Allostasis: A model of predictive regulation

Sterling, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.06.004

Cited by 778 publications

(676 citation statements)

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“…The concept of allostasis was introduced in 1988 in part to account for such lifestyle diseases and dysfunctional physiological states that develop under a sustained burden of stressors (Sterling and Eyer 1988;Sterling 2004). Although the validity of the claimed differences between allostasis and homeostasis has been energetically debated (McEwen 1998;McEwen and Wingfield 2003;Woods and Ramsay 2007;Booth 2008;Cooper 2008;Romero et al 2009;Koolhaas et al 2011;Sterling 2012;Ramsay and Woods 2014), the discussion has drawn attention to important aspects of physiological regulation and to changes that occur during adaptation (acclimatisation) of the individual to environmental conditions and during chronic stress. The reader is referred to the above references for a history and comparative analysis of the concepts of homeostasis and allostasis.…”

Section: Effects From Underload and Overload By Environmental Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience in farm animals: biology, management, breeding and implications for animal welfare

2016

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Abstract.A capacity for the animal to recover quickly from the impact of physical and social stressors and disease challenges is likely to improve evolutionary fitness of wild species and welfare and performance of farm animals. Salience and valence of stimuli sensed through neurosensors, chemosensors and immunosensors are perceived and integrated centrally to generate emotions and engage physiological, behavioural, immune, cognitive and morphological responses that defend against noxious challenges. These responses can be refined through experience to provide anticipatory and learned reactions at lower cost than innate less-specific reactions. Influences of behaviour type, coping style, and affective state and the relationships between immune responsiveness, disease resistance and resilience are reviewed. We define resilience as the capacity of animals to cope with short-term perturbations in their environment and return rapidly to their pre-challenge status. It is manifested in response to episodic, sporadic or situation-specific attributes of the environment and can be optimised via facultative learning by the individual. It is a comparative measure of differences between individuals in the outcomes that follow exposure to potentially adverse situations. In contrast, robustness is the capacity to maintain productivity in a wide range of environments without compromising reproduction, health and wellbeing. Robustness is manifested in response to persistent or cyclical attributes of the environment and is effected via activity of innate regulatory pathways. We suggest that for farm animals, husbandry practices that incorporate physical and social stressors and interactions with humans such as weaning, change of housing, and introduction to the milking parlour can be used to characterise resilience phenotypes. In these settings, resilience is likely to be more readily identified through the rate of return of variables to pre-challenge or normal status rather than through measuring the activity of diverse stress response and adaptation mechanisms. Our strategy for phenotyping resilience of sheep and cattle during weaning is described. Opportunities are examined to increase resilience through genetic selection and through improved management practices that provide emotional and cognitive enrichment and stress inoculation.Additional keywords: affective state, allostasis, animal behaviour, animal temperament, animal welfare, disease resistance, genetic selection, homeostasis, resilience, robustness, stress inoculation.

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Section: Effects From Underload and Overload By Environmental Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience in farm animals: biology, management, breeding and implications for animal welfare

2016

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“…We suggest incorporating the theory of allostasis and methods for assessing allostatic load within anthropological theory and methodology to aid in closing this gap. As a theory, allostasis was developed to explain how mammalian physiological responses to stressors in their environments evolved to maximize the probability of survival while limiting somatic damage (Korte, Koolhaas, Wingfield, & McEwen, 2005;McEwen & Stellar, 1993;McEwen & Wingfield, 2003;Sterling, 2004Sterling, , 2012Sterling & Eyer, 1988). Unfortunately, such beneficial defensive responses come at a cost and, over time, repeated allostatic activity (i.e., stress responses) leads to systemic somatic damage and loss of resilience to additional stressors.…”

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confidence: 99%

Allostatic load and biological anthropology

Edes

Crews

2017

American J Phys Anthropol

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Multiple stressors affect developing and adult organisms, thereby partly structuring their phenotypes. Determining how stressors influence health, well-being, and longevity in human and nonhuman primate populations are major foci within biological anthropology. Although much effort has been devoted to examining responses to multiple environmental and sociocultural stressors, no holistic metric to measure stress-related physiological dysfunction has been widely applied within biological anthropology. Researchers from disciplines outside anthropology are using allostatic load indices (ALIs) to estimate such dysregulation and examine life-long outcomes of stressor exposures, including morbidity and mortality. Following allostasis theory, allostatic load represents accumulated physiological and somatic damage secondary to stressors and senescent processes experienced over the lifespan. ALIs estimate this wear-and-tear using a composite of biomarkers representing neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune systems. Across samples, ALIs are associated significantly with multiple individual characteristics (e.g., age, sex, education, DNA variation) of interest within biological anthropology. They also predict future outcomes, including aspects of life history variation (e.g., survival, lifespan), mental and physical health, morbidity and mortality, and likely health disparities between groups, by stressor exposures, ethnicity, occupations, and degree of departure from local indigenous life ways and integration into external and commodified ones. ALIs also may be applied to similar stress-related research areas among nonhuman primates. Given the reports from multiple research endeavors, here we propose ALIs may be useful for assessing stressors, stress responses, and stress-related dysfunction, current and long-term cognitive function, health and well-being, and risk of early mortality across many research programs within biological anthropology. K E Y W O R D Saging, allostasis, frailty, growth and development, nonhuman primates, senescence, stress | I N T R O D U C T I O NTraditional research foci within biological anthropology include variations in stress, morbidity, and mortality (for reviews, see Ice & James, 2007;Little, 2010). Despite this long-term focus, the field continues to pursue a reliable, relatively easy to apply metric for assessing lifetime stress and stress-related outcomes. We suggest incorporating the theory of allostasis and methods for assessing allostatic load within anthropological theory and methodology to aid in closing this gap. As a theory, allostasis was developed to explain how mammalian physiological responses to stressors in their environments evolved to maximize the probability of survival while limiting somatic damage (Korte, Koolhaas, Wingfield, & McEwen, 2005;McEwen & Stellar, 1993;McEwen & Wingfield, 2003;Sterling, 2004Sterling, , 2012Sterling & Eyer, 1988). Unfortunately, such beneficial defensive responses come at a cost and, over time, repeated allostatic activi...

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“…Health is not just a static point of equilibrium; it also involves the capacity to adapt to the environment and meet external and internal demands. 90 Allostasis is a more recent model of regulation and is focused on anticipatory responses to predicted demands. 90,91 This model highlights the importance of brain control over regulatory processes, allowing stability points to fluctuate according to environmental demands.…”

Section: Brain Energy Metabolism and Stress Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…90 Allostasis is a more recent model of regulation and is focused on anticipatory responses to predicted demands. 90,91 This model highlights the importance of brain control over regulatory processes, allowing stability points to fluctuate according to environmental demands. 90,91 Allostasis also involves an intricate and orchestrated network of mediators 92 that enhance regulation efficiency through broad and complementary responses.…”

Section: Brain Energy Metabolism and Stress Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The "selfish brain" hypothesis for metabolic abnormalities in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

Mansur

Brietzke

2012

Trends Psychiatry Psychother.

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A hipótese do "cérebro egoísta" para alterações metabólicas no transtorno bipolar e na esquizofreniaThe "selfish brain" hypothesis for metabolic abnormalities in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia AbstractMetabolic abnormalities are frequent in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD), leading to a high prevalence of diabetes and metabolic syndrome in this population. Moreover, mortality rates among patients are higher than in the general population, especially due to cardiovascular diseases. Several neurobiological systems involved in energy metabolism have been shown to be altered in both illnesses; however, the cause of metabolic abnormalities and how they relate to schizophrenia and BD pathophysiology are still largely unknown. The "selfish brain" theory is a recent paradigm postulating that, in order to maintain its own energy supply stable, the brain modulates energy metabolism in the periphery by regulation of both allocation and intake of nutrients. We hypothesize that the metabolic alterations observed in these disorders are a result of an inefficient regulation of the brain energy supply and its compensatory mechanisms. The selfish brain theory can also expand our understanding of stress adaptation and neuroprogression in schizophrenia and BD, and, overall, can have important clinical implications for both illnesses. Keywords: Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, metabolism, brain metabolism, stress, allostasis. ResumoAlterações metabólicas são frequentes em pacientes com esquizofrenia e transtorno bipolar (TB), levando a uma alta prevalên-cia de diabetes e síndrome metabólica nessa população. Além disso, as taxas de mortalidade entre pacientes são mais altas do que na população geral, especialmente em decorrência de doenças cardiovasculares. Vários sistemas neurobiológicos envolvidos no metabolismo energético têm demonstrado alterações nas duas doenças; no entanto, a causa das alterações metabó-licas e a forma como elas se relacionam com a fisiopatologia da esquizofrenia e do TB ainda são arenas em grande parte desconhecidas. A teoria do "cérebro egoísta" é um paradigma recente que postula que, para manter estável seu próprio fornecimento de energia, o cérebro modula o metabolismo da energia na periferia regulando tanto a alocação quanto a ingestão de nutrientes. Apresentamos neste artigo a hipótese de que as alterações metabólicas observadas nesses transtornos são resultado de uma regulação ineficiente do fornecimento de energia do cérebro e seus mecanismos compensatórios. A teoria do cérebro egoísta também pode expandir nosso entendimento sobre a adaptação ao estresse e a neuroprogressão na esquizofrenia e no TB, e, acima de tudo, pode ter implicações clínicas importantes para as duas doenças. Descritores: Esquizofrenia, transtorno bipolar, metabolismo, metabolismo cerebral, estresse, alostase.

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Allostasis: A model of predictive regulation

Cited by 778 publications

References 35 publications

Resilience in farm animals: biology, management, breeding and implications for animal welfare

Resilience in farm animals: biology, management, breeding and implications for animal welfare

Allostatic load and biological anthropology

The "selfish brain" hypothesis for metabolic abnormalities in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

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