Cognitive disruptions in stress-related psychiatric disorders: A role for corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)

Debra A. Bangasser^,,Yushi Kawasumi

Abstract

This article is part of a Special Issue “SBN 2014”.

Stress is a potential etiology contributor to bothpost-traumatic stress disorders(PTSD) andmajor depression. One stress-relatedneuropeptidethat is hypersecreted in these disorders iscorticotropin releasing factor(CRF). Dysregulation of CRF has long been linked to the emotion and mood symptoms that characterize PTSD anddepression. However, the idea that CRF also mediates the cognitive disruptions observed in patients with these disorders has received less attention. Here we review literature indicating that CRF can alter cognitive functions. Detailed are anatomical studies revealing that CRF is poised to modulate regions required for learning and memory. We also describe preclinical behavioral studies that demonstrate CRF’s ability to alterfear conditioning, impairmemory consolidation, and alter a number ofexecutive functions, including attention andcognitive flexibility. The implications of these findings for the etiology and treatment of the cognitive impairments observed in stress-related psychiatric disorders are described.

Hormones and Behavior

Volume 76, November 2015, Pages 125–135