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Synaptic Stress and Pathogenesis of Neuropsychiatric Disorders pp 71–98Cite as

Role of Endocannabinoids in Regulating Glucocorticoid Effects on Memory for Emotionally Arousing Experiences

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Abstract

There is extensive evidence that glucocorticoid hormones, normally released from the adrenal cortex during stressful events, enhance the consolidation of long-term memory of emotionally arousing training experiences, yet impair the retrieval of previously acquired information during emotionally arousing test situations. In contrast, glucocorticoids have little effect on the consolidation or retrieval of memory of low-arousing or neutral information. Although it is now well established that glucocorticoid effects on these two memory functions depend on rapid interactions with arousal-induced noradrenergic activity within the basolateral amygdala and several other brain regions, the exact neurobiological mechanism underlying this presumably nongenomically mediated glucocorticoid action remained to be elucidated. In this chapter, we present compelling evidence indicating that the endocannabinoid system, a rapid lipid signaling system in the brain, plays an essential role in regulating glucocorticoid effects on different memory processes via actions through a membrane-associated glucocorticoid receptor.

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Abbreviations

AMPA:

α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor

GABA:

Gamma Amino Butyric Acid

AEA:

Anandamide

BLA:

Basolateral complex of the amygdala

CB1:

Cannabinoid receptor type 1

CB2:

Cannabinoid receptor type 2

cort-BSA:

Corticosterone conjugated to a bovine serum albumin molecule

CREB:

cAMP response-element binding protein

pCREB:

Phosphorylated CREB

HDAC:

Histone deacetylase

HPA-axis:

Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical-axis

GR:

Glucocorticoid receptor

PKA:

cAMP-dependent protein kinase

PTSD:

Posttraumatic stress disorder

THC:

Tetrahydrocannabinol

2-AG:

2-arachidonoylglycerol

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Piray Atsak & Benno Roozendaal

  2. Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Piray Atsak & Benno Roozendaal

  3. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, Rome, Italy

    Patrizia Campolongo

Authors
  1. Piray Atsak
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  2. Benno Roozendaal
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  3. Patrizia Campolongo
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Correspondence to Piray Atsak .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milano, Milano, Italy

    Maurizio Popoli

  2. Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

    David Diamond

  3. Psychiatry Depression Research Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Gerard Sanacora

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Atsak, P., Roozendaal, B., Campolongo, P. (2014). Role of Endocannabinoids in Regulating Glucocorticoid Effects on Memory for Emotionally Arousing Experiences. In: Popoli, M., Diamond, D., Sanacora, G. (eds) Synaptic Stress and Pathogenesis of Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1056-4_5

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