Gene expression signature in brain regions exposed to long-term psychosocial stress following acute challenge with cannabinoid drugs

When a living organism is subjected to a life stressor, a cellular machinery is activated to recover homeostasis (Sapolsky, 2003) by regulating distinct physiological features, such as the hypothalamo –pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and cardiovascular functions, which, per se, do not result in a pathological condition. However, when a long-term and constant stress exposure stimulation overwhelms the body’s capacity to maintain homeostasis, it can result in severe consequences in numerous brai n regions, including the prefrontal cortex (Tomas-Roig et al., 2018), the dorsal striatum (Tomas-Roig et al., 2018), the hippocampus (Conrad, 2008) and the cerebellum (Tomas-Roig et al., 2016a).
Source: Psychoneuroendocrinology - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research