Conclusions and future directions
This review explored the ideas of stress and allostasis in the context of resilience, or the ability of an organism to withstand challenges to stability from environmental or psychological perturbations. We further explored what is meant by resilience and vulnerability in the context of neural function, focusing on BDNF as a key player. The roles of neurotrophins, such as BDNF, are central in our thinking of how the brain promotes adaptation to environmental challenge, as they seem central to the mechanisms that the brain uses to promote adaptive plasticity. Finally, we discussed how these “windows of opportunity” can be reopened by treatments that increase BDNF function, and that to capitalize on these new opportunities, behavioral interventions must also be applied.
This research is an area of great promise, and with appropriate efforts exploring both the phenomenology (e.g. other environmental factors that can promote resilience, or impart vulnerabilities), as well as the neural mechanisms that modulate these effects (e.g. epigenetic modifications, neurotrophin signaling, and morphological changes), perhaps we can unlock the secrets by which the brain helps us to adapt to and cope with a changing environment. Understanding the conditions and mechanisms that promote plasticity in “normal” adaptive situations may help us find ways to intervene when these systems fail, and compromise an individual's resilience.