The DOI matches its Crossref record; 12 of the 12 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Why Stress Is Bad for Your Brain
Abstract
Several recent studies of humans correlate stress with atrophy of the hippocampus, an area of the brain required for memory and cognition. In his Perspective, Sapolsky argues that the underlying causal agent may be glucocorticoids secreted in abnormally high amounts under stressful conditions.
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In the citing paper
“Cumulative exposure to high levels of cortisol over the lifetime is known to be related to hippocampal atrophy.”
From Self-esteem, locus of control, hippocampal volume, and cortisol regulation in young and old adulthood (2005) · cites this paper as Sapolsky, 1996
In the citing paper
“Documented effects of stress include impairment and damage to specific brain structures via the action of neurotoxic glucocorticoids (Sapolsky, 1996;Watanabe et al., 1992;Woolley et al., 1990).”
From Self-esteem, locus of control, hippocampal volume, and cortisol regulation in young and old adulthood (2005) · cites this paper as Sapolsky, 1996
Citations
Cites
Physiological functions of glucocorticoids in stress and their relation to pharmacological actions
MUNCK, A., GUYRE, P. M., & HOLBROOK, N. J. (1984) · Endocrine Reviews · doi:10.1210/edrv-5-1-25 · Cited by 3,083
Hippocampal atrophy in recurrent major depression
Sheline, Y. I., Wang, P. W., Gado, M. H., Csernansky, J. G., & Vannier, M. W. (1996) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.93.9.3908 · Cited by 1,932
(1995) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.152.7.973 · Cited by 1,610
Hippocampal damage associated with prolonged glucocorticoid exposure in primates
Sapolsky, R., Uno, H., Rebert, C., & Finch, C. (1990) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.10-09-02897.1990 · Cited by 1,103
Effect of Neonatal Handling on Age-Related Impairments Associated with the Hippocampus
Meaney, M. J., Aitken, D. H., van Berkel, C., Bhatnagar, S., & Sapolsky, R. M. (1988) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.3340858 · Cited by 1,074
Self-citationMagariños, A. M., McEwen, B. S., Flügge, G., & Fuchs, E. (1996) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.16-10-03534.1996 · Cited by 864
Starkman, M. N., Gebarski, S. S., Berent, S., & Schteingart, D. E. (1992) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/0006-3223(92)90079-f · Cited by 840
Hippocampal damage associated with prolonged and fatal stress in primates
Uno, H., Tarara, R., Else, J., Suleman, M., & Sapolsky, R. (1989) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.09-05-01705.1989 · Cited by 728
Issa, A. M., Rowe, W. B., Gauthier, S. G., & Meaney, M. (1990) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.10-10-03247.1990 · Cited by 438
Neurological status of Vietnam veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder
Gurvits, T. V., Lasko, N. B., Schachter, S. C., Kuhne, A., Orr, S. P., & Pitman, R. K. (1993) · Journal of Neuropsychiatry · doi:10.1176/jnp.5.2.183 · Cited by 109
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- BREMNER J, IN PRESS BIOL PSYCHI .
- GURVITS T, IN PRESS BIOL PSYCHI .
- STARKMAN M, COMMUNICATION .
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Child abuse: Adolescent records vs. adult recall
Femina, D. D., Yeager, C. A., & Lewis, D. O. (1990) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/0145-2134(90)90033-p · Cited by 8,820
Sapolsky, R. M., Romero, L. M., & Munck, A. U. (2000) · Endocrine Reviews · doi:10.1210/edrv.21.1.0389 · Cited by 7,541
“These GC effects have been relatively well documented in rodents and primates [emerging over the course of weeks and months, respectively (250)], and hints have emerged for a similar phenomenon in the human [emerging over the course of years (251)].”
BackgroundSelf-citationProtective and Damaging Effects of Stress Mediators
McEwen, B. S. (1998) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm199801153380307 · Cited by 6,733
Stress, adaptation, and disease. Allostasis and allostatic load
McEWEN, B. S. (1998) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb09546.x · Cited by 5,092
Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Bremner, J. D., Walker, J. D., Whitfield, C., Perry, B. D., Dube, S. R., & Giles, W. H. (2006) · European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · doi:10.1007/s00406-005-0624-4 · Cited by 4,292
Metadata
- Authors
- Sapolsky, R. M.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Sapolsky, Robert M.
- ORCID
- Sapolsky, Robert M.
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 1996-08-09
- Volume
- 273
- Issue
- 5276
- Pages
- 749-750
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W1994048221
- Cited by
- 1,306
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 45 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 43 · 2012: 51
- FWCI
- 24.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- stress, hippocampal atrophy, glucocorticoids, memory, cognition, neurodegeneration, stress hormones
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Atrophy, Brain, Cushing Syndrome, Depressive Disorder, Female, Glucocorticoids, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Stress, Physiological, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Causality
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