ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that resilience, which is a critical characteristic of optimal performance in extreme environments, has significant effects on brain structures that are thought to be important for such performance. The neuroscience approach to understanding optimal performance in extreme environments has several advantages over traditional descriptive approaches. The observation that the insular cortex and amygdale are associated with levels of resilience is a first step in bringing neuroscience approaches to a better understanding of what makes individuals perform differently when exposed to extreme environments. From a systems neuroscience perspective, optimal performance under extreme conditions can be conceptualized as goal-oriented task completion during high demand contexts. The experimental assessment of resilience is challenging and requires novel behavioral and neural systems techniques. A less resilient individual may adopt a simple recovery from insult style where job loss causes a period of initial depressive mood followed by a return to affective baseline without an attempt to modify habitual coping mechanisms.
