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Perspective ARTICLE

Hormonal regulation of AMPA receptor trafficking and memory formation

Harmen J. Krugers¹* and Casper C. Hoogenraad²*

Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences-Center for NeuroScience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Humans and rodents retain memories for stressful events very well. The facilitated retention of these memories is normally very useful. However, in susceptible individuals a variety of pathological conditions may develop in which memories related to stressful events remain inappropriately present, such as in post-traumatic stress disorder. The memory enhancing effects of stress are mediated by hormones, such as norepinephrine and glucocorticoids which are released during stressful experiences. Here we review recently identified molecular mechanisms that underlie the effects of stress hormones on synaptic efficacy and learning and memory. We discuss AMPA receptors as major target for stress hormones and describe a model in which norepinephrine and glucocorticoids are able to strengthen and prolong different phases of stressful memories.

Keywords:

stress, memory, norepinephrine, glucocorticoids, AMPA receptor trafficking

Citation:

Krugers HJ and Hoogenraad CC (2009). Hormonal regulation of AMPA receptor trafficking and memory formation. Front. Syn. Neurosci. 1:2. doi: 10.3389/neuro.19.002.2009

Received:

16 July 2009;

Paper pending published:

30 July 2009;

Accepted:

07 September 2009;

Published online:

13 October 2009.

Edited by:

Michael Ehlers, Howard Hughes Medical Institute/Duke University, USA

Reviewed by:

Florian Holsboer, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Germany
Martin Heine, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Germany

© 2009 Krugers and Hoogenraad. This is an open-access article subject to an exclusive license agreement between the authors and the Frontiers Research Foundation, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited.

*Correspondence:

Harmen J. Krugers, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences-Center for NeuroScience, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands. e-mail: h.krugers@uva.nl; Casper C. Hoogenraad, Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Dr. Molewaterplein 50, 3015 GE, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. e-mail: c.hoogenraad@erasmusmc.nl