Building Resistance to Stress and Aging The Toughness Model

by Dienstbier, Richard A

• ISBN13: 9781137454843
• ISBN10: 1137454849
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-11-11
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

By becoming tough we preserve those physical and mental capacities that are degenerated by stress and by aging. The toughness model proposed in this book incorporates psychological research and neuroscience to explain how a variety of toughening activities - ranging from confronting mental and physical challenges to meditation and even giving and receiving nurturance - sustain our brains and bodies. These activities affect genetic processes that build neurochemical capacities and rebuild degraded brain structures. The physiological toughness leads, in turn, to improved mental/psychological faculties ranging from emotional stability to fluid intelligence and the preservation of our capacity to form memories.

Author Biography

Richard A Dienstbier is Professor Emeritus and past Chair of the Psychology Department of the University of Nebraska, USA. For 24 years he was the Series Editor of the annual Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. His earlier papers and lectures defined toughness, but by emphasizing toughening impacts on the brain, this book updates and extends the concept.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Toughness: An Opponent Process
2. The Basic Brain: Grand Structures
3. The Basic Brain: Neurons and Neurochemistry
4. Heredity, Genes, and Environment
PART II - INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS 5-6: IMPACTS OF STRESSORS, AGING & OBESITY
5. Stress and Challenge: Kinds of Arousal
6. Long-term Stress: Stress Kills Neurons Too
7. The Aging of Brain: Not for Sissies
8. Fat and the Brain: Dumbing with Adiposity
PART III - INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS 9-14: TOUGHENING AT LAST
9. Basic Toughness: Helplessness and Cold
10. Basic Toughness: Scandinavians and Exercise
11. Nurturance Toughens and Neglect Weakens
12. Cognitive Enrichment Toughens
13. Physical Exercise Toughens
14. Toughening Through Meditation
PART IV - INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS 15-18 - APPLICATIONS OF TOUGHNESS
15. Toughness Affects Learning
16. Toughening Self Control and Mental Energy
17. Toughness, Emotional Control, and Therapy
18. Summary and a Full Model: It's a Tough Life