Unlocking Motivation
Effects of Burnout on the Brain
Burnout due to chronic work stress has been shown to impact the function and structure of the brain. A study by an integrative team of psychological scientists at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden showed the impact burnout has on neural connections. Specifically, the study found that those who reported higher levels of stress had a larger amygdala than the control group. The amygdala is responsible for regulating emotions like fear and aggression, often linked with a person’s flight or flight response. The larger amygdala size suggests that chronic stress impacts a person’s ability to regulate their emotions.
​
This study also revealed that there was a weaker connection between the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and other regions related to emotional distress (Michel). The ACC is also linked with reward anticipation and motivation (Matthew et al.). This weakened connection to the ACC suggests that those with greater stress also have a harder time maintaining motivation. Moreover, there was also evidence of weaker connections between the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), “a structure involved in executive function” (Michel). The weaker connections to these executive functions may be a factor in the difficulties people with burnout have in regulating their emotions. The mPFC also “plays essential roles in the cognitive process, regulation of emotion, motivation, and sociability” (Xu et al.). Once again, a structure linked to motivation is impacted due to chronic stress from burnout.
​
Ivanka Savic, a neurologist in the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health at the Karolinska Institutet, conducted another study which found that the structure of the brain itself may change due to burnout (Michel). Along with the amygdala of the burnout group being larger than the control, the prefrontal cortex, which naturally experiences wear and tear due to aging, showed more than normal levels of thinning proportional to the level of stress participants reported feeling. There was also an overall decrease in the hippocampus, caudate, and putamen which can also be linked to the stress experienced by the participants. Overall, the results reveal that burnout can have great lasting effects on a person’s brain.
​
Effects of Burnout on the Endocrine System
Along with impacting the brain structure, burnout has also been shown to impact the release of hormones in the endocrine system. Specifically, the release of the stress hormone cortisol. The cortisol, a hormone linked with a person’s flight or flight response, is regulated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis (Michel). Under normal conditions, once the threat is gone, the cortisol levels will return back to normal. However, in cases of chronic workplace stress, the “threat” never goes away and as a result, the cortisol levels in the body never decrease.
Alexandra Michel, a Scientific Director and Professor at the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, explained that “when cortisol levels remain too high for too long, the body responds by eventually downshifting cortisol production to abnormally low levels, a state called hypocortisolism. These abnormally low levels of cortisol are associated with severe stress and trauma, as though the body’s stress response system itself has been burned out.” (Michel). Hypocortisolism causes low-grade inflammation in the body which increases the risk of coronary heart disease and leads to more heart attacks.
References​
Matthew, et al. “The Anterior Cingulate Gyrus and Social Cognition: Tracking the Motivation of Others.” Neuron, vol. 90, no. 4, Cell Press, May 2016, pp. 692–707, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.04.018.
Michel, Alexandra. “Burnout and the Brain.” APS Observer, vol. 29, 2016, www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/burnout-and-the-brain.
Xu, Pan, et al. “Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Neurological Diseases.” Physiological Genomics, vol. 51, no. 9, American Physical Society, Sept. 2019, pp. 432–42, https://doi.org/10.1152/physiolgenomics.00006.2019.