Effect of Chronic Stress on Short and Long-Term Plasticity in Dentate Gyrus; Study of Recovery and Adaptation Publisher Pubmed



Radahmadi M¹ ; Hosseini N¹ ; Nasimi A¹
Source: Neuroscience Published:2014

Abstract

Stress dramatically affects synaptic plasticity of the hippocampus, disrupts paired-pulse facilitation and impairs long-term potentiation (LTP). This study was performed to find the effects of chronic restraint stress and recovery period on excitability, paired-pulse response, LTP and to find probable adaptation to very long stress in the dentate gyrus. Thirty-eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups of Control, Rest-Stress (21. days stress), Stress-Rest (recovery) and Stress-Stress (42. days stress: adaptation). Chronic restraint stress was applied 6-h/day. Input-output functions, paired-pulse responses and LTP were recorded from the dentate gyrus while stimulating the perforant pathway. We found that chronic stress attenuated the responsiveness, paired-pulse response and LTP in the dentate gyrus. A 21-day recovery period, after the stress, improved all the three responses toward normal, indicating reversibility of these stress-related hippocampal changes. There was no significant adaptation to very long stress, probably due to severity of stress. © 2014 IBRO.