Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 12 June 1998:
Vol. 280. no. 5370, pp. 1711 - 1712
DOI: 10.1126/science.280.5370.1711
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Research Commentaries

Also see the archival list of Science's Compass: Research commentaries

NEUROSCIENCE:
Enhanced: The Biology of Being Frazzled

Amy F. T. Arnsten

Under stress, our brain works differently. From our own experiences we know this, but now several lines of research are defining the neurobiology behind these changes. In her commentary, Arnsten summarizes recent work that demonstrates that some kinds of memory become enhanced (such as the image of a gruesome accident), while higher order thinking, mediated by a region of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, becomes impaired.

The author is with the Section of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8001, USA. E-mail: amy_arnsten{at}qm.yale.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Molecular mechanisms of stress-induced prefrontal cortical impairment: Implications for mental illness.
A. B. Hains and A. F.T. Arnsten (2008)
Learn. Mem. 15, 551-564
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A Genuinely Developmental Theory of Sexual Enjoyment and Its Implications for Psychoanalytic Technique.
P. Fonagy (2008)
J Am Psychoanal Assoc 56, 11-36
   Abstract »    PDF »
Seizure occurrence: Precipitants and prediction.
S. R. Haut, C. B. Hall, J. Masur, and R. B. Lipton (2007)
Neurology 69, 1905-1910
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Catecholamine and Second Messenger Influences on Prefrontal Cortical Networks of "Representational Knowledge": A Rational Bridge between Genetics and the Symptoms of Mental Illness.
A. F. T. Arnsten (2007)
Cereb Cortex 17, i6-i15
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neuropsychological outcomes of army personnel following deployment to the Iraq war..
J. J. Vasterling, S. P. Proctor, P. Amoroso, R. Kane, T. Heeren, and R. F. White (2006)
JAMA 296, 519-529
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Stress Increases Vulnerability to Inflammation in the Rat Prefrontal Cortex.
R. M. de Pablos, R. F. Villaran, S. Arguelles, A. J. Herrera, J. L. Venero, A. Ayala, J. Cano, and A. Machado (2006)
J. Neurosci. 26, 5709-5719
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Psychobiology of Neglect.
M. D. De Bellis (2005)
Child Maltreat 10, 150-172
   Abstract »    PDF »
Protein Kinase C Overactivity Impairs Prefrontal Cortical Regulation of Working Memory.
S. G. Birnbaum, P. X. Yuan, M. Wang, S. Vijayraghavan, A. K. Bloom, D. J. Davis, K. T. Gobeske, J. D. Sweatt, H. K. Manji, and A. F. T. Arnsten (2004)
Science 306, 882-884
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Corticotropin-Releasing Factor and Acute Stress Prolongs Serotonergic Regulation of GABA Transmission in Prefrontal Cortical Pyramidal Neurons.
H. Tan, P. Zhong, and Z. Yan (2004)
J. Neurosci. 24, 5000-5008
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Systemic Conditions Leading to Violent Human Behavior.
K. G. Roy (2000)
Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 36, 389-406
   Abstract »    PDF »
Activation of cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase A in Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Working Memory Performance.
J. R. Taylor, S. Birnbaum, R. Ubriani, and A. F. T. Arnsten (1999)
J. Neurosci. 19, RC23
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)