Abstract
McEwen develops allostasis — stability through change — as essential to homeostasis, and details allostatic load: the price the body pays when adaptive systems are over-activated, fail to shut off, or under-respond. He names types of load and ties them to genetic and developmental vulnerability and to long-term disease.
McEwen, B. S. (1998). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 840(1), 33–44. DOI
Key findings
- Allostasis — Adaptation maintains stability by changing set points, not by holding one fixed state.
- Types of load — Frequent activation, failure to shut off, and inadequate response (with compensatory overactivity) each tax the system.
- From load to disease — Sustained allostatic load over time predisposes to illness, modulated by genes, development, and behaviour.
When to open this
Open alongside Neuroendocrinology for the mechanism linking chronic stress signalling to long-term wear and disease.