of allostasis as a framework to resolve these issues and model stress phenomena.

Summary:

• The paper reviews the historical contributions to stress research, including Claude Bernard, Walter Cannon, and Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome.
• It identifies key challenges in stress research: terminological ambiguity, the dichotomy of distress and eustress, and the underestimation of cognitive factors in physiological studies.
• The authors introduce allostasis theory as a more comprehensive model of adaptation than homeostasis, offering a framework to understand and model distress and eustress phenomena through allostatic states.

Impact:

• Provides a clearer, more integrated understanding of stress and adaptation.
• Offers a theoretical model (allostasis) to reconcile conflicting views on stress.
• Highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research and cognitive factors in stress physiology.