Role of Hypothalamic CRH Neurons in Regulating the Impact of Stress on Memory and Sleep.

ABSTRACT: Stress profoundly affects sleep and memory processes. Stress impairs memory consolidation and, similarly, disruptions in sleep compromise memory functions. Yet, the neural circuits underlying stress-induced sleep and memory disturbances are still not fully understood. Here, we show that activation of corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (CRH^PVN), similar to acute restraint stress, decreases sleep and impairs memory in a spatial object recognition task in male mice. Conversely, inhibiting CRH^PVN neurons during stress reduces stress-induced memory deficits while slightly increasing the amount of sleep. We found that both stress and stimulation of CRH^PVN neurons activate neurons in the lateral hypothalamus

SUBMITTER: Wiest A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12225598 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature