Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Aug 21:12:326.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00326. eCollection 2018.

Biological and Psychological Perspectives of Resilience: Is It Possible to Improve Stress Resistance?

Haoran Liu  1 , Chenfeng Zhang  1 , Yannan Ji  2 , Li Yang  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Biological and Psychological Perspectives of Resilience: Is It Possible to Improve Stress Resistance?

Haoran Liu et al. Front Hum Neurosci. .

Abstract

The term "resilience" refers to the ability to adapt successfully to stress, trauma and adversity, enabling individuals to avoid stress-induced mental disorders such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. Here, we review evidence from both animal models and humans that is increasingly revealing the neurophysiological and neuropsychological mechanisms that underlie stress susceptibility, as well as active mechanisms underlying the resilience phenotype. Ultimately, this growing understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of resilience should result in the development of novel interventions that specifically target neural circuitry and brain areas that enhance resilience and lead to more effective treatments for stress-induced disorders. Stress resilience can be improved, but the outcomes and effects depend on the type of intervention and the species treated.

Keywords: NAc; VTA; depression; mPFC; resilience; stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A brief history of resilience research.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adamec R., Toth M., Haller J., Halasz J., Blundell J. (2012). A comparison of activation patterns of cells in selected prefrontal cortical and amygdala areas of rats which are more or less anxious in response to predator exposure or submersion stress. Physiol. Behav. 105, 628–638. 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.09.016 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Albonetti M. E., Farabollini F. (1994). Social stress by repeated defeat: effects on social behaviour and emotionality. Behav. Brain Res. 62, 187–193. 10.1016/0166-4328(94)90027-2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aleman A. (2013). Use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment in psychiatry. Clin. Psychopharmacol. Neurosci. 11, 53–59. 10.9758/cpn.2013.11.2.53 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alves N. D., Correia J. S., Patrício P., Mateus-Pinheiro A., Machado-Santos A. R., Loureiro-Campos E., et al. . (2017). Adult hippocampal neuroplasticity triggers susceptibility to recurrent depression. Transl. Psychiatry 7:e1058. 10.1038/tp.2017.29 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anacker C., Scholz J., O’Donnell K. J., Allemang-Grand R., Diorio J., Bagot R. C., et al. . (2016). Neuroanatomic differences associated with stress susceptibility and resilience. Biol. Psychiatry 79, 840–849. 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.009 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources