ERIC Number: EJ767874
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 4
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1072-0502
EISSN: N/A
Timing is Essential for Rapid Effects of Corticosterone on Synaptic Potentiation in the Mouse Hippocampus
Joels, Marian; Krugers, Harm; Wiegert, Olof
Learning & Memory, v13 n2 p110-113 Mar-Apr 2006
Stress facilitates memory formation, but only when the stressor is closely linked to the learning context. These effects are, at least in part, mediated by corticosteroid hormones. Here we demonstrate that corticosterone rapidly facilitates synaptic potentiation in the mouse hippocampal CA1 area when high levels of the hormone and high-frequency stimulation coincide in time, but not when corticosterone is given either before or after repetitive stimulation. This effect could not be blocked by antagonists of the mineralocorticoid receptor and glucocorticoid receptor (spironolactone and RU 38486, respectively). These data provide a biological substrate for the important behavioral observation that stress and corticosteroid hormones can facilitate learning and memory processes. (Contains 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Anxiety, Learning Processes, Drug Use, Animal Behavior, Animals, Conditioning, Time Factors (Learning), Brain, Emotional Response, Experimental Psychology, Laboratory Experiments, Biochemistry, Stimulation, Memory
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 500 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, NY 11797-2924. Tel: 800-843-4388; 516-367-8800; Fax: 516-422-4097; e-mail: cshpres@cshl.edu; Web site: http://www.learnmem.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A