Stress and Health: Biological and Psychological Interactions (BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE AND HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY)

"This is one of the best books written to address effects of stress on health. It is well written and it is easy to understand. Experts as well as those new to the field will find this book informative and enjoyable. In his approach to the topic of stress and health, Dr. Lovallo presents well-integrated, coherent coverage of the latest scientific finding from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine. This is indeed a rich and interesting reading to scientists and clinicians all over the world."

"This book does a splendid job of filling a gap in the literature on stress and health; that gap being the need for an articulate introductory compendium that integrates what is know about the physiology of stress with that of thoughts and emotions. This updated and expanded second edition also ventures into new territories, including two new chapters, one on the topic of central nervous system control of stress hormone secretion and the other on the topic of genes, stress and behavior, describing how genes shape the stress response and how genes can create vulnerabilities to stress. Given the increasing importance that modern medicine is placing on genomics, this chapter is particularly timely. Considering that the new National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research initiative emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research that is inclusive of behavior for the success of future clinical research, the material in this new edition will be useful for students and scientists wishing to better understand mechanisms of how our mind and psychosocial factors affect states of health and disease."

William R. Lovallo (PhD, biological psychology, University of Oklahoma, 1978) conducts research on relationships between stress, biological responses, and their implications for health. His current projects address cardiovascular and endocrine responses during mental stress and effects on persons at risk for alcoholism and other addictions. He has served as director of the Behavioral Sciences Laboratories and as senior research career scientist at the VA Medical Center and is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. Lovallo has also served as associate director of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Research Network on Mind-Body Interactions. He is on advisory committees for the National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Administration.