How brain adapts to stress

Washington: Scientists have discovered a new mechanism that helps the brain adapt to stress – the finding may eventually lead to a better understanding of why prolonged and repeated exposure to stress can lead to anxiety disorders and depression.



CRH controls various reactions to stress, including immediate “fight-or-flight” responses as well as more delayed adaptive responses in the brain.


“Despite the wealth of information regarding the physiological role of CRH in mediating the response to stress, the molecular mechanisms that regulate expression of the CRH gene, and thereby CRH synthesis, have remained largely elusive,” explained senior study author, Dr. Gil Levkowitz, from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

“In our study, we used mouse and zebrafish model systems to identify a novel intracellular signaling pathway that controls stress-induced CRH gene expression,” he said.


The researchers went on to show that Otp regulates production of two different receptors on the neurons’ surface. The receptors, which receive and relay CRH production instructions, essentially function as “ON” and “OFF” switches.


“Taken together, our findings identify an evolutionarily conserved biochemical pathway that modulates adaptation to stress,” he concluded.

The study was recently published in the journal Neuron.

