[Research] How Stress Changes The Brain

[Cint]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/18/brain-stress_n_6148470.html

One stressful event can kill brain cells

As we learn new information, we constantly generate new neurons in the hippocampus -- a brain region associated with learning, memory and emotion. But ongoing stress can halt the production of new neurons in the hippocampus and may also affect the speed of connections between hippocampal cells, according to Scientific American. What's more, an animal study found that a single stressful event can destroy newly created neurons in the hippocampus.

University of California at Berkeley researchers found that the brain in a state of chronic stress generates more myelin-producing cells and fewer neurons than a typical brain would, resulting in excess myelin (an insulating layer of protective coating around neurons) in the hippocampus.

“The hippocampus is especially vulnerable to ongoing emotional distress, because of the damaging effects of cortisol," psychologist Daniel Goleman wrote in Social Intelligence.

Stress can disrupt memory by triggering the brain's threat response

While cortisol hampers the activity of the hippocampus, it increases the size and activity of the amygdala, the brain's main center for emotional responses and motivation. The amygdala is responsible for fear processing, threat perception and the fight-or-flight response. Increased activity means we're in a state of reacting to perceived threat, which can have the effect of restricting our ability to take in new information. It can also heighten emotional reactions.

"After a day when a student gets panicked by a pop quiz, he'll remember the details of that panic far more than any of the material in the quiz," Goleman wrote.

And a damaged hippocampus/amygdala can cause seizure(s).

 

[rich956]

Wow that is sooo me ! thanks for the info.

 

[epileric]

Good article Cint, thanks. I'd be curious to hear more on how this line of research eventually progresses.

Just be aware that a lot (not all) of what was discussed has only been seen in rodents so as of yet inconclusive for humans until more research is done.

 

[epileric]

Despite no mention of stress this preliminary study seems closely related:

"Our findings show that the brain has a key protein that limits the production of molecules necessary for memory formation," says RI-MUHC neuroscientist Dr. Keith Murai, the study's senior author and Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University. "When this brake-protein is suppressed, the brain is able to store more information."

What suppresses the production of molecules required for creating new memories, they found, is a protein called FXR1P (Fragile X Related Protein 1).

Upon selectively removing FXR1P from certain parts of the brain, new molecules emerged that strengthened connections between cells, which correlates with improved memory and recall for mice.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/scientists-discover-molecule-that-could-enhance-brain-capacity-1.2107100