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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Investigating Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Interlamellar Hippocampus CA1 by Electrophysiological Field Recording

Investigating Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Interlamellar Hippocampus CA1 by Electrophysiological Field Recording

Published on: August 11, 2019

Stress, corticosteroid hormones and hippocampal synaptic function.

Deborah N Alfarez¹, Olof Wiegert, Harm J Krugers

¹Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

CNS & Neurological Disorders Drug Targets

|November 1, 2006

Summary

Stressful events impact hippocampus memory, with corticosteroid hormones modulating these effects. Stress can enhance or suppress synaptic plasticity, affecting learning and memory via AMPA and NMDA receptors.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychology
Endocrinology

Background:

Stressful events profoundly affect hippocampus-dependent learning and memory.
Corticosteroid hormones, released during stress, modulate these memory processes.
Stress can lead to both enhanced and suppressed learning and memory.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate how stressful situations and corticosteroid hormones impact learning and memory.
To investigate the mechanisms underlying the bi-directional effects of stress on memory.

Main Methods:

Review of evidence on stress, corticosteroids, and hippocampus function.
Analysis of synaptic transmission and plasticity modulation by stress.
Focus on the role of AMPA and NMDA receptors in stress-induced memory changes.

Main Results:

Stress and corticosteroids modulate synaptic transmission and plasticity in the hippocampus.
Stress can facilitate synaptic plasticity when applied shortly before or after high-frequency stimulation.
Stress and corticosteroids suppress synaptic potentiation when stress precedes high-frequency stimulation.

Conclusions:

Stressful events and corticosteroid hormones target key synaptic plasticity mechanisms, including AMPA and NMDA receptors.
These molecular targets are crucial for understanding how stress affects learning and memory.
Further research is needed to fully understand the complex interplay between stress, hormones, and memory.