Abstract
Dementia is a relatively well-defined condition characterized by a progressive decline of cognitive and performances, as a consequence of degenerative and/or vascular brain changes. Although the definition of stress remains still problematic, it is now well known that a chronic exposure to stressors is usually able to disrupt the physiological balance both at the cellular or the organism level, and to play a role in the onset and progression of some pathological conditions. Within this context, at systemic level stress includes all the neurohormonal and metabolic responses of the organism to external stressors; at cellular level, stress, mostly oxidative stress, may instead be a correlate of the aging process itself. The link between stress and cognitive impairment is probably to be found in the hippocampal changes, a crucial as well as vulnerable brain area involved in mood, cognitive and behavioural control, and in the mean time, a site with a very high density of glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptors. Therefore, the hippocampal neuronal impairment is responsible for a continuous stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and an increased hypothalamic expression of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin. Furthermore, the age-related changes of the adrenocortical secretory pattern could play a role in the pathophysiology of brain aging, fostering the brain exposure to a neurotoxic hormonal pattern. In this chapter, we examine particularly the evidence for a link between dementia and HPA activity on the basis of the data in the literature as well as of our personal findings.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 357-370 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Techniques in the Behavioral and Neural Sciences |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | PART 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2005 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Behavioral Neuroscience
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Chapter 3.8 Stress and dementia. / Ferrari, E.; Cravello, L.; Bonacina, M.; Salmoiraghi, F.; Magri, F.
In: Techniques in the Behavioral and Neural Sciences, Vol. 15, No. PART 2, 2005, p. 357-370.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Chapter 3.8 Stress and dementia
AU - Ferrari, E.
AU - Cravello, L.
AU - Bonacina, M.
AU - Salmoiraghi, F.
AU - Magri, F.
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - Dementia is a relatively well-defined condition characterized by a progressive decline of cognitive and performances, as a consequence of degenerative and/or vascular brain changes. Although the definition of stress remains still problematic, it is now well known that a chronic exposure to stressors is usually able to disrupt the physiological balance both at the cellular or the organism level, and to play a role in the onset and progression of some pathological conditions. Within this context, at systemic level stress includes all the neurohormonal and metabolic responses of the organism to external stressors; at cellular level, stress, mostly oxidative stress, may instead be a correlate of the aging process itself. The link between stress and cognitive impairment is probably to be found in the hippocampal changes, a crucial as well as vulnerable brain area involved in mood, cognitive and behavioural control, and in the mean time, a site with a very high density of glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptors. Therefore, the hippocampal neuronal impairment is responsible for a continuous stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and an increased hypothalamic expression of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin. Furthermore, the age-related changes of the adrenocortical secretory pattern could play a role in the pathophysiology of brain aging, fostering the brain exposure to a neurotoxic hormonal pattern. In this chapter, we examine particularly the evidence for a link between dementia and HPA activity on the basis of the data in the literature as well as of our personal findings.
AB - Dementia is a relatively well-defined condition characterized by a progressive decline of cognitive and performances, as a consequence of degenerative and/or vascular brain changes. Although the definition of stress remains still problematic, it is now well known that a chronic exposure to stressors is usually able to disrupt the physiological balance both at the cellular or the organism level, and to play a role in the onset and progression of some pathological conditions. Within this context, at systemic level stress includes all the neurohormonal and metabolic responses of the organism to external stressors; at cellular level, stress, mostly oxidative stress, may instead be a correlate of the aging process itself. The link between stress and cognitive impairment is probably to be found in the hippocampal changes, a crucial as well as vulnerable brain area involved in mood, cognitive and behavioural control, and in the mean time, a site with a very high density of glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptors. Therefore, the hippocampal neuronal impairment is responsible for a continuous stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and an increased hypothalamic expression of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin. Furthermore, the age-related changes of the adrenocortical secretory pattern could play a role in the pathophysiology of brain aging, fostering the brain exposure to a neurotoxic hormonal pattern. In this chapter, we examine particularly the evidence for a link between dementia and HPA activity on the basis of the data in the literature as well as of our personal findings.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0921-0709(05)80064-1
DO - 10.1016/S0921-0709(05)80064-1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77956690356
VL - 15
SP - 357
EP - 370
JO - Handbook of Behavioral Neuroscience
JF - Handbook of Behavioral Neuroscience
SN - 0921-0709
IS - PART 2
ER -