Welcome

to the Stress and Motivated Behavior Institute

Give me success or its eternal pursuit and I'll take the pursuit

For some, life is a series of challenges to be met with verve. Striving, yearning and perseverance are second nature. For others, challenges quickly overwhelm the capacity to cope; challenges bring inaction, trepidation and worry. The actual events or episodes comprising the challenge can be the same. Why are stressors a battle cry for some, but a confirmation of the difficulty of life for others? Intervening factors such as context, perceived control, predictability, stressor intensity and individual differences in susceptibility determine whether one copes or fails to cope.

The Stress and Motivated Behavior Institute studies stress' myriad of facets. Co-sponsored by the Departments of Neurology & Neuroscience and Medicine, the SMBI assembles a multidisciplinary team of researchers and theorists to collegially tackle problems related to stress and coping with an eye toward our nation's interests.