Cited by 69Memory and Neural MechanismsStress Responses and CortisolEpigenetics and DNA Methylation

Stress, epigenetic control of gene expression and memory formation

Open access
Trollope, Alexandra F., Gutièrrez-Mecinas, María, Mifsud, Karen R., Collins, Andrew, Saunderson, Emily A., Reul, Johannes M.H.M.·2012·Experimental Neurology

Abstract

Making memories of a stressful life event is essential for an organism's survival as it allows it to adapt and respond in a more appropriate manner should the situation occur again. However, it may be envisaged that extremely stressful events can lead to formation of traumatic memories that are detrimental to the organism and lead to psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The neurotransmitter glutamate and the ERK MAPK signaling pathway play a principal role in learning and memory. Glucocorticoid hormones acting via the glucocorticoid receptor have been shown to strengthen the consolidation of memories of stressful events. The ERK MAPK signaling pathway and glucocorticoid receptor-mediated actions have recently been shown to drive epigenetic modifications and conformational changes in the chromatin, stimulating the expression of neuroplasticity-related genes involved in stress-related learning and memory processes. The main epigenetic regulatory mechanisms are histone modifications and DNA (de-)methylation. Recently, studies have demonstrated that these processes are acting together in concert to regulate gene expression required for memory consolidation. This review explores the role of stress in learning and memory paradigms and the participating signaling pathways and epigenetic mechanisms and the enzymes that control these modifications during the consolidation process of memory formation.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.expneurol.2011.03.022

Cites

87 of 87 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • ELS/CT exposure has been repeatedly related to epigenetic changes and altered gene expression profiles, particularly in the CNS (e.g., hippocampus, amygdala), thus affecting stress responses and memory consolidation.

    “ELS/CT exposure has been repeatedly related to epigenetic changes and altered gene expression profiles, particularly in the CNS (e.g., hippocampus, amygdala), thus affecting stress responses and memory consolidation (395–398).”

    From Developmental Trajectories of Early Life Stress and Trauma: A Narrative Review on Neurobiological Aspects Beyond Stress System Dysregulation (2019) · cites this paper as [395]

    The section “Epigenetics, early life events, and psychiatric and neurological disorders” (page not provided) reports altered hippocampal GR methylation and expression after differences in maternal care and in people who experienced child abuse. The Abstract and Introduction (pages not provided) connect epigenetic regulation with stress-related memory and identify the amygdala and hippocampus as involved in memory formation. They do not establish that early-life stress or childhood trauma causes epigenetic changes in the amygdala or, through those changes, alters memory consolidation. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [30]30. Gutierrez-Mecinas, M., Collins, A., Qian, X., Hesketh, S.A., Reul, J.M.H.M., 2009. Forced swimming- evoked histone H3 phospho-acetylation and c-Fos induction in dentate gyrus granule neurons involves ERK1/2-mediated MSK1 and Elk-1 phosphorylation. Soc. Neurosci. Abst. in press.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Trollope, A. F., Gutièrrez-Mecinas, M., Mifsud, K. R., Collins, A., Saunderson, E. A., & Reul, J. M. H. M.
Affiliations
University of Bristol (GB)
Corresponding author
Reul, Johannes M.H.M.
Venue
Experimental Neurology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2012-01
Volume
233
Issue
1
Pages
3-11
ISSN
0014-4886 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2013687276
Cited by
69
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 5
FWCI
0.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Experimental Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ResearchOnline at James Cook University (James Cook University) (submittedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion)
  • Explore Bristol Research (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/F000510/1, BB/G02507X/1)
  • Medical Research Council (MRC)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
Keywords
stress, memory consolidation, traumatic memory, post-traumatic stress disorder, epigenetic regulation, glucocorticoid receptor, ERK signaling, glutamate, histone modifications, DNA methylation, chromatin conformation, neuroplasticity, gene expression, learning and memory
MeSH terms
Animals, Glucocorticoids, Histones, Humans, Memory, Stress, Psychological, Signal Transduction, Gene Expression, Epigenesis, Genetic, Epigenomics

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review