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An emerging role for microglia in stress‐effects on memory
Author(s) -
SanguinoGómez Jeniffer,
Buurstede Jacobus C.,
Abiega Oihane,
Fitzsimons Carlos P.,
Lucassen Paul J.,
Eggen Bart J. L.,
Lesuis Sylvie L.,
Meijer Onno C.,
Krugers Harm J.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/ejn.15188
Subject(s) - microglia , neuroscience , glutamatergic , glutamate receptor , neurotransmission , kynurenine pathway , crosstalk , effects of stress on memory , neuroplasticity , synaptic plasticity , premovement neuronal activity , psychology , biology , memory consolidation , receptor , medicine , inflammation , hippocampus , kynurenine , immunology , tryptophan , biochemistry , physics , amino acid , optics
Stressful experiences evoke, among others, a rapid increase in brain (nor)epinephrine (NE) levels and a slower increase in glucocorticoid hormones (GCs) in the brain. Microglia are key regulators of neuronal function and contain receptors for NE and GCs. These brain cells may therefore potentially be involved in modulating stress effects on neuronal function and learning and memory. In this review, we discuss that stress induces (1) an increase in microglial numbers as well as (2) a shift toward a pro‐inflammatory profile. These microglia have (3) impaired crosstalk with neurons and (4) disrupted glutamate signaling. Moreover, microglial immune responses after stress (5) alter the kynurenine pathway through metabolites that impair glutamatergic transmission. All these effects could be involved in the impairments in memory and in synaptic plasticity caused by (prolonged) stress, implicating microglia as a potential novel target in stress‐related memory impairments.