Stress, Hormones and Behavior

压力会对个人健康产生长期影响。因此，制定适应和应对压力的策略是相关的。事实上，大多数哺乳动物已经进化出行为和神经内分泌机制来应对恶劣的环境。下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴被认为是中枢神经系统对应激反应的模型系统。布朗森博士在澳大利亚的一个自然种群中发现了一群哺乳动物，它们不会改变自己的行为，但继续受到压力，以至于死亡是不可避免的。没有其他的哺乳动物将终止生命的压力作为其生活史策略的正常组成部分。因此，这些动物的压力和行为之间的神经内分泌联系肯定与已知的其他哺乳动物截然不同。布朗森博士最初的目标是在美国为这些独特的动物建立一个成功的繁殖地。然后，他将分离并了解行为和神经内分泌机制，这些机制使这个物种在压力条件下保持正常，但现在具有破坏性的行为。在这些动物中，压力和行为之间的关系非常牢固，这为解剖和理解其神经内分泌和神经化学机制提供了真正的希望。将这些数据与我们目前的知识进行比较，是建立有关压力和行为的普遍重要原则的有力工具。研究这种独特的动物模型对于探索行为调节免疫系统的方式以及发展适应机制以应对急性和慢性压力非常重要。

Stress can have long-term consequences on the health of individuals. Therefore, it is pertinent to develop strategies for adapting and reacting to stress. Indeed, most mammals have evolved behavioral and neuroendocrine mechanisms to cope under severe conditions. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is regarded as a model system illustrating the way the central nervous system responds to stress. Dr. Bronson has identified a group of mammals, in a natural population in Australia, that do not change their behavior but continue to be stressed to the point that death is inevitable. No other mammal incorporates life-terminating stress as a normal part of its life history strategy. Therefore, the neuroendocrine linkages between stress and behavior in these animals must differ sharply from those known for other mammals. Dr. Bronson's initial goal is to establish a successful breeding colony of these unique animals in the United States. He will then isolate and understand the behavioral and neuroendocrine mechanisms that allow this species to maintain normal, but now destructive behavior, under conditions of stress. The dramatic robustness of the relationship between stress and behavior in these animals offers real hope of dissecting and understanding its neuroendocrine and neurochemical mechanisms. Comparing these data with our present knowledge constitutes a powerful tool for establishing principles about stress and behavioral that are universally important. Working with this unique animal model could prove important for exploring the way behavior can modulate the immune system as well as developing adaptive mechanisms to cope with acute and chronic stress.