Journal Article

Mechanisms for acute stress-induced enhancement of glutamatergic transmission and working memory

McEwen, B S, Ren, Y, Feng, J, Liu, W, Yan, Z, Karatsoreos, I N, Yuen, E Y

2011

Overview

Corticosteroid stress hormones have a strong impact on the function of prefrontal cortex (PFC), a central region controlling cognition and emotion, though the underlying mechanisms are elusive. We found that behavioral stressor or short-term corticosterone treatment in vitro induces a delayed and sustained potentiation of the synaptic response and surface expression of N -methyl- D -aspartic acid receptors (NMDARs) and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs) in PFC pyramidal neurons through a mechanism depending on the induction of serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase (SGK) and the activation of Rab4, which mediates receptor recycling between early endosomes and the plasma membrane. Working memory, a key function relying on glutamatergic transmission in PFC, is enhanced in acutely stressed animals through an SGK-dependent mechanism. These results suggest that acute stress, by activating glucocorticoid receptors, increases the trafficking and function of NMDARs and AMPARs through SGK/Rab4 signaling, which leads to the potentiated synaptic transmission, thereby facilitating cognitive processes mediated by the PFC.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 631/378/1457/1945 / 631/378/1595/1636 / 631/378/548 / 631/80/86/2366 / Animals / Animals, Newborn / Aspartic acid / Behavioral Sciences / Biological and medical sciences / Biological Psychology / Biophysics / Cells, Cultured / Cognitive ability / Corticosteroids / Corticosterone / Corticosterone - pharmacology / Dose-Response Relationship, Drug / Drug Interactions / Electric Stimulation / Endosomes / Excitatory Amino Acid Agents - pharmacology / Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials - drug effects / Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials - genetics / Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects / Gene Expression Regulation - genetics / Genetic aspects / Glucocorticoid receptors / Glucocorticoids / Glutamate receptors / Glutamatergic transmission / Glutamic Acid - metabolism / Green Fluorescent Proteins - genetics / Hormone Antagonists - pharmacology / Immediate-Early Proteins - genetics / Immediate-Early Proteins - metabolism / In Vitro Techniques / Long-Term Potentiation - drug effects / Male / Maze Learning - drug effects / Maze Learning - physiology / Medical sciences / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Memory / Memory, Short-Term - drug effects / Memory, Short-Term - physiology / Methyl aspartate / Mifepristone - pharmacology / N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors / Neurosciences / original-article / Patch-Clamp Techniques - methods / Peptides - pharmacology / Pharmacotherapy / Physiological aspects / Prefrontal cortex / Prefrontal Cortex - cytology / Prefrontal Cortex - drug effects / Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology / Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases - genetics / Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism / Protein turnover / Psychiatry / Psychological aspects / Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry / Psychopathology. Psychiatry / Pyramidal cells / Pyramidal Cells - drug effects / Pyramidal Cells - physiology / rab GTP-Binding Proteins - genetics / rab GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism / Rats / Rats, Sprague-Dawley / Receptor mechanisms / Receptors, Glutamate - genetics / Receptors, Glutamate - metabolism / Risk factors / RNA, Small Interfering - pharmacology / Short term memory / Stress (Psychology) / Stress, Psychological - pathology / Stress, Psychological - physiopathology / Synaptic transmission / Synaptic Transmission - drug effects / Time Factors / Transfection - methods