Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
Neuroscience. 2013 Sep 26;249:192-213. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.09.065. Epub 2012 Oct 16.
It is well-known that the onset of puberty is associated with changes in mood as well as cognition. Stress can have an impact on these outcomes, which in many cases, can be more influential in females, suggesting that gender differences exist. The adolescent period is a vulnerable time for the onset of certain psychopathologies, including anxiety disorders, depression and eating disorders, which are also more prevalent in females. One factor which may contribute to stress-triggered anxiety at puberty is the GABAA receptor (GABAR), which is known to play a pivotal role in anxiety. Expression of α4βδ GABARs increases on the dendrites of CA1 pyramidal cells at the onset of puberty in the hippocampus, part of the limbic circuitry which governs emotion. This receptor is a sensitive target for the stress steroid 3α-OH-5[α]β-pregnan-20-one or [allo]pregnanolone, which paradoxically reduces inhibition and increases anxiety during the pubertal period (post-natal day ∼35-44) of female mice in contrast to its usual effect to enhance inhibition and reduce anxiety. Spatial learning and synaptic plasticity are also adversely impacted at puberty, likely a result of increased expression of α4βδ GABARs on the dendritic spines of CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cells, which are essential for consolidation of memory. This review will focus on the role of these receptors in mediating behavioral changes at puberty. Stress-mediated changes in mood and cognition in early adolescence may have relevance for the expression of psychopathologies in adulthood.
众所周知，青春期的开始与情绪和认知的变化有关。压力会对这些结果产生影响，在许多情况下，女性受到的影响更大，这表明存在性别差异。青春期是某些精神病理发生的脆弱时期，包括焦虑症、抑郁症和饮食失调症，而这些疾病在女性中更为普遍。导致青春期应激性焦虑的一个因素可能是 GABA A 受体 (GABAR)，它在焦虑中起着关键作用。在海马体 CA1 锥体神经元的树突上，α4βδ GABAR 的表达在青春期开始时增加，这是调节情绪的边缘回路的一部分。这种受体是应激类固醇 3α-OH-5[α]β-孕烷-20-酮或（allo）孕烷醇酮的敏感靶点，它在青春期（产后第 35-44 天）的雌性小鼠中反常会降低抑制作用并增加焦虑，而其通常的作用是增强抑制作用并降低焦虑。空间学习和突触可塑性也在青春期受到不利影响，这可能是由于 CA1 海马体锥体神经元树突上的α4βδ GABAR 表达增加所致，这对于记忆的巩固是必不可少的。本综述将重点介绍这些受体在调节青春期行为变化中的作用。青春期早期情绪和认知的应激变化可能与成年期精神病理的表达有关。
