Talking to the Gene

From my forthcoming book.
Copyright 2009 by Christine M. Skolnik

Stress, Cortisol, and Genetic Expression

Physiologically speaking, stress is practically synonymous with the production of cortisol in the body. This hormone regulates the expression of various genes associated with the immune system. Too much cortisol inhibits immune responses; hence the commonly observed, and scientifically-grounded phenomenon of individuals becoming ill after a period of heightened stress (Andreasen 234-39; Martin 167-70). Cortisol production, however, can be controlled through cognitive framing and emotional regulation strategies, among them the explicitly rhetorical.

An experiment conducted by a group of psychiatrists at the University of Michigan showed a significant positive impact of cognitive intervention on subjects exposed to pentagastrin, a stress-inducing substance (Abelson 668). This intervention was obviously rhetorical, meant to lend subjects a greater sense of control by giving them more information before and during administration, as well as an opportunity to ask questions. Subjects in the CI (cognitive intervention) group received more detailed instructions accompanied by a five-minute conversation, a light that indicated pentagastrin flow, and options for controlling or stopping the flow (Abelson 670). Cortisol levels were markedly decreased in the CI versus the control group, even in subjects with panic disorder (Abelson 671). Interestingly, none of the subjects actually stopped the flow of pentagastrin (Ableson 670). These findings clearly indicate that stress responses may be psychologically inhibited and that such interventions could “help ameliorate cortisol-mediated deleterious effects of stress on health” (Abelson 674-75). This experiment also shows a direct connection between a rhetorical intervention, an increased sense of control, and decreased cortisol levels.

The connection between stress and illness is not news. The role of the genes in immune responses, however, is generally unknown, as is the fact that cognitive framing and emotional response can affect genetic expression through the fluid dynamics of hormones. The relationship between stress and cortisol suggests a continuum of various external and internal environments: the external factors causing stress; our personal psychological reactions to those factors; the biochemical environment of our bodies (presence of stress hormones); and the biochemical environment of our cells which afects genetic expression (Cloninger 279; Ridley Genome 150; Schneiderman). This continuum, furthermore, suggests various points of intervention—occasions when individuals can exert influence to reduce the negative psychological and physiological effects of stress. While most of the research on cortisol involves regulation of environmental factors by research scientists, stress can also be modulated by various strategies of emotional self-regulation (some of which are discussed in preceding chapters). To the extent that individuals can reduce their emotional stress responses they can also reduce the production of cortisol and boost their immune systems through autonomic genetic processes. This overall process, then, is paradigmatic of an individual’s ability to “talk back to the gene.” That is to say, individuals can affect genetic expression through cognitive, emotional, and rhetorical strategies.