Journal article
Acute stress enhances glutamatergic transmission in prefrontal cortex and facilitates working memory
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.106(33), pp.14075-14079
08/18/2009
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/107903
PMCID: PMC2729022
PMID: 19666502
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC), a key brain region controlling cognition and emotion, is strongly influenced by stress. While chronic stress often produces detrimental effects on these measures, acute stress has been shown to enhance learning and memory, predominantly through the action of corticosteroid stress hormones. We used a combination of electrophysiological, biochemical, and behavioral approaches in an effort to identify the cellular targets of acute stress. We found that behavioral stressors in vivo cause a long-lasting potentiation of NMDAR- and AMPAR-mediated synaptic currents via glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) selectively in PFC pyramidal neurons. This effect is accompanied by increased surface expression of NMDAR and AMPAR subunits in acutely stressed animals. Furthermore, behavioral tests indicate that working memory, a key function relying on recurrent excitation within networks of PFC neurons, is enhanced by acute stress via a GR-dependent mechanism. These results have identified a form of long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission induced by natural stimuli in vivo, providing a potential molecular and cellular mechanism for the beneficial effects of acute stress on cognitive processes subserved by PFC.
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Details
- Title
- Acute stress enhances glutamatergic transmission in prefrontal cortex and facilitates working memory
- Creators
- Eunice Y Yuen - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY 14214; andWenhua Liu - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY 14214; andIlia N Karatsoreos - Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065Jian Feng - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY 14214; andBruce S McEwen - Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065Zhen Yan - Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY 14214; and
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.106(33), pp.14075-14079
- Academic Unit
- Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Department of
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Identifiers
- 99900547134401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article