The Many Faces Of Stress - FENS Satellite

Short description, topic and purpose

Stressful life events impact on brain and body function and represent risk factors for many stress-related diseases. A stressor is an event or experience that threatens the ability of an individual to adapt and cope. The impact of different behavioral stressors on cognitive, systemic and metabolic functions may greatly change depending on type, quality and timing of stress and on genetic background of the individual. The outcome of stress may range from plasticity enhancing effects and improved cognition, when stress response is efficiently turned on and shut off, to noxious effects, when the response is overused or dysregulated. A maladaptive stress response can be associated with impaired function and with the triggering of brain, systemic and metabolic disorders.

This Satellite Event to the FENS Forum 2014 will have a morning session with senior investigators and an afternoon session dedicated to younger investigators. After introductory remarks from chairpersons, in the morning session different approaches to the study of the stress topic will be addressed:

1) The effect of chronic stress on GLT1 in glutamate synapses and its possible role in neuropsychiatric pathophysiology;

2) The role of oxytocin in emotional behavior and in the outcome of chronic psychosocial stress, with implications for its use as psychotherapeutic option

3) The effect of prenatal stress on postnatal synaptic plasticity in different areas of the hippocampus

4) The effect of discrete environmental threats on circadian rhythms;

5) The effect of circadian disruption on brain-body changes that modulate resilience to immune, metabolic, and psychological stressors.

In the afternoon session the following themes will be addressed:

1) The effect of prenatal stress on glutamate release and behavior in adulthood;

2) The effect of acute stress on presynaptic mechanisms regulating glutamate release, with implications for psychopatology

3) The modulation of aversive memory by stress and endocannabinoids, with implications for psychopathology

4) The effect of acute stress on the remodeling of synapses and dendrites in prefrontal cortex

5) The complementary effects of stress and voluntary physical exercise on epigenetic changes regulating BDNF expression.

The study of stress and the stress response, addressed under different points of view as done here, is of great interest for a wide audience and has translational value for human pathophysiology.

Please note that, for reasons of space, only the first 80 registered scientists will be accepted to attend the meeting.