User:Tai Jake Junior/Allostasis

Lead
 Allostasis also known as “body budgeting” which Lisa Feldman Barret  argues, proposes that efficient regulation requires preparing the body to satisfy the needs before they arise by budgeting those needed resources such as oxygen, insulin etc, as opposed to homeostasis, in which the goal is a steady state. Allostasis, stability through variation, was proposed by Sterling and Eyer in 1988 as a new model of physiological regulation. The goal of every living being is to “find and maintain a steady state for survival” which is achieved through Allostasis and homeostasis. The term Allostasis is used more frequently now since it is more inclusive of the idea that not everything in the body is in a single steady state meaning that there are varying levels of energy

Evolution and Allostasis:

'''A second perspective on allostasis is that it is included in the story of how the brain was created. Barret argues, that during evolution “organisms internal systems '' became much more advanced, therefore just having several groups of cells would have done a poor job at managing the new systems that these bodies were acquiring hence the need for a brain since it was larger much more capable of efficient management . However, in rare cases not all animal species  have a brain nor a  similar allostatic process compared to other species. The sea quirt is one example, this is because once the larvae have fully grown they “absorb their brain.” . As a result, the sea squirt’s allostatic process would not be as complex as a human’s for example since both species have ecological  niches that are of different complexities (i.e. ”All animals have brains that are adapted to their environmental niches and life cycles.”''' )

Allostatic load:

'''Too much Allostasis, also known as allostatic “overload” can lead to various negative consequences  as American Addiction Centers write “The cost of adapting to external conditions becomes so high that it causes mental or physical disease. From a metaphorical perspective this can be interpreted as a machine running continuously as the machine is overworked; it becomes less efficient over time because more stress is placed on it. Similarly, the process of allostasis becomes less efficient at managing the body's resources when the body endures increased levels of unhealthy stress due to wear and tear on the body and the brain. An increase in Allostatic load can impair and reduce neuro plasticity as stress causes the brain to age quicker. This is because with more stress, more synaptic connections are lost in the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for body regulation.'''