Abstract
Environmental challenges are part of daily life for any individual. In fact, stress appears to be increasingly present in our modern, and demanding, industrialized society. Virtually every aspect of our body and brain can be influenced by stress and although its effects are partly mediated by powerful corticosteroid hormones that target the nervous system, relatively little is known about when, and how, the effects of stress shift from being beneficial and protective to becoming deleterious. Decades of stress research have provided valuable insights into whether stress can directly induce dysfunction and/or pathological alterations, which elements of stress exposure are responsible, and which structural substrates are involved. Using a broad definition of pathology, we here review the "neuropathology of stress" and focus on structural consequences of stress exposure for different regions of the rodent, primate and human brain. We discuss cytoarchitectural, neuropathological and structural plasticity measures as well as more recent neuroimaging techniques that allow direct monitoring of the spatiotemporal effects of stress and the role of different CNS structures in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in human brain. We focus on the hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex, key brain regions that not only modulate emotions and cognition but also the response to stress itself, and discuss disorders like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, Cushing syndrome and dementia.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 109-135 |
| Number of pages | 27 |
| Journal | Acta Neuropathologica |
| Volume | 127 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2014 |
Cite this
}
Neuropathology of stress. / Lucassen, Paul J; Pruessner, Jens; Sousa, Nuno; Almeida, Osborne F X; Van Dam, Anne Marie; Rajkowska, Grazyna; Swaab, Dick F; Czéh, Boldizsár.
In: Acta Neuropathologica, Vol. 127, No. 1, 01.2014, p. 109-135.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Neuropathology of stress
AU - Lucassen, Paul J
AU - Pruessner, Jens
AU - Sousa, Nuno
AU - Almeida, Osborne F X
AU - Van Dam, Anne Marie
AU - Rajkowska, Grazyna
AU - Swaab, Dick F
AU - Czéh, Boldizsár
PY - 2014/1
Y1 - 2014/1
N2 - Environmental challenges are part of daily life for any individual. In fact, stress appears to be increasingly present in our modern, and demanding, industrialized society. Virtually every aspect of our body and brain can be influenced by stress and although its effects are partly mediated by powerful corticosteroid hormones that target the nervous system, relatively little is known about when, and how, the effects of stress shift from being beneficial and protective to becoming deleterious. Decades of stress research have provided valuable insights into whether stress can directly induce dysfunction and/or pathological alterations, which elements of stress exposure are responsible, and which structural substrates are involved. Using a broad definition of pathology, we here review the "neuropathology of stress" and focus on structural consequences of stress exposure for different regions of the rodent, primate and human brain. We discuss cytoarchitectural, neuropathological and structural plasticity measures as well as more recent neuroimaging techniques that allow direct monitoring of the spatiotemporal effects of stress and the role of different CNS structures in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in human brain. We focus on the hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex, key brain regions that not only modulate emotions and cognition but also the response to stress itself, and discuss disorders like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, Cushing syndrome and dementia.
AB - Environmental challenges are part of daily life for any individual. In fact, stress appears to be increasingly present in our modern, and demanding, industrialized society. Virtually every aspect of our body and brain can be influenced by stress and although its effects are partly mediated by powerful corticosteroid hormones that target the nervous system, relatively little is known about when, and how, the effects of stress shift from being beneficial and protective to becoming deleterious. Decades of stress research have provided valuable insights into whether stress can directly induce dysfunction and/or pathological alterations, which elements of stress exposure are responsible, and which structural substrates are involved. Using a broad definition of pathology, we here review the "neuropathology of stress" and focus on structural consequences of stress exposure for different regions of the rodent, primate and human brain. We discuss cytoarchitectural, neuropathological and structural plasticity measures as well as more recent neuroimaging techniques that allow direct monitoring of the spatiotemporal effects of stress and the role of different CNS structures in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in human brain. We focus on the hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex, key brain regions that not only modulate emotions and cognition but also the response to stress itself, and discuss disorders like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, Cushing syndrome and dementia.
KW - Alzheimer Disease
KW - Animals
KW - Brain
KW - Humans
KW - Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
KW - Mental Disorders
KW - Neuroglia
KW - Neurons
KW - Pituitary ACTH Hypersecretion
KW - Pituitary-Adrenal System
KW - Stress, Psychological
KW - Journal Article
KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
KW - Review
U2 - 10.1007/s00401-013-1223-5
DO - 10.1007/s00401-013-1223-5
M3 - Review article
VL - 127
SP - 109
EP - 135
JO - Acta Neuropathologica
JF - Acta Neuropathologica
SN - 0001-6322
IS - 1
ER -