Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6794611 | Hormones and Behavior | 2016 | 19 Pages |
Abstract
Chronic stress in various forms increases the risk for cognitive dysfunction, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. While the pathogenesis behind these findings is unknown, growing evidence suggests that chronic increase in neurosteroid levels, such as allopregnanolone, is part of the mechanism. We treated wild-type C57BL/6J mice with allopregnanolone for 5Â months, using osmotic pumps. This treatment led to moderately increased levels of allopregnanolone, equivalent to that of mild chronic stress. After an interval of no treatment for 1Â month, female mice showed impaired learning and memory function in the Morris water maze (MWM) in combination with diminished hippocampus weight and increased cerebellum weight, both correlating to MWM performance. Male mice showed a minor reduction in memory function and no differences in brain structure. We conclude that chronic allopregnanolone elevation can lead to cognitive dysfunction and negative brain alterations. We suggest that allopregnanolone could play a key role in the pathogenesis of stress-induced cognitive disturbances and perhaps dementia.
Keywords
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Endocrinology
Authors
Sara K.S. Bengtsson, Maja Johansson, Torbjörn Bäckström,