NEUR 2200 Lecture 11: NEUR 2200A- Oct 13 2016

• School: Carleton University
• Department: Neuroscience
• Course: NEUR 2200
• Professor: Matthew Holahan

Document Summary

*do not need to know specifics about gonadal, homeostatic hormones, or anabolic-androgenic. Stressor: a stimulus that challenges the bodies homeostasis. Fast- acting (sam axis)- immediate stressor (bears, fire: fight or flight response (sympathetic nervous system) sends neural message through spinal cord, this stimulates the adrenal medulla which releases epinephrine, epinephrine activates the bodies endocrine glands. Hippocampus detects cortisol levels in the blood and intrusts the hypothalamus to reduce cortisol levels. Hippocampal neurons: have the highest density of glucocorticoid receptors. Glucocorticoid receptors: the mineralocorticoid receptor, the glucocorticoid receptor (inside the cell): using the direct genomic effect cortisol binds to glucocorticoid receptors creating a complex which can transcribe dna, glucocorticoid response element (changes genes through epigenetics) Chronic stress (abuse, violence): prolonged cortisol secretion causes destruction of hippocampal neurons (decreased dendritic branches) which causes a lesser ability to shut off cortisol secretion (cycle) Formation of new hippocampal cells is lessened (neurogenesis) Decreases expression of bdnf (can lead to atrophy)