"[1] Some definitions of distress tolerance have also specified that the endurance of these negative events occur in contexts in which methods to escape the distressor exist.
[8] As this is a nascent field of research, the relationships between perceptual and behavioral assessments of distress tolerance have not been clearly elucidated.
These proposed brain areas are based on the conceptualization of distress tolerance as a function of reward learning.
Therefore, brain regions that are activated during reward processing and learning are hypothesized to also serve as neurobiological substrates for distress tolerance.
For instance, activation intensity of dopamine neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens, ventral striatum, and prefrontal cortex is associated with an individual's predicted value of an immediate reward during a learning task.
For instance, Borderline Personality Disorder is posited to be maintained through a chronic unwillingness to engage in or tolerate emotionally distressful states.
[19] Similarly, susceptibility to developing anxiety disorders is often characterized by low emotional distress tolerance.
[1] Low distress tolerance of both physical and emotional states is perceived to be a risk factor in maintaining and escalating addiction.
[20] Distress tolerance is particularly important in neurobiological theories that posit that advanced stages of addiction are driven by use of a substance to avoid physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms.