Detecting brain response mechanisms with stress

Regular stress often results in a heavy physical and mental effect on our bodies. Scientists are also poring over health problems together to find answers to the question of how our brain reacted to cell-level stress disorder. Those who are able to adapt quickly to stress have the opportunity to survive.

The experiment on mice was conducted by Dr. Jaideep Bains, a research scientist at the University of Calgary and his research team at the Hotchkiss Brain Research Institute gave them the discovery that neurons in the brain region control The body temperature, the center that controls the brain's response, is able to translate chemical signals that have stopped working just like the chemical signals that are active when stress is received. 'It's almost like your car's brakes are working to speed up that car instead of slowing it down.' Mr. Bains said.

The breakthrough is expected to be published in the March 1 issue of "Nature Neuroscience" .

Often when neurons receive different chemical signals, they tell them to turn off or turn on. The off signal or the brake only works again if the levels of chloride ions in the cells are maintained at a low level.

Dr. Jaideep Bains at his laboratory at Hotchkiss Brain Research Institute (Photo: University of Calgary)

This process is achieved by a protein called KCC2. What Bains and colleagues have shown here is that stress reduces the activity of KCC2 protein, thus losing its ability to inhibit, which is called GABA.The slowing down of the brain may indicate some very damaging effects on the body.

While the findings provide some new mechanical explanations of how the brain can read stress signals, Bains makes a comment at the time, "there's still a lot of work to do in the process." basic scientific research on these phenomena before there are some new breakthroughs in stress treatment method '.

'This has opened up a new direction in overcoming the reactions of stress' Yves De Koninck, Ph.D., candidate for president of science organization and professor of psychiatry at Laval University, Canada .

'I am very interested in doing this work. Until now it was not really clear how the stress reactions were triggered by external stress factors. Bains's research has shown a complex but positive solution, related to the transition from restraint to activation. ' Jane Stewart - Concordia's PhD in behavioral science research says, 'these findings can lead us to a higher level of understanding of stress change.'

This work has been supported by the Canadian Health Research Institute. Dr. Bains is one of the founders who specializes in medical treatment , an assistant professor of physiology and physiology and a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Research Institute at the University of Calgary School of Medicine.