The stress-vulnerability hypothesis in psychotic disorders: focus on the stress response systems.

Christine C. Gispen-de Wied, Lucres M.C. Jansen

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The vulnerabilty stress model is an intriguing concept to look into the etiology of psychotic disorders and, in particular, into the "nature nurture" principle. That stress affects a vulnerable nature may be obvious, but its mechanism is not well understood, and many questions remain to be answered, let alone how to define "vulnerability". The present review tries to focus on the core issues of the vulnerability stress concept--identifying vulnerability, the way stress interferes with it, and the possiblilities of modulating their interaction. Attention is drawn to the biologic stress response systems, the autonomic nervous system (ANS), the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) system, and the immune system, and highlights the plasticity of the HPA system as the mediator of adaptation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)166-170
Number of pages5
JournalCurrent psychiatry reports
Volume4
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2002

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