QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, October 12, 2005, 25(41):9328-9338; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2281-05.2005

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (36) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Brunson, K. L. Articles by Baram, T. Z. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Brunson, K. L. Articles by Baram, T. Z.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Mechanisms of Late-Onset Cognitive Decline after Early-Life Stress

Kristen L. Brunson,¹ Enikö Kramár,² Bin Lin,² Yuncai Chen,³ Laura Lee Colgin,² Theodore K. Yanagihara,² Gary Lynch,² and Tallie Z. Baram^1,3

Departments of ¹Anatomy/Neurobiology, ²Psychiatry and Human Behavior, and ³Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697-4475

Progressive cognitive deficits that emerge with aging are a result of complex interactions of genetic and environmental factors. Whereas much has been learned about the genetic underpinnings of these disorders, the nature of "acquired" contributing factors, and the mechanisms by which they promote progressive learning and memory dysfunction, remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that a period of early-life "psychological" stress causes late-onset, selective deterioration of both complex behavior and synaptic plasticity: two forms of memory involving the hippocampus, were severely but selectively impaired in middle-aged, but not young adult, rats exposed to fragmented maternal care during the early postnatal period. At the cellular level, disturbances to hippocampal long-term potentiation paralleled the behavioral changes and were accompanied by dendritic atrophy and mossy fiber expansion. These findings constitute the first evidence that a short period of stress early in life can lead to delayed, progressive impairments of synaptic and behavioral measures of hippocampal function, with potential implications to the basis of age-related cognitive disorders in humans.

Key words: memory; long-term potentiation; aging; hippocampus; stress; dendritic atrophy

---

Received June 4, 2005; revised August 5, 2005; accepted August 15, 2005.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. V. Schmidt, V. Sterlemann, K. Wagner, B. Niederleitner, K. Ganea, C. Liebl, J. M. Deussing, S. Berger, G. Schutz, F. Holsboer, et al. Postnatal Glucocorticoid Excess Due to Pituitary Glucocorticoid Receptor Deficiency: Differential Short- and Long-Term Consequences Endocrinology, June 1, 2009; 150(6): 2709 - 2716. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. J. Rice, C. A. Sandman, M. R. Lenjavi, and T. Z. Baram A Novel Mouse Model for Acute and Long-Lasting Consequences of Early Life Stress Endocrinology, October 1, 2008; 149(10): 4892 - 4900. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Chen, C. M. Dube, C. J. Rice, and T. Z. Baram Rapid Loss of Dendritic Spines after Stress Involves Derangement of Spine Dynamics by Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone J. Neurosci., March 12, 2008; 28(11): 2903 - 2911. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. S. McEwen Physiology and Neurobiology of Stress and Adaptation: Central Role of the Brain Physiol Rev, July 1, 2007; 87(3): 873 - 904. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Duric and K. E. McCarson Effects of Analgesic or Antidepressant Drugs on Pain- or Stress-Evoked Hippocampal and Spinal Neurokinin-1 Receptor and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Gene Expression in the Rat J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., December 1, 2006; 319(3): 1235 - 1243. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. I. Knudsen, J. J. Heckman, J. L. Cameron, and J. P. Shonkoff Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America's future workforce PNAS, July 5, 2006; 103(27): 10155 - 10162. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. A. Fenoglio, Y. Chen, and T. Z. Baram Neuroplasticity of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Early in Life Requires Recurrent Recruitment of Stress-Regulating Brain Regions J. Neurosci., March 1, 2006; 26(9): 2434 - 2442. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Papers of Note Sci. Aging Knowl. Environ., October 19, 2005; 2005(42): nw39 - nw39. [Full Text]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help