Abstract
The neurotransmitter dopamine has been scrutinized in order to understand its role in mediating stress response in the brain. In particular, empirical studies have assessed dopamine release patterns during periods of acute or chronic stress in brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus. The evidence found region specific responses of dopaminergic systems in these areas. Previous studies have also shown that the sensitivity and magnitude of dopamine release in these brain regions may cause alterations in behavioural responses. As a result, stress induced variations in areas that are functionally reliant on dopaminergic transmission, such as the prefrontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus, may also be responsible …show more content…
This study postulated that dopamine transmission would increase in frontal cortex, specifically in the prefrontal cortex (pFC), during short term infusions of CORT. These findings were further verified by prior research which showed that a blockade of dopamine receptors (predominately DR2) in the frontal cortex, by dopamine antagonist Haloperidol, resulted in the down regulation of DR2 receptor expression in the frontal cortex (Ossowska et al., 2001). Similarly, work by Rasheed (2010) also showed that long periods of induced restraint stress caused a decrease in overall dopamine levels in the pFC. This further corroborated the notion that dopamine expression in the pFC was sensitive to the length of the induced …show more content…
Specifically, the hippocampal and striatal regions showed a decrease in dopamine release during both models of stress. However, during chronic conditions, the striatum showed a greater depression in dopamine release than the hippocampus (Ahmad, Rasheed, Banu, & Patil, 2010). So, the only difference in regional activity was evident in the amount of dopamine release. This suggested that the hippocampal region was less sensitive to stressful conditions in comparison to the striatum. Therefore, the aforementioned findings were noteworthy because not only did they verify the concept of region-specific activity of dopaminergic systems but also showcased that the extent of dopamine release can be modulated by changes in the length of a
The neurotransmitter dopamine has been scrutinized in order to understand its role in mediating stress response in the brain. In particular, empirical studies have assessed dopamine release patterns during periods of acute or chronic stress in brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus. The evidence found region specific responses of dopaminergic systems in these areas. Previous studies have also shown that the sensitivity and magnitude of dopamine release in these brain regions may cause alterations in behavioural responses. As a result, stress induced variations in areas that are functionally reliant on dopaminergic transmission, such as the prefrontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus, may also be responsible …show more content…
This study postulated that dopamine transmission would increase in frontal cortex, specifically in the prefrontal cortex (pFC), during short term infusions of CORT. These findings were further verified by prior research which showed that a blockade of dopamine receptors (predominately DR2) in the frontal cortex, by dopamine antagonist Haloperidol, resulted in the down regulation of DR2 receptor expression in the frontal cortex (Ossowska et al., 2001). Similarly, work by Rasheed (2010) also showed that long periods of induced restraint stress caused a decrease in overall dopamine levels in the pFC. This further corroborated the notion that dopamine expression in the pFC was sensitive to the length of the induced …show more content…
Specifically, the hippocampal and striatal regions showed a decrease in dopamine release during both models of stress. However, during chronic conditions, the striatum showed a greater depression in dopamine release than the hippocampus (Ahmad, Rasheed, Banu, & Patil, 2010). So, the only difference in regional activity was evident in the amount of dopamine release. This suggested that the hippocampal region was less sensitive to stressful conditions in comparison to the striatum. Therefore, the aforementioned findings were noteworthy because not only did they verify the concept of region-specific activity of dopaminergic systems but also showcased that the extent of dopamine release can be modulated by changes in the length of a