Stress Causes Lasting Brain Changes
Stress Causes Lasting Brain Changes
Study Findings Help Explain Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Jan. 17, 2002 -- We all know what it's like to be under stress. And we know it can take a toll on our health -- from headaches to insomnia to serious illness. Even "good" stress -- the birth of a child, a promotion at work -- can cause problems if we don't learn to manage it effectively. Now there's evidence that even short-term stress can cause lasting physical changes in the brain -- findings that help explain the devastating symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.
The research team, led by Eran Meshorer from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, looked at what happened to mouse brain cells and to live mice following brief exposure to different types of stress. Their findings appear in the Jan. 18 issue of Science.
They found that within minutes of exposure, brain nerve cells, or neurons, became hypersensitive. And the change lasted for several weeks -- long after the stress was gone. This is in keeping with victims of posttraumatic stress, who despite time and distance from the original trauma remain physically, mentally, and emotionally agitated.
The researchers saw that a specific brain molecule had changed in a subtle but important way. This molecule normally produces a protein that removes a certain neurotransmitter from the spaces between neurons. Neurotransmitters are the "chemical messengers" that help relay information from neuron to neuron.
In this case, when the molecule in question changed in response to stress, the protein it produced was also changed -- in such a way that it no longer removed its target neurotransmitter. And this led to communication problems in the brain -- problems that looked very similar to the behavior and memory symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.
Understanding these mechanisms could be an important first step to finding better, more effective treatments for the millions of people who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder.
Stress Causes Lasting Brain Changes
Study Findings Help Explain Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Jan. 17, 2002 -- We all know what it's like to be under stress. And we know it can take a toll on our health -- from headaches to insomnia to serious illness. Even "good" stress -- the birth of a child, a promotion at work -- can cause problems if we don't learn to manage it effectively. Now there's evidence that even short-term stress can cause lasting physical changes in the brain -- findings that help explain the devastating symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.
The research team, led by Eran Meshorer from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, looked at what happened to mouse brain cells and to live mice following brief exposure to different types of stress. Their findings appear in the Jan. 18 issue of Science.
They found that within minutes of exposure, brain nerve cells, or neurons, became hypersensitive. And the change lasted for several weeks -- long after the stress was gone. This is in keeping with victims of posttraumatic stress, who despite time and distance from the original trauma remain physically, mentally, and emotionally agitated.
The researchers saw that a specific brain molecule had changed in a subtle but important way. This molecule normally produces a protein that removes a certain neurotransmitter from the spaces between neurons. Neurotransmitters are the "chemical messengers" that help relay information from neuron to neuron.
In this case, when the molecule in question changed in response to stress, the protein it produced was also changed -- in such a way that it no longer removed its target neurotransmitter. And this led to communication problems in the brain -- problems that looked very similar to the behavior and memory symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.
Understanding these mechanisms could be an important first step to finding better, more effective treatments for the millions of people who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder.
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