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Stress hormones and AMPA receptor trafficking in synaptic plasticity and memory

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 11, pages 675–681 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

The acquisition and consolidation of memories of stressful events is modulated by glucocorticoids, a type of corticosteroid hormone that is released in high levels from the adrenal glands after exposure to a stressful event. These effects occur through activation of mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs). The molecular mechanisms that underlie the effects of glucocorticoids on synaptic transmission, synaptic plasticity, learning and memory have recently begun to be identified. Glucocorticoids regulate AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate) receptor trafficking — which is crucially involved in synaptic transmission and plasticity — both rapidly and persistently. Stress hormones may, through modulation of AMPA receptor function, promote the consolidation of behaviourally relevant information.

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Figure 1: Stress, stress hormones and memory formation.
Figure 2: Differential effects of stress hormones on AMPA receptor trafficking.

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Acknowledgements

H.J.K. is supported by the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences (grants 05CDP013 and 08CDP004), the Dutch Brain Foundation (grant 13F05.02 and 2008 (1).07) and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (grant ALW 820.02.006). C.C.H. is supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (grants NWO-ALW and NWO-ECHO), the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (grants ZonMw-VIDI and ZonMw-TOP), the Human Frontier Science Program Career Development Award (HFSP-CDA), the European Science Foundation (European Young Investigators Award) and the European Molecular Biology Organization Young Investigators Programme. L.G. is supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Young Investigator Award from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant JC08_329,238), Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, Université Bordeaux 2, and Conseil Régional d'Aquitaine.

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  1. Harmen J. Krugers is at the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.,

    Harmen J. Krugers

  2. Casper C. Hoogenraad is at the Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Dr Molewaterplein 50, 3015 GE, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.,

    Casper C. Hoogenraad

  3. Laurent Groc is at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5091, Physiologie Cellulaire de la Synapse, Université de Bordeaux, France.,

    Laurent Groc

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Krugers, H., Hoogenraad, C. & Groc, L. Stress hormones and AMPA receptor trafficking in synaptic plasticity and memory. Nat Rev Neurosci 11, 675–681 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2913

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