Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Long-Term Stress On Hippocampus And The Involvement In The Pathophysiology Of Psychological Disorders, Suicide, And Alcohol Use Disorder, Hinza Batool Malik

Undergraduate Research Awards

The hyperactivity of the HPA axis due to long-term stress results in an abnormally high level of glucocorticoids. A limbic system structure, the hippocampus has the highest number of receptor sites for glucocorticoids. Thus, making it highly vulnerable to damage during elevated levels of glucocorticoids, through neurotoxicity and metabolic challenges. In addition, this paper largely focuses on the effects of stress on the hippocampus, e.g., changes in hippocampal volume, as a contributing factor in the psychophysiology of a myriad of mental health problems. Most disorders follow the diathesis-stress trajectory where the symptoms begin to precipitate once a major stressor is …