Knowledge Tree
Bruce S. McEwen
Also known as: Bruce S. McEwen, Bruce McEwen
Facts (19)
Sources
Allostasis revisited: A perception, variation, and risk framework frontiersin.org Sep 28, 2022 9 facts
formulaIn the energetics-based framework proposed by Bruce McEwen and John Wingfield (2003), allostatic load is calculated as the function: allostatic load = Ee (basal existence) + Ei (routine activity) + Eo (unpredictable perturbations).
claimBruce McEwen (1998) suggests that chronically elevated glucocorticoid levels may cause imbalances in sympathetic and parasympathetic tone, as well as hormones associated with homeostasis, food intake, and reproduction, which may manifest as conditions like hypertension and insulin resistance.
quoteBruce McEwen stated that "homeostasis should be reserved for parameters that are essential to maintain for survival."
claimBruce McEwen and Eliot Stellar featured "allostasis" centrally in their work, but they focused on set-point-shifts as the core of their definition and explicitly retained homeostasis as a "tried and useful concept" that did not merit outright replacement.
claimMartin Picard, Robert-Paul Juster, and Bruce S. McEwen argued that mitochondrial allostatic load relates to glucocorticoid function in a 2014 article in Nature Reviews Endocrinology.
claimThe definition of allostatic load developed by Bruce McEwen and Stellar (1993) and elaborated by Bruce McEwen (1998) refers to specific pathologies associated with chronic stress, particularly chronic exposure to elevated glucocorticoid hormones in humans and laboratory animals.
claimBruce McEwen clarified in 2004 that the term 'homeostasis' should be reserved for physiological parameters that are essential to maintain for survival.
quoteBruce McEwen described allostatic load as "the price of adaptation that promotes pathophysiology."
formulaBruce McEwen and John Wingfield developed an energetics-based framework for allostatic load in 2003, where allostatic load is a function of Ee (basal existence), Ei (routine activity), and Eo (unpredictable perturbations).
Homeostasis vs Allostasis — The Urban Health Council urbanhealthcouncil.com 3 facts
claimIn McEwen's model, homeostasis maintains the stability of core tissue parameters like pH and temperature, while allostasis dynamically modifies pericellular parameters like blood pressure and oxygen to support that stability.
claimMcEwen proposed a unifying model where allostasis is complementary to homeostasis, acting as the process that maintains homeostasis through dynamically changing physiological parameters such as blood pressure and heart rate to respond to environmental demands.
claimMcEwen distinguishes homeostasis as the basis of survival, whereas allostasis is a process that allows for adaptation over time.
Understanding Allostasis: Stability Through Change - Cannelevate cannelevate.com.au Jan 2, 2026 3 facts
claimBruce McEwen and Eliot Stellar coined the term "allostatic load" in 1993 to describe the physiological burden of ongoing adaptation and the strain produced by systems under challenge.
referenceBruce McEwen's integration model defines homeostasis as the outcome of maintaining core vital parameters, while allostasis is the process of dynamic, multi-system coordination that enables homeostasis to occur despite changing environmental conditions.
claimBruce McEwen refined an integration model that recognizes homeostasis and allostasis as complementary concepts rather than competing ones.
Stress and Animal Health: Physiological Mechanisms and ... - Nature nature.com 1 fact
claimB. S. McEwen and J. C. Wingfield defined the concept of allostasis within the fields of biology and biomedicine.
Physiology, Homeostasis - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf ncbi.nlm.nih.gov May 1, 2023 1 fact
claimBruce S. McEwen and John C. Wingfield discuss the concept of allostasis in biology and biomedicine in a 2003 article published in Hormones and Behavior.
A Copernican Approach to Brain Advancement: The Paradigm of ... frontiersin.org Apr 25, 2019 1 fact
claimThe McEwen view of allostasis, developed by Bruce McEwen and Stellar (1993) and McEwen and Wingfield (2003), has gained significant currency and academic attention, though it has also been subject to criticism.
Homeostasis or Allostasis? - Beauty, Neuroscience & Architecture neuro-architectology.com 1 fact
quoteAchim Peters and Bruce McEwen describe allostasis as an “active process by which living organisms adapt to potential threats to their survival and changes in their environment (often referred to as ‘stressors’) in order to maintain homeostasis and promote survival.”