Abstract
It does not require a very extensive exposure to the relevant literature to appreciate the apparent impossibility of defining stress very rigorously (Mason, 1975a). Stress cannot be defined in terms of the physical properties of the eliciting stimulus as cognitive and emotional factors can change the impact of any stimulus on the same person or animal (Lazarus, 1967; Mason, 1975b). It is equally difficult to define stress as a specific set of physiological responses. Lacey (1967), for instance, has repeatedly pointed out that each “stressor” tends to elicit its own automatic response pattern, while at the same time there is a tendency for individuals to have unique physiological response profiles. Mason (1975b), who measures gonadal, thyroidal, growth hormone, adrenal medullary and insulin activity as well as pituitary-adrenal cortical changes, also emphasizes the specific adaptive pattern of hormone response depending upon the type of stress. Selye’s (1974) definition of stress as the nonspecific response of the body to any demand (whether pleasant or unpleasant) is likely to be too broad (and also too restricting in its focus on only a few responses) to continue to be useful in the future. Perhaps, agreement can be reached only on a very general statement such as an organism is subjected to stress when its adaptive mechanisms are taxed beyond their normal range of functioning either because of the intensity or the duration of the response required. In spite of the difficulty in defining stress, there may still be value in bracketing a field that concentrates on the consequences of straining adaptive mechanisms. Certainly, Selye (1956) has proven the value of such a focus in his highly productive career.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Antelman, S. M., and Szechtman, H. (1975). Tail pinch induces eating in sated rats which appears to depend on nigrostriatal dopamine. Science 189, 731–733.
Antelman, S. M., Szechtman, H., Chin, P., and Fisher, A. E. (1976). Tail-pinch-induced eating, gnawing and licking behavior in rats: Dependence on the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Brain Res. (in press).
Ayhan, I. H., and Randrup, A. (1972). Role of brain noreadrenaline in morphine-induced stereotyped behavior. Psychopharmacologica 27, 203–212.
Barfield, R. J., and Sachs, B. D. (1968). Sexual behavior: Stimulation by painful electric shock to the skin in male rats. Science 161, 392–394.
Berntson, G. G., and Hughes, H. C. (1974). Medullary mechanisms for eating and grooming behaviors in the cat. Exp. Neurol. 44, 255–265.
Berntson, G. G., Potolicchio, S. J., Jr., and Miller, N. E. (1973). Evidence for higher functions of the cerebellum: Eating and grooming elicited by cerebellar stimulation in cats. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 70, 2497–2499.
Caggiula, A. R. (1972). Shock-elicited copulation and aggression in male rats. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 80, 393–397.
Caggiula, A. R., and Eibergen, R. (1969). Copulation of virgin male rats evoked by painful peripheral stimulation. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 69, 414–419.
Devor, M. G., Wise, R. A., Milgram, N. W., and Hoebel, B. G. (1970). Physiological control of hypothalamically elicited feeding and drinking. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 73, 226–232.
DeWied, D. (1974). Pituitary-adrenal system hormones and behavior. In The Neurosciences: Third Study Program (F. O. Schmitt and F. G. Worden, Eds.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, pp. 653–666.
Ellinwood, E. H., Sudilovsky, A., and Nelson, L. (1972). Behavioral analysis of chronic amphetamine intoxication. Biol. Psychiatry 4, 215–230.
Glick, S. D., Jerussi, T. P., Waters, D. H., and Green, J. P. (1974). Amphetamine-induced changes in striatal dopamine and acetylcholine levels and relationship to rotation (circling behavior) in rats. Biochem. Pharmacol. 23, 3223–3225.
Glickman, S. E., and Schiff, B. B. (1967). A biological theory of reinforcement. Psychol Rev. 74, 81–109.
Greer, M. A. (1955). Suggested evidence of a primary “drinking center” in the hypothalamus of the rat. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 89, 59–62.
Hanley, J., Rickles, W. R., Crandall, P. H., and Walter, R. D. (1972). Automatic recognition of EEG correlates of behavior in a chronic schizophrenic patient. Am. J. Psychiatry 128, 1524–1528.
Hess, W. R. (1957). The Functional Organization of the Diencephalon. New York: Grime and Stratton.
Holtzman, P., Proctor, L. R., and Hughes, D. W. (1973). Eye tracking patterns in schizophrenia. Science 181, 179–181.
Lacey, J. I. (1967). Somatic response patterning and stress: Some revisions of activation theory. In Psychological Stress: Issues in Research (M. H. Appley and R. Trumbull, Eds.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, pp. 14–37.
Lazarus, R. S. (1967). Cognitive and personality factors underlying threat and coping. In Psychological Stress: Issues in Research (M. H. Appley and R. Trumbull, Eds.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, pp. 151–169.
Marshall, J. F., and Teitelbaum, P. (1974). Further analysis of sensory inattention following lateral hypothalamic damage in rats. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 86, 375–395.
Marshall, J. F., Turner, B. H., and Teitelbaum, P. (1971). Sensory neglect produced by lateral hypothalamic damage. Science 174, 523–525.
Mason, J. W. (1975). A historical view of the stress field. Part II. J. Human Stress, 1, 22–36.
Mason, J. W. (1975). Emotion as reflected in patterns of endocrine integration. In Emotions—The Parameters and Measurement (L. Levi, Ed.). New York: Raven Press.
Matthysse, S. (1974). Schizophrenia: Relationship to dopamine transmission, motor control, and feature extraction. In The Neurosciences: Third Study Program (F. O. Schmitt and F. G. Worden, Eds.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, pp. 733–737.
McLennan, H., and York, D. H. (1966). Cholinergic mechanisms in the caudate nucleus. J. Physiol. 187, 163–175.
Munkvad, I., Pakkenberg, H., and Randrup, A. (1968). Aminergic systems in basal ganglia associated with stereotyped hyperactive behavior and catalepsy. Brain Behav. Evol. 1, 89–100.
Phillips, A. G., and Fibiger, H. C. (1973). Deficits in stimulation-induced feeding after intraventricular administration of 6-Hydroxydopamine in rats. Behav. Biol. 9, 749–754.
Randrup, A., and Munkvad, I. (1970). Biochemical, anatomical and psychological investigations of stereotyped behavior induced by amphetamines. In Amphetamines and Related Compounds (E. Costa and S. Garratini, Eds.) New York: Raven Press, pp. 695–713.
Roberts, E. (1972). An hypothesis suggesting that there is a deficit in the GABA system in schizophrenia. In Prospects for Research in Schizophrenia (S. Kety and S. Matthysse, Eds.). Neuroscience Research Program Bulletin, Vol. 10 (No. 4), November pp. 468-482.
Roberts, W. W. (1969). Are hypothalamic motivational mechanisms functionally and anatomically specific? Brain, Behav. Evol. 2, 317–342.
Rowland, N. E., and Antelman, S. M. (1976). Stress-induced hyperphagia and obesity in rats: A possible model for understanding human obesity. Science 191, 310–312.
Seeman, P., and Lee, T. (1975). Antipsychotic drugs: Direct correlation between clinical potency and presynaptic action on dopamine neurons. Science 188, 1217–1219.
Selye, H. (1956). The Stress of Life. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Selye, H. (1974). Stress Without Distress. New York: Lippincott.
Shakow, D. (1971). Some observations on the psychology (and some fewer, on the biology) of schizophrenia. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 153, 300–316.
Snyder, S. H. (1974a). Catecholamines as mediators of drug effects in schizophrenia. In The Neurosciences: Third Study Program (F. O. Schmitt and F. G. Worden, Eds.). Cambridge: MIT Press, pp. 721–732.
Snyder, S. H. (1974b). Madness and the Brain, New York: McGraw-Hill.
Steinbaum, E. A., and Miller, N. E. (1965). Obesity from eating elicited by daily stimulation of hypothalamus. Am. J. Physiol. 208, 1–5.
Ungerstedt, U. (1974). Brain dopamine neurons and behavior. In The Neurosciences: Third Study Program (F. O. Schmitt and F. G. Worden, Eds.). Cambridge: MIT Press, pp. 695–703.
Valenstein, E. S. (1969). Behavior elicited by hypothalamic stimulation. A prepotency hypothesis. Brain, Behav. Evol. 2, 295–316.
Valenstein, E. S. (1971). Channeling of responses elicited by hypothalamic stimulation. J. Psychiat. Res. 8, 335–344.
Valenstein, E. S. (1973a). Brain Control: A Critical Examination of Brain Stimulation and Psychosurgery. New York: John Wiley.
Valenstein, E. S. (1973ft). Invited comment: Electrical stimulation and hypothalamic function: Historical perspective. In The Neuropsychology of Thirst: New Findings and Advances in Concepts (A. N. Epstein, H. R. Kissileff, and E. Stellar, Eds.). Washington, D.C.: Winston & Sons, pp. 155–161.
Valenstein, E. S. (1975a). Brain stimulation and behavior control. In Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (J. K. Cole, Ed.). Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
Valenstein, E. S. (1975ft). Persistent problems in the physical control of the brain. James Arthur Lecture on the Evolution of the Human Brain. Published by the American Museum of Natural History, New York.
Valenstein, E. S. (1976a). Brain stimulation and the origin of violent behavior. In Issues in Brain/Behavior Control (W. L. Smith and A. Kling, Eds.). Holliswood, New York: Spectrum Publications, Inc.
Valenstein, E. S. (1976ft). The interpretation of behavior evoked by brain stimulation. In Brain-Stimulation Reward (A. Wauquier and E. T. Rolls, Eds.). Amsterdam: North Holland Publ. Co.
Valenstein, E. S., and Cox, V. C. (1970). The influence of hunger, thirst and previous experience in the test chamber on stimulus-bound eating and drinking. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 70, 189–199.
Valenstein, E. S., Cox, V. C., and Kakolewski, J. W. (1968a). Modification of motivated behavior elicited by electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus. Science 159, 1119–1121.
Valenstein, E. S., Cox, V. C., and Kakolewski, J. W. (1968b). The motivation underlying eating elicited by lateral hypothalamic stimulation. Physiol. Behav. 3, 969–971.
Valenstein, E. S., Cox, V. C., and Kakolewski, J. W. (1970). Reexamination of the role of the hypothalamus in motivated behavior. Psychol. Rev. 77, 16–31.
Valenstein, E. S., Kakolewski, J. W., and Cox, V. C. (1968). A comparison of stimulusbound drinking and drinking induced by water deprivation. Comm. Behav. Biol. 2, 227–233.
Wise, R. A. (1968). Hypothalamic motivational systems: Fixed or plastic neural circuits. Science 162, 377–379.
Zimmerberg, B., Glick, S. D., and Jerussi, T. P. (1974). Neurochemical correlate of a spatial preference in rats. Science 185, 623–625.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1976 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Valenstein, E.S. (1976). Stereotyped Behavior and Stress. In: Serban, G. (eds) Psychopathology of Human Adaptation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2238-2_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2238-2_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-2240-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-2238-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive