Stress blunts serotonin- and hypocretin-evoked EPSCs in prefrontal cortex: role of corticosterone-mediated apical dendritic atrophy.

ABSTRACT: Morphological studies show that repeated restraint stress leads to selective atrophy in the apical dendritic field of pyramidal cells in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, the functional consequence of this selectivity remains unclear. The apical dendrite of layer V pyramidal neurons in the mPFC is a selective locus for the generation of increased excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) by serotonin (5-HT) and hypocretin (orexin). On that basis, we hypothesized that apical dendritic atrophy might result in a blunting of 5-HT- and hypocretin-induced excitatory responses. Using a combination of whole-cell recording and two-photon imaging in rat mPFC slices, we were able to correlate electrophysiological and morphological changes in the same layer V pyramidal neurons. Repeated mil

SUBMITTER: Liu RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2224217 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature