Effects of glucocorticoids on hippocampal long‐term potentiation

The effects of chronic and acute corticosterone (CORT) administration were investigated on hippocampal long‐term potentiation (LTP) in the dentate gyrus granule cell layer of the rat. Electrophysiological experiments were performed in vivo under urethane anesthesia. Chronic CORT treatment (40 mg/kg/day) over 21 days decreased LTP compared to vehicle controls, even when LTP was measured 48 hours after cessation of CORT treatment, when serum CORT levels had returned to baseline. A single injection of CORT also decreased LTP compared to vehicle controls, but only when CORT levels were high, since at 48 hours after a single acute CORT injection LTP was not depressed. The decrements in LTP were seen both for the slope of the excitatory postsynaptic potential and for the population spike. Yet CORT had no effects on posttetanic potentiation or neuronal excitability. These findings are consistent with previous reports showing a reduction in LTP in the CAI field of animals exposed to stress or acute CORT administration.

[1]  Bruce S. McEwen,et al.  Stress induces atrophy of apical dendrites of hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons , 1992, Brain Research.

[2]  M. Joëls,et al.  Control of neuronal excitability by corticosteroid hormones , 1992, Trends in Neurosciences.

[3]  M. Joëls,et al.  Effect of corticosteroid hormones on electrical activity in rat hippocampus , 1991, The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[4]  B. Dubrovsky,et al.  Effects of adrenal steroids and their reduced metabolites on hippocampal long-term potentiation , 1991, The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[5]  D. Diamond,et al.  Serum corticosterone level predicts the magnitude of hippocampal primed burst potentiation and depression in urethane-anesthetized rats , 1991, Psychobiology.

[6]  P. H. Moore,et al.  Stress-induced elevations of gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor-active steroids in the rat brain. , 1991, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[7]  N. Hori,et al.  Glucocorticoids promote localized activity of rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons in brain slices , 1991, Neuroscience Letters.

[8]  B. Dubrovsky,et al.  Early and late effects of steroid hormones on the central nervous system. , 2007, Ciba Foundation symposium.

[9]  C. Woolley,et al.  Short-term glucocorticoid manipulations affect neuronal morphology and survival in the adult dentate gyrus , 1990, Neuroscience.

[10]  John A. Zelano,et al.  On-line acquisition, analysis and presentation of neurophysiological data based on a personal microcomputer system , 1990, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[11]  S. Puglisi‐Allegra,et al.  Hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor and behavior: A correlative study in rats and mice , 1990, The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[12]  Bruce S. McEwen,et al.  Exposure to excess glucocorticoids alters dendritic morphology of adult hippocampal pyramidal neurons , 1990, Brain Research.

[13]  D. Diamond,et al.  Exposure to a novel environment interferes with the induction of hippocampal primed burst potentiation in the behaving rat , 1990, Psychobiology.

[14]  R. Sapolsky,et al.  Hippocampal damage associated with prolonged glucocorticoid exposure in primates , 1990, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[15]  M. Joëls,et al.  Mineralocorticoid receptor-mediated changes in membrane properties of rat CA1 pyramidal neurons in vitro. , 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[16]  Richard F. Thompson,et al.  Unpredictable and uncontrollable stress impairs neuronal plasticity in the rat hippocampus , 1990, Brain Research Bulletin.

[17]  Richard F. Thompson,et al.  Opioid antagonist eliminates the stress-induced impairment of long-term potentiation (LTP) , 1990, Brain Research.

[18]  T. Shors,et al.  Effect of adrenalectomy and demedullation on the stress-induced impairment of long-term potentiation. , 1990, Neuroendocrinology.

[19]  M. Ferrini,et al.  Corticosteroid receptors and glucocorticoid content in microdissected brain regions: correlative aspects. , 1989, Neuroendocrinology.

[20]  P. Landfield,et al.  Corticosteroid modulation of hippocampal potentials: increased effect with aging. , 1989, Science.

[21]  M. Joëls,et al.  Effects of glucocorticoids and norepinephrine on the excitability in the hippocampus. , 1989, Science.

[22]  T. Bliss,et al.  The EPSP-spike (E-S) component of long-term potentiation in the rat hippocampal slice is modulated by GABAergic but not cholinergic mechanisms , 1989, Neuroscience Letters.

[23]  Richard F. Thompson,et al.  Inescapable versus escapable shock modulates long-term potentiation in the rat hippocampus. , 1989, Science.

[24]  E. Carlier,et al.  Effects of RU 486 on hippocampal slice electrophysiology in normal and adrenalectomized BALB/c mice. , 1989, Neuroendocrinology.

[25]  R. S. Sloviter,et al.  Selective loss of hippocampal granule cells in the mature rat brain after adrenalectomy. , 1989, Science.

[26]  C. Herron,et al.  Hippocampal synaptic transmission: regulation of the NMDA receptor-mediated component. , 1989, Comparative biochemistry and physiology. A, Comparative physiology.

[27]  B. Dubrovsky,et al.  Effects of 5α-dihydrocorticosterone on evoked responses and long-term potentiation , 1987, Brain Research Bulletin.

[28]  E. D. de Kloet,et al.  Relative occupation of type-I and type-II corticosteroid receptors in rat brain following stress and dexamethasone treatment: functional implications. , 1987, The Journal of endocrinology.

[29]  H. Wigström,et al.  Long‐term potentiation involves enhanced synaptic excitation relative to synaptic inhibition in guinea‐pig hippocampus. , 1987, The Journal of physiology.

[30]  J. Dunn.  Differential plasma corticosterone responses to electrical stimulation of the medial and lateral septal nuclei. , 1987, Neuroendocrinology.

[31]  B. Soumireu-Mourat,et al.  Effects of corticosterone on hippocampal slice electrophysiology in normal and adrenalectomized BALB/c mice. , 1987, Neuroendocrinology.

[32]  S Levine,et al.  Behavioral stress impairs long-term potentiation in rodent hippocampus. , 1987, Behavioral and neural biology.

[33]  P. Landfield,et al.  Modulation of brain aging correlates by long-term alterations of adrenal steroids and neurally-active peptides. , 1987, Progress in brain research.

[34]  B. McEwen,et al.  Adrenal steroid receptors and actions in the nervous system. , 1986, Physiological reviews.

[35]  C. Vidal,et al.  Corticosterone reduces the excitability of hippocampal pyramidal cells in vitro , 1986, Brain Research.

[36]  E. R. Kloet,et al.  Anatomical resolution of two types of corticosterone receptor sites in rat brain with in vitro autoradiography and computerized image analysis. , 1986, Journal of steroid biochemistry.

[37]  E. R. Kloet,et al.  Two receptor systems for corticosterone in rat brain: microdistribution and differential occupation. , 1985, Endocrinology.

[38]  H. Wigström,et al.  Facilitation of hippocampal long-lasting potentiation by GABA antagonists. , 1985, Acta physiologica Scandinavica.

[39]  R. Eskay,et al.  Glucocorticoids are modulators of GABAA receptors in brain , 1985, Brain Research.

[40]  B. McEwen,et al.  Prolonged glucocorticoid exposure reduces hippocampal neuron number: implications for aging , 1985, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[41]  J. Dunn,et al.  The effect of urethane on pituitary-adrenal function of female rats. , 1984, Acta endocrinologica.

[42]  T. Teyler,et al.  Efects of corticosterone on the electrophysiology of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal Cells in vitro , 1984, Brain Research Bulletin.

[43]  K. Beaumont,et al.  Characterization of rat brain aldosterone receptors reveals high affinity for corticosterone. , 1983, Endocrinology.

[44]  H. Wigström,et al.  Facilitated induction of hippocampal long-lasting potentiation during blockade of inhibition , 1983, Nature.

[45]  R. Douglas,et al.  Inhibitory modulation of long-term potentiation: Evidence for a postsynaptic locus of control , 1982, Brain Research.

[46]  W. Levy,et al.  Changes in translation of synaptic excitation to dentate granule cell discharge accompanying long-term potentiation. II. An evaluation of mechanisms utilizing dentate gyrus dually innervated by surviving ipsilateral and sprouted crossed temporodentate inputs. , 1981, Journal of neurophysiology.

[47]  B. Bohus,et al.  Adrenal steroids and extinction behavior: antagonism by progesterone, deoxycorticosterone and dexamethasone of a specific effect of corticosterone. , 1981, Life sciences.

[48]  K. Fuxe,et al.  GLUCOCORTICOIDS, CATECHOLAMINES AND AVOIDANCE LEARNING , 1981 .

[49]  B. McEwen,et al.  Modulation of high affinity GABA uptake into hippocampal synaptosomes by glucocorticoids , 1978, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[50]  M. Gutnick,et al.  Iontophoretically applied corticosteroids do not affect the firing of hippocampal neurons. , 1977, Neuroendocrinology.

[51]  E. K. Michal.  Dexamethasone inhibits multi-unit activity in the rat hippocampus. , 1974, Brain research.

[52]  S. Gilman,et al.  Dose effects of cortisol on single unit activity in hypothalamus, reticular formation and hippocampus of freely behaving rats correlated with plasma steroid levels. , 1973, Brain research.

[53]  B. Bohus.  Pituitary-Adrenal Influences on Avoidance and Approach Behavior of the Rat , 1973 .

[54]  B. McEwen,et al.  Rat Brain Binds Adrenal Steroid Hormone: Radioautography of Hippocampus with Corticosterone , 1972, Science.

[55]  D. Pfaff,et al.  Telemetered Recording of Hormone Effects on Hippocampal Neurons , 1971, Science.

[56]  T. Spriggs,et al.  Urethane anaesthesia and pituitary‐adrenal function in the rat , 1964, The Journal of pharmacy and pharmacology.