[MESH Roster]

The Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Emotion, Stress and Health [MESH] Study Section reviews applications focused on basic biobehavioral, psychological, social and cultural processes governing affect [emotion, mood] and stress in animals and humans. These studies may include application of basic research, theories and techniques to the study of physical and mental disease processes. Studies also focus on central, autonomic, neuroendocrine, immune, genetic, experiential and lifespan developmental processes, appraisal and coping processes, as well as studies of attachment, well-being, hedonic processes, resilience and behavioral expression. Studies of stress include both laboratory-induced and naturally occurring stressors.

Specific areas covered by MESH:

• Basic psychosocial mechanisms of affect [emotion, mood] and stress: Subjective emotional states [e.g., fear, surprise, happiness, sadness, anger]; emotional expression [e.g., facial, vocal, postural]; regulation of emotion and mood; socioemotional development [including attachment, temperament and social influences]; emotional consequences of life events and stressful conditions; resilience; cognitive influences [e.g., learning, reinforcement, imitation, appraisal] on emotion, stress, and coping.
• Affect and stress processes in central and autonomic nervous system, neuroendocrine and immune function: Bi-directional relationships of affect and stress with neurobiological, neuroendocrine and immune substrates [e.g., HPA axis, neurotransmitter systems] in both animals and humans; effects of these processes on psychological function and adaptation. Imaging and lesioning methods are included, as well as psychophysiological measures of regional brain activation, cardiovascular reactivity, respiratory function, sleep, arousal, and startle. Developmental aspects, including examination of experience-dependent CNS plasticity, are reviewed by this study section.
• Individual differences and social influences: Influence of personality, affective and cognitive factors, temperament, genetic predispositions, developmental and family experiences, marital status, social relationships, sexual identity, gender, age, ethnicity and culture, and socioeconomic status on affect and stress and their linked CNS and ANS processes
• Functional consequences of affect and stress: Effects of affect and stress on cognitive and motor function, pain and other symptom perception, participation in daily life activities, subjective well-being and quality of life, and social interaction. Coping processes and outcomes; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder caregiver burden and its effects
• Psychophysiological responses to stress: Biological [e.g., cardiovascular, respiratory, neuroendocrine, immune, central nervous system] responses to acute or chronic psychological stress and their moderation by individual, situational, or environmental factors [e.g., ethnicity, gender, personality, controllability, predictability] or physiological factors [e.g., physiological manipulations, genetic factors]
• Biological and behavioral responses associated with affect and stress: Research examining the influence of affect, stress, contextual or cue-controlled changes associated with affect or stress on psychological processes [e.g., influence of mood or stress on hunger, eating behavior, physical activity or craving]
• Genetic, social, and environmental interactions with biologic processes: Cardiopulmonary, endocrine, immune, and neural sequelae of interactions between genetic and behavioral or psychosocial factors

MESH has the following shared interests within the BBBP IRG:

• Studies of the role of affect and stress in animal behavior and adaptation may be assigned to BRLE, particularly when complex conditioning procedures are employed. Studies of the basic mechanisms underlying affect and stress responses in animals, especially when directly relevant to human mechanisms, may be assigned to MESH.
• Studies of the influence of affect and stress on cognitive and perceptual mechanisms may be assigned to CP. Studies of the influence of cognition and perception on affective and stress responses may be assigned to MESH.
• Studies focused on basic mechanisms underlying affect and stress responses both in normal and disordered populations may be assigned to MESH. Studies that examine disorders more broadly may be assigned to APDA.  Studies of traumatic stress disorders in which the emphasis is on diagnosis or nosology may also be assigned to APDA.  
• Studies focused on basic mechanisms underlying affect and stress responses both in normal and disordered populations may be assigned to MESH. Studies that examine disorders more broadly may be assigned to CPDD.

MESH has the following shared interests outside the BBBP IRG:

• With the Genes, Genomes and Genetics [GGG] IRG:  The interaction of genetic, social and environmental factors may be assigned to MESH.  The GGG IRG may review studies that focus on physiological processes such as basic structural and functional genetic mechanisms underlying affect and stress.
  
  
• With the Risk, Prevention and Health Behavior [RPHB] IRG:  Studies that focus on basic biopsychological mechanisms of affect and stress may be assigned to MESH.  Studies that emphasize social influences or interventions where the emphasis is not on biological processes, or that emphasize emotion as a form of motivation, or that examine affective style in personality, or psychological mechanisms of coping may be assigned to the RPHB IRG.
  
  
• With the Immunology [IMM] IRG: Applications focusing on bi-directional interactions of behavioral stress, emotion, personality, sickness behavior and psychopathology with immune function may be reviewed in MESH. Applications in which the emphasis is not behavioral may be assigned to the IMM IRG.
  
  
• With the Cardiovascular Sciences [CVS] IRG:  Studies emphasizing the effects of acute or chronic psychological stress on cardiovascular endpoints, including blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and ischemia may be assigned to MESH.  Research on psychoneuroimmune and psychoneuroendocrine mechanisms in cardiovascular function, exercise as a moderator of the effects of stress on cardiovascular function, and interactions between emotion, personality, psychopathology and cardiovascular function (including reactivity) may be assigned to MESH. Studies of basic mechanisms in which the emphasis is not behavioral may be assigned to the CVS IRG.
  
  
• With the Respiratory Sciences [RES] IRG: Studies emphasizing the effects of acute or chronic psychological stress on pulmonary endpoints, including respiratory function, may be assigned to MESH.  Research on psychoneuroimmune and psychoneuroendocrine mechanisms in respiratory function and pulmonary function may be assigned to MESH.  Studies of basic mechanisms in which the emphasis is not behavioral may be assigned to the RES IRG.
  
  
• With the Integrative, Functional and Cognitive Neuroscience [IFCN] IRG:  Studies in which the primary research focus is behavioral may go to MESH.  Studies where the primary focus is on neurobiology including psychoneuroendocrinology and psychoneuroimmunology may be assigned to the IFCN IRG.
  
  
• With the Brain Disorders and Clinical Neuroscience [BDCN] IRG: Studies where the primary focus is on behavior and behavioral approaches may go to MESH.  Studies focused on the anatomical and functional bases of neural disorders may be assigned to the BDCN IRG.