 | UNITY OF KNOWLEDGE: THE CONVERGENCE OF NATURAL AND HUMAN SCIENCE
Copyright © 2001 by the New York Academy of Sciences
description
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 935:42-49 (2001)
© 2001 New York Academy of Sciences
From Molecules to Mind
Stress, Individual Differences, and the Social Environment
Bruce S. McEwen
Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA
Address for correspondence: Bruce S. McEwen, Rockefeller University, Box 165, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021. Voice: 212-327-8624; fax: 212-327-8634.
mcewen{at}rockvax.rockefeller.edu
The social and physical environments in which we live have an enormous impact on our physiology and behavior and influence the process of adaptation, or "allostasis." Genes, early development, adult experiences, life style, and stressful life experiences all contribute to the way the body adapts to a changing environment; and these factors all help to determine the cost to the body, or "allostatic load." Studies of these processes involve the disciplines of biology and psychology, but they are incomplete without the input from other fields, such as cultural anthropology, economics, epidemiology, political science, and sociology. These fields provide a description and analysis of the social and cultural institutions and economic forces that affect individual human health. Specific examples of shared concepts and terminology are given to illustrate progress towards consilience in the study of socioeconomic determinants of health.
Key Words: Adrenal cortex • Allostasis • Allostatic load • Socioeconomic status • Stress
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