Can observational stress induce the depression, PTSD and anxiety like disorders? For example if we stressed (electric shock, chronic stress or defeat by another animal) one animal and let the other one watch him during stress, how would it influence the brain activity immediately after the stress, and can it induce depression, PTSD and anxiety like disorders if exposed to multiple observational stressful events?
In animals particularly rodents observation, or visual transmission of information, takes a back seat to olfactory and auditory cues. There is a fairly rich literature on odours and ultransonic vocalisations in rodents conveying information about aversive (and appetitive) situations.
Hey Rohan, Thanks for your comments. Do you mean aversive stimulus to the same mice or rat itself or given to the other other animal while the first one was watching the stressed one. If handy, can you please send me the link of some of these articles.
Thanks
Dear Sunil,
I don't have any articles on hand. However, you will be able to pull up a heap if you start looking into the 22khz ultrasonic vocalisation literature. 22khz is a distress call made by rodents - when they experience something aversive. They make these when going through a stressful experience - social conflict, conditioned fear, predator odor exposure etc. If other rats nearby here this they will become agitated and hyper-aroused and can generate their own fight flight response.
Sunil,
We know that an infant crying can cause a mother to reflexively let down breast milk.
Janet
Thanks Janet for pointing out the positive effects of the emotional stress on the physiology which might be need based, and hormonal balance are different in women feeding infants than in normal condition. So, its probably making some short term adjustment in hormonal regulation and how brain control it, but I am more interested to know about effect of observational stress on mental health and what are the long term changes (such as does it change the plasticity of brain which can impair the normal functionality) in the brain being exposed to that kind of stressful events multiple times.
Thanks
Let us suppose that we are watching someone walk down the street. Unexpectedly, they trip and fall. It is often the case that we (as observers) feel the 'bottom fall out' of our own world for a moment - we may even lose balance ourselves. This seems to demonstrate that our own sense of our physical bodies is involved in the process of observation of other people. This does not occur with autistics.
Following on from this it would seem that empathy is a key factor to consider in addressing the question posed.
I have seen EST have adverse and therapeutic outcome. In my opinion it seemed to have the best result on long suffering chronic mental health clients not acute depressed house wife's seeking attention from their spouse. Input overload and extreme stress will shut down the human mind.
Dear Christopher
Thanks for your wonderful comments about how we respond to what we observe. Do you think the example you mentioned about trip and fall observational experience is just an reflective response or it may affect the brain and leave some footprint in the brain for that particular evidence. If so how likely that this information can be encoded in the brain and the person who had this kind of experience earlier will/ not have same response if the incident happen again?
Also if we continuously exposed to the observational stressful events for longer period of time how likely that we are going to at the risk of developing psychological disorder like depression. For example if we are observing (living/caring) a person who has severe health/psychological problems, does this exposure of observing these stressful condition going to affect our brain and have more chances to develop risk for psychological illness.
Thanks!
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