User talk:Samantha mntoya/sandbox

Cellular Level Manifestations of Chronic Stress Cortisol In a chronically stressed body, the natural response of the adrenal axis is to release the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol's function is to maintain body equilibrium. Cortisol helps to control the body's production of glucose to encourage a healthy metabolism and also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. While cortisol can aid the body during times of stress, it also can have adverse effects if it's production due to constant stress is sustained for long periods of time. Cortisol can weaken the body's immune response by inhibiting T-lymphoctye cells, leaving the body vulnerable to disease and infection. Cortisol is also a hormone found within the region of the brain that facilitates memory creation and storage, the hippocampus. When the body has an excess amount of cortisol, memory function has been shown to decrease in quality and become damaged with atrophy. Another adverse effect of chronic stress is a decrease in the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein important in cell neurogenesis and memory plasticity. BDNF works in the hippocampus with the production of long-term memory. Several kinds of neurodegenerative diseases have been shown to coincide with BDNF deficiencies.