Repeated Stress Induces Dendritic Spine Loss in the Rat Medial Prefrontal Cortex

摘要: The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays an important role in higher cognitive processes, and the regulation of stress-induced hypothalamic--pituitary--adrenal (HPA) activity. Here we examined effect repeated restraint stress on dendritic spine number medial PFC. Rats were perfused after receiving 21 days daily stress, intracellular iontophoretic injections Lucifer Yellow carried out layer II/III pyramidal neurons anterior cingulate prelimbic cortices. We found that results a significant (16%) decrease apical density PFC neurons, confirmed previous observation total length is reduced by 20% same neurons. estimate nearly one-third all axospinous synapses dendrites are lost following stress. A spines may not only be indicative population synapses, but impair these neurons’ capacity for biochemical compartmentalization plasticity which play major role. Dendritic atrophy loss cellular features stress-related psychiatric disorders where functionally impaired.