Hippocampal remodeling and damage by
corticosteroids: implications for mood disorders
by
Brown ES, Rush AJ, McEwen BS
Department of Psychiatry,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,
Dallas 75235-9101, USA.
Neuropsychopharmacology 1999 Oct; 21(4):474-84

ABSTRACT

Mood disorders are common, recurrent and disabling illnesses which are frequently associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation and memory loss. The hippocampus provides negative feedback to the HPA axis and has an important role in key aspects of spatial and declarative memory. Thus, hippocampal dysfunction could account for both the memory impairment and neuroendocrine abnormalities found in mood disorders. The critical role of the hippocampus in declarative memory, emotional processing, and vulnerability to stress has been demonstrated in both animal and human studies. Cellular processes in the hippocampus including long-term potentiation, neurogenesis, and dendritic remodeling are currently areas of intense study. Human studies report cognitive impairment consistent with hippocampal dysfunction in depression, bipolar disorder, Cushing's disease, and in those individuals receiving exogenous corticosteroids. This review examines data on the role of corticosteroids in hippocampal remodeling and atrophy in patients with mood disorders. Interventions to prevent or reverse the damaging effects of corticosteroids on the hippocampus are discussed.

CRF
LHPA
Stress
Memory
Antalarmin
Desipramine
Ketoconazole
Neurotrophins
Corticosteroids
Social rank theory
Glucocorticoids and mood
Selectivity or multiplicity?
The hippocampus in depression
Glucocorticoids and antidepressants
Are antidepressants neuroprotective?
Desipramine, the hippocampus and GAP-43
Depression, antidepressants and the hippocampus
Is hippocampal neogenesis critical for therapeutic response?

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