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Environmental events, both physical and emotional, can produce stress reactions to widely varying degrees. Stress can affect many aspects of physiology, and levels of stress, emotional status, and means of coping with stress can influence health and disease. The stress system consists of brain elements, of which the main components are the corticotropin-releasing homrone (CRH) and locus ceruleus (LC)-norepinephrine (NE)/autonomic systems, as well as their peripheral effectors, the pituitary-adrenal axis and the autonomic system, which function to coordinate the stress response. Activation of the stress system results in behavioral and physical changes which allow the organism to adapt. This system is closely integrated with other central nervous system elements involved in the regulation of behavior and emotion, in addition to the axes responsible for reproduction, growth and immunity. With current trends in …