The effects of acute stress on glutamate receptor trafficking and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus

动物适应不断变化的环境的能力对其生存至关重要。其中一个非常重要的方面是中枢神经系统对应激期做出反应的能力。在最初对应激源的尖锐反应中，动物需要提高警觉性，并有能力将其注意力、精力和认知功能集中在解释和应对感知到的危险上。在这个敏锐的反应阶段之后，动物需要调整它的唤醒状态，并存储对事件的适当记忆，以备将来类似的危险再次发生时参考。如果动物继续承受反复或长期的压力--特别是如果压力是不可预测的，动物很少或根本没有能力控制或避免它们--压力反应就会变得不适应，导致认知功能丧失，并与身体和心理障碍有关。在这项应用中，我们打算研究在急性应激反应的早期阶段/高度警惕时间内发生的突触功能的变化。

The ability of an animal to adapt to a changing environment is critically important for its survival. A very important aspect of this is the ability of the central nervous system to respond to periods of stress. During the initial acute response to a stressor the animal needs heightened vigilance and the ability to focus its attention, energy and cognitive functions on interpreting and responding to the perceived danger. Following this acute response phase the animal needs to tune down its aroused state and store appropriate memories of the event for future reference should similar dangers recur. If the animal continues to be subjected to repeated or prolonged stresses - particularly if they have been unpredictable and the animal has little or no ability to control or avoid them - the stress responses become maladaptive and result in loss of cognitive function and is associated with both physical and psychological disorders. In this application we intend to investigate the changes in synaptic function that occur during the early phase of the acute stress response / the time of heightened vigilance.