Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Jul 4;9(7):158.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci9070158.

The Impact of Ethologically Relevant Stressors on Adult Mammalian Neurogenesis

Claudia Jorgensen  1 , James Taylor  2 , Tyler Barton  2
Affiliations
Review

The Impact of Ethologically Relevant Stressors on Adult Mammalian Neurogenesis

Claudia Jorgensen et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Adult neurogenesis-the formation and functional integration of adult-generated neurons-remains a hot neuroscience topic. Decades of research have identified numerous endogenous (such as neurotransmitters and hormones) and exogenous (such as environmental enrichment and exercise) factors that regulate the various neurogenic stages. Stress, an exogenous factor, has received a lot of attention. Despite the large number of reviews discussing the impact of stress on adult neurogenesis, no systematic review on ethologically relevant stressors exists to date. The current review details the effects of conspecifically-induced psychosocial stress (specifically looking at the lack or disruption of social interactions and confrontation) as well as non-conspecifically-induced stress on mammalian adult neurogenesis. The underlying mechanisms, as well as the possible functional role of the altered neurogenesis level, are also discussed. The reviewed data suggest that ethologically relevant stressors reduce adult neurogenesis.

Keywords: adult neurogenesis; dominance hierarchy; social defeat; social isolation; social stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Kim J.J., Diamond D.M. The stressed hippocampus, synaptic plasticity and lost memories. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 2002;3:453–462. doi: 10.1038/nrn849. - DOI - PubMed
    1. McEwen B.S. Physiology and Neurobiology of Stress and Adaptation: Central Role of the Brain. Physiol. Rev. 2007;87:873–904. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00041.2006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dalgard O.S., Dowrick C., Lehtinen V., Vazquez-Barquero J.L., Casey P., Wilkinson G., Ayuso-Mateos J.L., Page H., Dunn G. Negative life events, social support and gender difference in depression: A multinational community survey with data from the ODIN study. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 2006;41:444–451. doi: 10.1007/s00127-006-0051-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kiecolt-Glaser J.K., Gouin J.-P., Hantsoo L. Close relationships, inflammation, and health. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 2010;35:33–38. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.09.003. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carpenter K.M., Fowler J.M., Maxwell G.L., Andersen B.L. Direct and Buffering Effects of Social Support Among Gynecologic Cancer Survivors. Ann. Behav. Med. 2010;39:79–90. doi: 10.1007/s12160-010-9160-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources