The neurobiology of resilience

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The neurobiology of resilience is the field of study that explains, from a biological point of view, one of the most fascinating processes of the human being. That where people manage to face the stressors derived from adverse situations with success, to adapt much better to our complex reality, also investing in emotional health and reducing the impact of traumatic events.

The word "resilience" represents a concept that has taken center stage in recent decades. The term and its meaning inspires us, we like it, even many of us read about it and try to develop it. However, there is an aspect that continues to awaken the curiosity of neuropsychologists ...

Why do some people deal with complex situations and adversity more effectively and others instead get trapped in a state of permanent helplessness? Why can these people be even the same at two different times in their lives?

"The world breaks everyone, and then some are strong in broken places"
-Ernest Hemingway-

We have seen it many times and in the most diverse ways. For example, we can have three siblings, three children who have had to experience the traumatic loss of one or both parents. Under the same circumstances and in the same environment, these children can grow up showing a very different behavioral pattern. Some of them, will drag that traumatic wound evidencing problematic behaviors, low self-esteem, anxiety, learning difficulties, etc.

Another brother, on the other hand, can develop a more adaptive attitude for himself, maintaining the psychological balance despite the blow. All this forces us to ask ourselves why. What neurobiological mechanisms cause some of us to be more or less resilient? ...

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The neurobiology of resilience or our ability to tolerate stress
Talking about resilience implies a necessary reference to our ability to cope with stress, using it in our favor as well. In this sense, an idea stands out: our brain is, above all else, a threatening information detector.

One of our priorities is to survive, and therefore, on a daily basis and almost without realizing it, we do nothing but process dimensions that concern us, anticipating negative events that have not yet happened and filtering all kinds of risks or imbalances of our environment that may affect us in some sense: physical, social, emotional ...

The experts in resilience neurobiology tell us that moderate stress or "eustress" is the best of all: it prepares us for action. However, when worries, fears, the memory of the past and anxiety for the future grips us, that "distress" becomes chronic and alters the brain genetically and neurologically. That is when mental problems appear, unhappiness and our inability to adapt to our already complex contexts.

On the other hand, and although we all know that stress management can be trained as well as resilience, there are those who are born with this ability in a natural way and there are some who simply present serious difficulties when facing even the smallest difficulties, the most everyday The reason? The neurobiology of resilience tells us that there are more or less "resistant" brains.

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Hormonal substances and neurotransmitters in resilience.

At the beginning of 2016, the journal "Nature" published an interesting study on the neurobiology of resilience. It explains that this ability is linked to a series of very specific brain areas: the cerebral neocortex; and, at the subcortical level, the amygdaloid complex, the hippocampus and the cerulean locus.

Also, the most fascinating and striking is undoubtedly the activity at the hormonal and neurotransmitter level, which favors or hinders our ability to be resilient.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has the ability to regulate the impact of cortisol in our brain. People who have a deficit in this type of hormone will therefore be less resilient.
The human brain has two types of receptors for stress. There is one that is activated before, with small amounts of cortisol, and that in turn stimulates the hippocampus to increase the track of memories.
The other is activated later and when there is a higher level of cortisol in the blood. This fact, which is stimulated to a greater degree by this second receiver, affects the quality of our memory. The least resilient people have a higher level of cortisol in their body and, therefore, this type of receptors react.
Children orchid and children dandelion
One of the most common factors that can differentiate less resilient people are their early experiences. Thus, a childhood marked by insecure attachment, lack of affect, abuse or punctual event generates a toxic stress in the child that impacts on their subsequent brain development.

Likewise, within the neurobiology of resilience, children of orchids are also differentiated from children with dandelions.

The first are those that we have described before, the little ones who have lived a traumatic childhood. However, epigenetics are added to the weight of the environment. Something that is being seen, for example, is that mothers increasingly suffer from emotional stress. Whether we want it or not, those cortisol levels reach the fetus and alter the neural connections in the baby's amygdala.
On the other hand, children dandelions are those children who, due to various factors, are much more resistant to stress. The genetic inheritance inherited from the father or the mother, being raised in a secure attachment, with a favorable social circle undoubtedly determines a more resilient attitude towards life and its difficulties.

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To conclude, as the neurobiology of resilience reveals, what we can best rely on in this dimension depends, at first sight, on a series of hormones and neurotransmitters, on the epigenetics and quality of our childhood. These factors may seem undoubtedly "deterministic"; however, as we have pointed out in the article, resilience is also learned, developed and applied.

There are, for example, the studies on cerebral neuroplasticity and how the fact of initiating new behaviors, of assuming new schemes of thought and attitudes can make our brain a much more resistant organ. Do not forget, it is always a good time to invest more in ourselves, to learn to face with greater energy, strength and optimism our small and great adversities.