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Effect of Chronic Stress on Prefrontal Cortical Function

出版	McGill University, 2009
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=zPxlAQAACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a brain region thought to mediate cognitive functions such as working memory. Chronic stress has been shown to reduce working memory. In this thesis study, the effect of chronic stress on PFC functions was assessed in adult rats. First, contrary to previous evidences, chronic stress induces working memory performance alterations differentially in two populations of rats. One group displayed a decrease of performance only at 30 second delay, while the other had a decrease and increase at 0 and 30 seconds respectively. Then, the effect of chronic stress on synaptic plasticity induction in the hippocampus-PFC network was investigated. High-frequency tetanic stimulation (HFS) of the dorsal hippocampus that induced long-term potentiation (LTP) in the prelimbic and infralimbic cortex in normal conditions was unable to induce LTP after chronic stress in the infralimbic cortex, whereas long-term depression (LTD) instead of LTP was induced in the prelimbic cortex. Given that synaptic plasticity has been shown to depend on NMDA receptors in the PFC, NMDA subunit expressions before and after chronic stress was examined. There was a decrease of NR1 subunits expression in the prelimbic, but not infralimbic cortex. In contrast, the NR2A/NR2B ratio was increased in the infralimbic, but not prelimbic cortex. These results suggest that chronic stress disrupts PFC functions through dynamic modulation of distinct neural networks within the PFC.