McLaughlin Katie J, Baran Sarah E, Conrad Cheryl D
Department of Psychology, Loras College, Dubuque, IA 52001, USA.
Mol Neurobiol. 2009 Oct;40(2):166-82. doi: 10.1007/s12035-009-8079-7. Epub 2009 Jul 31.
Chronic stress produces sex-specific neuromorphological changes in a variety of brain regions, which likely contribute to the gender differences observed in stress-related illnesses and cognitive ability. Here, we review the literature investigating the relationship between chronic stress and sex differences on brain plasticity and function, with an emphasis on morphological changes in dendritic arborization and spines in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala. These brain structures are highly interconnected and sensitive to stress and gonadal hormones, and influence a variety of cognitive abilities. Although much less work has been published using female subjects than with male subjects, the findings suggest that the relationship between brain morphology and function is very different between the sexes. After reviewing the literature, we present a model showing how chronic stress influences the morphology of these brain regions and changes the dynamic of how these limbic structures interact with each other to produce altered behavioral outcomes in spatial ability, behavioral flexibility/executive function, and emotional arousal.
慢性应激会在多种脑区产生性别特异性的神经形态学变化，这可能是导致在应激相关疾病和认知能力方面观察到的性别差异的原因。在此，我们综述了有关慢性应激与脑可塑性及功能的性别差异之间关系的文献，重点关注海马体、前额叶皮质和杏仁核中树突分支和棘突的形态变化。这些脑结构高度相互连接，对应激和性腺激素敏感，并影响多种认知能力。尽管使用女性受试者发表的研究比男性受试者少得多，但研究结果表明，两性之间脑形态与功能的关系非常不同。在综述文献之后，我们提出了一个模型，展示了慢性应激如何影响这些脑区的形态，并改变这些边缘系统结构相互作用的动态过程，从而在空间能力、行为灵活性/执行功能和情绪唤醒方面产生改变的行为结果。
