The Hour Between Dog and Wolf

by John Coates

  3 endless cycle of repetition and failure This point is nicely illustrated in Thomas Amini, Fari Lannon, Richard Lewis (2001) A General Theory of Love. New York: Vintage.

  4 corticosterone levels remained stubbornly elevated Hennessey, J., Levine, S. (1979) Stress, arousal, and the pituitary-adrenal system: a psychoendocrine hypothesis. Progress in Psychobiology. Physiological Psychology 8, 133–178.

  5 sees in it nothing but potential harm Blascovich, J., Tomaka, J. (1996) The biopsychosocial model of arousal regulation. In M.P. Zanna (ed.) Advances in experimental social psychology 29. New York: Academic Press. pp.1–51. Blascovich, J., Mendes, W.B. (2000) Challenge and threat appraisals: The role of affective cues. In J. Forgas (ed.) Feeling and Thinking: The Role of Affect in Social Cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  6 distinctive physiological state Blascovich, J., Seery, M., Mugridge, C., Weisbuch, M., Norris, K. (2004) Predicting athletic performance from cardiovascular indicators of challenge and threat. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 40, 683–688. Although see Kirby, L.D., Wright, R.A. (2003) Cardiovascular correlates of challenge and threat appraisals: a critical examination of the Biopsychosocial Analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 7, 216–233.

  7 (perhaps an environment like a financial crisis)? Charney, D. (2004) Psychobiological mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability: implications for successful adaptation to extreme stress. American Journal of Psychiatry 161, 195–216.

  8 hormone feedback loops between brain and body McEwen, B.S., Weiss, J.M., Schwartz, L.S. (1968) Selective retention of corticosterone by limbic structures in rat brain. Nature 220, 911–912.

  9 depleted noradrenalin levels in their brains Weiss, J., Glazer, H., Pohorecky, L., Brick, J., Miller, N. (1975) Effects of Chronic Exposure to Stressors on Avoidance-Escape Behavior and on Brain Norepinephrine. Psychosomatic Medicine 37, 522–534. Weiss, J., Glazer, H. (1975) Effects of acute exposure to stressors on subsequent avoidance-escape behavior. Psychosomatic Medicine 37, 499–521.

  10 increased immunity to the damaging effects of further stressors Miller, N.E. (1980) A perspective on the effects of stress and coping on disease and health. In S. Levine, H. Ursin Coping and Health. New York: Plenum Press. pp.323–353. See as well Levine, S., Coe, C., Wiener, S. (1989) Psychoneuroendocrinology of stress: a psychobiological perspective. In F. Bush, S. Levine (eds) Psychoendocrinology. New York: Academic Press. pp.341–377.

  11 neuromodulators, and nervous-system activation Dienstbier, R.A. (1989) Arousal and physiological toughness: implications for mental and physical health. Psychological Review 96, 84–100.

  12 and the vagus nerve It should be said that the number of hormones and chemicals participating in our behaviour is far larger than the few we have discussed in this book. To give you an idea of just how many, see G. D. Lewis et al. (2010) Metabolic Signatures of Exercise in Human Plasma. Science Translational Medicine 2, 33ra37.

  13 thriving Epel, E.S., McEwen, B.S., Ickovics, J.R. (1998) Embodying Psychological Thriving: Physical Thriving in Response to Stress. Journal of Social Issues 54, 301–322.

  14 performance has gone stale See for example Raglin, J., Barzdukas, A. (1999) Overtraining in athletes: the challenge of prevention. Health Fitness Journal 3, 27–31. Hakkinen, K.A., Pskarinen, A., Alen, M., Kauhanen, H., Komi, P.V. (1987) Relationships between training volume, physical performance capacity, and serum hormone concentrations during prolonged training in elite weightlifters. International Journal of Sports Medicine 8, 61–65.

  15 state of preparedness for competition Urhausen, A., Gabriel, H., Kindermann, W. (1995) Blood hormones as markers of training stress and overtraining. Sports Medicine 4, 251–276. Bosquet, L., Montpetit, J., Arvisais, D., Mujika, I. (2007) Effects of tapering on performance: a meta-analysis. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 39, 1358–1365.

  16 strain we experience when stressed Seeman, T., Singer, B., Rowe, J., Horwitz, R., McEwen, B. (1997) Price of adaptation – allostatic load and its health consequences. MacArthur studies of successful aging. Archives of Internal Medicine 157, 2259–2268.

  17 more potent cortisol response Dienstbier, R.A. (1989) Arousal and physiological toughness: implications for mental and physical health. Psychological Review 96, 84–100.

  18 depleted of its precious noradrenalin Berridge, C.W., Waterhouse, B.D. (2003) The locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system: modulation of behavioral state and state dependent cognitive processes. Brain Research Reviews 42, 33–84.

  19 efficient tool for conserving energy Porges, S.W. (1997) Emotion: an evolutionary by-product of the neural regulation of the autonomic nervous system. In C.S. Carter, B. Kirkpatrick, I.I. Lederhendler (eds) The Integrative Neurobiology of Affiliation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 807, 62–77.

  20 freezing Porges has backed away somewhat from the use of this term. ‘Freezing, although I have used the term, may be misleading. I now use freezing to describe immobilization with great muscle tone – and this reflects high sympathetic tone and prepares one to fight or flee, and I now use “death feigning” or shutdown, “vasovagal syncope” (fainting) to describe immobilization without muscle tone to describe the state supported by the old reptilian ANS.’ Personal communication.

  21 fight-or-flight, and social engagement Porges, S.W. (1995) Orienting in a defensive world: mammalian modifications of our evolutionary heritage. A Polyvagal Theory. Psychophysiology 32, 301–318.

  22 drowning themselves Richter, C. (1957) On the phenomenon of sudden death in animals and man. Psychosomatic Medicine 19, 191–198.

  23 curse just placed on them will prove effective Voodoo death is discussed in Bruce McEwen (2002) The End of Stress as We Know It. Washington: Joseph Henry Press; and Robert Sapolsky (2004) Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers 3rd ed. New York: Henry Holt.

  24 inefficient cardiac output and high blood pressure Blascovich, J., Tomaka, J. (1996) The Biopsychosocial Model of Arousal Regulation. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 28, 1–51. The challenge-threat model and especially the claims that each attitude displays a distinct cardiovascular signature has been critically reviewed in Wright, R.A., Kirby, L.D. (2003) Cardiovascular correlates of challenge and threat appraisals: a critical examination of the biopsychosocial analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review 7, 216–233.

  25 children with low vagal tone display more behavioural problems later in life Porges, S.W., Doussard-Roosevelt, J.A., Portales, A.L., Greenspan, S.I. (1996) Infant regulation of the vagal ‘brake’ predicts child behavior problems: a psychobiological model of social behavior. Developmental Psychobiology 29, 697–712.

  26 correlated with a number of markers of health See for example Sloan, R.P. et al. (2007) RR interval variability is inversely related to inflammatory markers: the CARDIA study. Molecular Medicine 13, 178–184.

  27 high ratio of anabolic to catabolic hormones Huovinen, J. et al. (2009) Relationship between heart rate variability and the serum testosterone-to-cortisol ratio during military service. European Journal of Sport Science 9, 277–284.

  28 immune to the effects of stress and the stress hormones Charney, D. (2004) Psychobiological mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability: implications for successful adaptation to extreme stress. American Journal of Psychiatry 161, 195–216.

  29 more muted stress response to threats Meaney, M., Aitken, D., van Berkel, C., Bhatnagar, S., Sapolsky, R. (1988) Effect of neonatal handling on age-related impairments associated with the hippocampus. Science 239, 766–768.

  31 18 per cent longer than that of non-stressed rats Frolkis, V. (1981) Aging and Life-Prolonging Processes. Vienna: Springer-Verlag.

  32 ill-prepared to deal with the slings and arrows of normal life events Meaney, M.J., Aitken, D.H., Viau, V., Sharma, S., Sarrieau, A. (1989) Neonatal handling alters adrenocortical negative feedback sensitivity and hippocampal type II glucocorticoid receptor binding in the rat. Neuroendocrinology 50, 597–604. Liu, D., Diorio, J., Tannenbaum, B., Caldji, C.
, Francis, D., Freedman, A., Sharma, S., Pearson, D., Plotsky, P.M., Meaney, M.J. (1997) Maternal care, hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses to stress. Science 277, 1659–1662.

  33 boot camp for the brain Erickson, K. et al. (2011) Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108, 3017–3022. Dienstbier, R., LaGuardia, R., Barnes, M., Tharp, G., Schmidt, R. (1987) Catecholamine Training Effects from Exercise Programs: A Bridge to Exercise-Temperament Relationships. Motivation and Emotion 11, 297–318. Foster, P., Rosenblatt, K., Kuljiš, R. (2011) Exercise-induced cognitive plasticity, implications for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Frontiers in Neurology 2, 28, 1–15.

  34 sports science could help … the person receiving it Some standard references are the following: Jack H. Wilmore, David L. Costill (2004) Physiology of Sport and Exercise 3rd ed. Human Kinetics Publishers. Per-Olof Astrand, Kaare Rodahl, Hans A. Dahl, Sigmund B. Stromme (2003) Textbook of Work Physiology 4th ed. Human Kinetics Publishers. Frank W. Dick (2007) Sports Training Principles 5th ed. A. & C. Black Publishers Ltd.

  35 not as prone to learned helplessness Dienstbier, R., Pytlik Zillig, L.M. (2005) Toughness. In C.R. Snyder & S. Lopez (eds) Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. pp.512–527.

  36 enviable pattern of stress and recovery Castellani, J., Degroot, D. (2005) Human endocrine responses to exercise-cold stress. In Kraemer, W., Rogol, A. (eds) The Endocrine System in Sports and Exercise. Oxford: Blackwell.

  37 sauna followed by a cold plunge Hannuksela, M.L., Ellahham, S. (2001) Benefits and risks of sauna bathing. American Journal of Medicine 110, 118–126. Ohori, T. et al. (2012) Effect of repeated sauna treatment on exercise tolerance and endothelial function in patients with chronic heart failure. American Journal of Cardiology 109, 100–104. A similar toughening practice of heating the body through exercise, followed by cold-water immersion, was recommended by the nineteenth-century German Sebastian Kneipp.

  38 later systems of emotional arousal Stanley-Jones, D. (1966) The thermostatic theory of emotion: a study in kybernetics. Progress in Biocybernetics 3, 1–20.

  39 cold tolerance … emotional stability Dienstbier, R., LaGuardia, R., Wilcox, N. (1987) The Relationship of Temperament to Tolerance of Cold and Heat: Beyond ‘Cold Hands-Warm Heart’. Motivation and Emotion 11, 269–295.

  40 weakened and inefficient by disuse Walter Cannon (1932) The Wisdom of the Body. New York: Norton. pp.198–199.

  41 one cause of the current obesity epidemic Keith, S. et al. (2006) Putative contributors to the secular increase in obesity: exploring the roads less travelled. International Journal of Obesity 30, 1585–1594.

  42 dropped below its metabolic cost Boksem, M., Tops, M. (2008) Mental fatigue: costs and benefits. Brain Research Reviews 59, 125–139.

  43 no control over the allocation of their attention Siegrist, J. (1996) Adverse health effects of high-effort/low-reward conditions. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 1, 27–41. Van Der Hulst, M., Geurts, S. (2001) Associations between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs. Work Stress 15, 227–240. Bosma, H., Marmot, M.G., Hemingway, H., Nicholson, A.C., Brunner, E., Stansfeld, S.A. (1997) Low job control and risk of coronary heart disease in Whitehall II (prospective cohort) study. British Medical Journal 314, 558–565.

  44 incredibly, outstanding personal achievement Holmes, T.H., Rahe, R.H. (1967) The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 11, 213–218.

  45 later take a toll on their health For a nice discussion of the effect of emotion, both positive and negative, on heart disease see Daniel Goleman (1995) Mind and Medicine. In Emotional Intelligence. London: Bloomsbury. Ch. 11.

  46 profound effect on vagal influences to the heart Porges, Personal communication.

  47 rational choices in a financial decision-making task Kirk, U., Downar, J., Montague, R. (2011) Interoception drives increased rational decision-making in meditators playing the ultimatum game. Frontiers in Neuroscience 5, 49.

  48 stressful life events and increased mortality Rosengren, A., Orth-Gomér, K., Wedel, H., Wilhelmsen, L. (1993) Stressful life events, social support, and mortality in men born in 1933. British Medical Journal 307, 1102–1105.

  49 the incidence of stress-related illness dropped noticeably Robert A. Karasek, Tores Theorell (1992) Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity and the Reconstruction of Working Life. New York: Basic Books.

  50 Tortoise and Hare John Coates, A Tale of Two Traders. Financial Times 4 May 2009.

  CHAPTER 9: FROM MOLECULE TO MARKET

  1 ‘Black Swan’ events Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2007) The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. New York: Random House.

  2 doubts about … rational choice See for example John Maynard Keynes (1938) My Early Beliefs. In Essays in Biography: The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes, Vol. X. London: Macmillan. Robert Skidelsky (1995) John Maynard Keynes: The Economist as Saviour, 1920–1937. London: Penguin.

  3 Here we are off any map drawn by rational-choice theory However, behavioural economists have suggested ingenious management and policy innovations. See Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein (2008) Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Yale University Press; Hersh Shefrin (2008) Ending the Management Illusion: How to Drive Business Results Using the Principles of Behavioral Finance. New York: McGraw-Hill.

  4 mental illness while holding office? Owen, D., Davidson, J. (2009) Hubris syndrome: An acquired personality disorder? A study of US Presidents and UK Prime Ministers over the last 100 years. Brain 132, 1407–1410. This theme is developed in a fascinating book, David Owen (2008) In Sickness and in Power: Illness in Heads of Government During the Last 100 Years. London: Methuen. Owen has set up a research trust, called The Daedalus Trust, to research disorders stemming from the exercise of power in both politics and business.

  5 market stability needs biological diversity John Coates, Traders Should Track Their Hormones. Financial Times 14 April 2008.

  6 ‘tend-and-befriend’ reaction, an urge to affiliation Shelley E. Taylor et al. (2000) Biobehavioral Responses to Stress in Females: Tend-and-Befriend, not Fight-or-Flight. Psychological Review 107, 411–429.

  7 more stressed by social problems, with family and relationships Stroud, L., Salovey, P., Epel, E. (2002) Sex differences in stress responses: social rejection versus achievement stress. Biological Psychiatry 319, 318–327. Katie T. Kivlighana, Douglas A. Granger, Alan Booth (2005) Gender differences in testosterone and cortisol response to competition. Psychoneuroendocrinology 30, 58–71. R.E. Bowman (2005) Stress-Induced Changes in Spatial Memory are Sexually Differentiated and Vary Across the Lifespan. Journal of Neuroendocrinology 17, 526–535.

  8 women may be less hormonally reactive than men Coates, J., Gurnell, M., Sarnyai, Z. (2010) From molecule to market: steroid hormones and financial risk-taking. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 365, 331–343.

  9 women are more risk-averse than men Eckel, C., Grossman, P.J. (2008) Men, women and risk aversion: Experimental evidence. In Handbook of Experimental Economic Results, Vol.1. New York: Elsevier. Powell, M., Ansic, D. (1998) Gender differences in risk behavior in financial decision-making: an experimental analysis. Journal of Economic Psychology 18, 605–628. Schubert, R., Brown, M., Gysler, M., Brachinger, H.W. (1999) Financial decision-making: Are women really more risk-averse? American Economic Review 89, 381–385. Rachel Croson and Uri Gneezy (2009) Gender Differences in Preferences. Journal of Economic Literature 47, 1–27.

  10 single women outperformed single men by 1.44 per cent Brad Barber, Terrance Odean (2001) Boys will be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, and Common Stock Investment. Quarterly Journal of Economics 261–295.

  11 how to stop men from seceding from it Andrew Sullivan, The He Hormone. New York Times Magazine 2 April 2000.

  12 If the eye were an animal, its soul would be
seeing Aristotle, De Anima 412b, 18–19.

  13 unified policy science, from molecule to market McEwen, B. (2001) From molecule to mind: stress, individual differences, and the social environment. In Unity of Knowledge: The Convergence of Natural and Human Science eds A. Damasio et al. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 935, 42–49. See as well Matt Ridley (2004) Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience and What Makes us Human. London: Harper Collins.

  14 economics beginning to merge … with epidemiology There already exists a branch of study known as economic epidemiology. See for example Philipson, T. (2000) Economic epidemiology and infectious disease. In Cuyler, A., Newhouse, J. (eds) Handbook of Health Economics. Amsterdam: North Holland. pp.1761–1799. An excellent piece of economic epidemiology can be found in Gerdthama, U., Johannesson, M. (2005) Business cycles and mortality: results from Swedish microdata. Social Science and Medicine 60, 205–218.

  15 two cultures Snow, C.P. (1959) The Two Cultures. London: Cambridge University Press.

  FURTHER READING

  INTRODUCTION

  Joe LeDoux (1996) The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life. New York: Touchstone. A classic work, written by a neuroscientist who has participated in much of the research I refer to in this book.

  Coates, J., Gurnell, M., Sarnyai, Z. (2010) From molecule to market: steroid hormones and financial risk-taking. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 365, 331–343. A review article written by myself and two colleagues, Dr Mark Gurnell, an endocrinologist, and Zoltan Sarnyai, a pharmacologist. First half is a survey of research at the cellular level, second half the behavioural level.

  BODY AND MIND

  Damasio, Antonio (1992) Descartes’ Error. New York: Avon Books. Damasio’s book on how he and Antoine Bechara discovered the essential role of bodily signals in rational thought.

  Sandra Blakeslee, Matthew Blakeslee (2007) The Body Has a Mind of its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Anything Better. New York: Random House.