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Query: UMLS:C0848237 (acute stress)
 4,619 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Stress is known to be a potent modulator of brain function and cognition. While prolonged and/or excessive stress generally exerts negative effects on learning and memory processes, acute stress can have differential effects on memory function depending on a number of factors (such as stress duration, stress intensity, timing and the source of the stress, as well as the learning type under study). Here, we have focused on the effects of 'acute' stress, and examined the literature attending to whether the "source of stress" is 'intrinsic' (i.e., when stress is originated by the cognitive task) or 'extrinsic' (i.e., when stress is induced by elements not related to the cognitive task). We have questioned here whether the neural cell adhesion molecule of the immunoglobulin superfamily (NCAM) contributes to the neurobiological mechanisms that translate the effects of these two different stress sources into the different behavioral and cognitive outcomes. NCAM is a cell adhesion macromolecule known to play a critical role in development and plasticity of the nervous system. NCAM and its post-translational modified form PSA-NCAM are critically involved in mechanisms of learning and memory and their expression levels are known to be highly susceptible to modulation by stress. Whereas available data are insufficient to conclude as to whether NCAM mediates extrinsic stress effects on learning and memory processes, we present systematic evidence supporting a key mediating role for both NCAM and PSA-NCAM in the facilitation of memory consolidation induced by intrinsic stress. Furthermore, NCAM is suggested to participate in some of the bidirectional effects of stress on memory processes, with its enhanced synaptic expression involved in facilitating stress actions while its reduced expression being related to impairing effects of stress on memory function.
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PMID:Learning under stress: a role for the neural cell adhesion molecule NCAM. 1904 49

Physical effort is a common cost of acquiring rewards, and decreased effort is a feature of many neuropsychiatric disorders. Stress affects performance on several tests of cognition and decision making in both humans and nonhumans. Only a few recent reports show impairing effects of stress in operant tasks involving effort and cognitive flexibility. Brain regions affected by stress, such as the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala, are also implicated in mediating effortful choices. Here, we assessed effort-based decision making after an acute stress procedure known to induce persistent impairment in shuttle escape and elevated plasma corticosterone. In these animals, we also probed levels of polysialyted neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM), a marker of structural plasticity, in medial frontal cortex and amygdala. We found that animals that consistently worked for high magnitude rewards continued to do so, even after acute shock stress. We also found that PSA-NCAM was increased in both regions after effortful choice experience but not after shock stress alone. These findings are discussed with reference to the existing broad literature on cognitive effects of stress and in the context of how acute stress may bias effortful decisions to a rigid pattern of responding.
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PMID:Rigid patterns of effortful choice behavior after acute stress in rats. 2782 Sep 75