Abstract:

Stress is an unavoidable event in our daily life, and exposure to stress chronically is considered a principal cause for psychosomatic disorders. Stressor could trigger a series of physiological responses, including over-activation of automatic nervous system (ANS)and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Social support might relieve the effect of stress on ANS and HPA axis by buffering or attenuating the activity of stress-related neural regions and therefore reinstate homeostasis rapidly, which prevents the organism from stress-related damage.

Key words: social support, stress, autonomic nervous system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, central nervous system