Cited by 127Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorSchizophrenia research and treatmentNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

Molecular mechanisms of stress-induced prefrontal cortical impairment: Implications for mental illness

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Hains, Avis B., Arnsten, Amy F.T.·2008·Learning & Memory

Abstract

The symptoms of mental illness often involve weakened regulation of thought, emotion, and behavior by the prefrontal cortex. Exposure to stress exacerbates symptoms of mental illness and causes marked prefrontal cortical dysfunction. Studies in animals have revealed the intracellular signaling pathways activated by stress exposure that induce profound prefrontal cortical impairment: Excessive dopamine stimulation of D1 receptors impairs prefrontal function via cAMP intracellular signaling, leading to disconnection of prefrontal networks, while excessive norepinephrine stimulation of α1 receptors impairs prefrontal function via phosphatidylinositol–protein kinase C intracellular signaling. Genetic studies indicate that the genes disrupted in serious mental illness (bipolar disorder and schizophrenia) often encode for the intracellular proteins that serve as brakes on the intracellular stress pathways. For example, disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) normally regulates cAMP levels, while regulator of G protein signaling 4 (RGS4) and diacylglycerol kinase (DGKH)—the molecule most associated with bipolar disorder— normally serve to inhibit phosphatidylinositol–protein kinase C intracellular signaling. Patients with mutations resulting in loss of adequate function of these genes likely have weaker endogenous regulation of these stress pathways. This may account for the vulnerability to stress and the severe loss of PFC regulation of behavior, thought, and affect in these illnesses. This review highlights the signaling pathways onto which genetic vulnerability and stress converge to impair PFC function and induce debilitating symptoms such as thought disorder, disinhibition, and impaired working memory.

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  • Depression, anxiety, substance use, intimate partner violence, body image concerns, and sexual compulsivity may represent final behavioral outcomes of the same or similar underlying neurological, cognitive, affective, and interpersonal stress pathways.

    “depression and anxiety, substance use, intimate partner violence, body image concerns, and sexual compulsivity could be argued to represent final behavioral outcomes of the same or similar underlying neurological, cognitive, affective, and interpersonal stress pathways”

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  1. American Psychological Association. 2000. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV). American Psychiatric Press, Inc., Washington, DC.

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Authors
Hains, A. B., & Arnsten, A. F. T.
Affiliations
Yale University (US)
Venue
Learning & Memory
Published
2008-08
Volume
15
Issue
8
Pages
551-564
ISSN
  • 1072-0502 (ISSN-L)
  • 1549-5485
OpenAlex
W2137006544
Cited by
127
References
261
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 10
Type
posted content
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Learning & Memory (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (U54RR024350)
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (RL1AA017536)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (P50MH068789)
  • National Center for Research Resources (U54RR024350-01)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
prefrontal cortex, stress, mental illness, dopamine D1 receptor, cAMP signaling, DISC1, RGS4, diacylglycerol kinase, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, genetic susceptibility, working memory, disinhibition, thought disorder, stress-induced cognitive impairment
MeSH terms
Animals, Mental Disorders, Humans, Stress, Physiological, Signal Transduction, Prefrontal Cortex

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