Journal
DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY
Volume 72, Issue 6, Pages 878-890Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/dneu.20968
Keywords
hippocampus; stress; BDNF; structural remodeling; antidepressants
Categories
Funding
- NIH [MH41256, NS07080, MH58911]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The adult brain is capable of considerable structural and functional plasticity and the study of hormone actions in brain has contributed to our understanding of this important phenomenon. In particular, stress and stress-related hormones such as glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids play a key role in the ability of acute and chronic stress to cause reversible remodeling of neuronal connections in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala. To produce this plasticity, these hormones act by both genomic and non-genomic mechanisms together with ongoing, experience-driven neural activity mediated by excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters, neurotrophic factors such as brain derived neurotrophic factor, extracellular molecules such as neural cell adhesion molecule, neuropeptides such as corticotrophin releasing factor, and endocannabinoids. The result is a dynamic brain architecture that can be modified by experience. Under this view, the role of pharmaceutical agents, such as antidepressants, is to facilitate such plasticity that must also be guided by experiences. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 72: 878890, 2012
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available