ArticleNeurobiology of stress2015
The Effects of Stress Exposure on Prefrontal Cortex: Translating Basic Research into Successful Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Article in Neurobiology of stress, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 154 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
154 citing papers in PubMed, 357 citations in OpenAlex.
- Halved Dose of Antipsychotics Versus High-Dose Antipsychotic Therapy for Relapse in Patients with Schizophrenia Receiving High-Dose Antipsychotic Therapy: A Randomized Single-Blind Trial.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Trial
- Effects of laughter on focus and stress in middle-aged adults: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- The effects of stress and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on working memory: A randomized controlled trial.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2020Trial
- Brain activation and subjective anxiety during an anticipatory anxiety task is related to clinical outcome during prazosin treatment for alcohol use disorder.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2020Trial
- Randomized control trial of Tools of the Mind: Marked benefits to kindergarten children and their teachers.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Neurofeedback for functional neurological disorders: future directions for research and clinical practice.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026Review
- Hypothesis on PTSD Pathophysiology: Role of CRH, Noradrenaline, and Glucocorticoid Receptors in an Amygdala-Centered Closed-Loop System.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Multisystemic Consequences of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Haploinsufficiency in the SD-BDNFtm1sage Rat Model.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Reinventing amlodipine.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2026Review
- Bullying victimization and brain development: a longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging study from adolescence to early adulthood.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Perceived Racial Stress Effects on Neuropsychological Functioning in African Americans are Mediated by the Brain's Reward/Safety SEEKING Systems via Neuroimmune and Neuroendocrine Pathways.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Locus coeruleus-amygdala circuit disrupts prefrontal control to impair fear extinction.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Brexpiprazole for the Treatment of Agitation Associated with Dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease: Clinical Perspectives.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Bullying Victimization and Brain Development: A Longitudinal Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study from Adolescence to Early Adulthood.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Methylone promotes neurite outgrowth and has long-lasting effects on fear extinction learning.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Combining trauma therapy with computer-based neurocognitive training in soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder: a quasi-experimental study on symptom reduction and long-term memory functions.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Mechanistic insights into combined prefrontal tDCS and vagal nerve stimulation for stress regulation.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Neural activity is altered by childhood trauma exposure and varied by sex in typically developing youths during sustained attention-to-response tasks (SART).Neuropsychologia · 2025Article
- Low affinity noradrenergic signaling promotes passive coping during reinforcement behavior.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The psychoplastogen tabernanthalog induces neuroplasticity without proximate immediate early gene activation.Nature neuroscience · 2025Article
94 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Research on the neurobiology of the stress response in animals has led to successful new treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in humans. Basic research has found that high levels of catecholamine release during stress rapidly impair the top-down cognitive functions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), while strengthening the emotional and habitual responses of the amygdala and basal ganglia. Chronic stress exposure leads to dendritic atrophy in PFC, dendritic extension in the amygdala, and strengthening of the noradrenergic (NE) system. High levels of NE release during stress engage low affinity alpha-1 adrenoceptors, (and likely beta-1 adrenoceptors), which rapidly reduce the firing of PFC neurons, but strengthen amygdala function. In contrast, moderate levels of NE release during nonstress conditions engage higher affinity alpha-2A receptors, which strengthen PFC, weaken amygdala, and regulate NE cell firing. Thus, either alpha-1 receptor blockade or alpha-2A receptor stimulation can protect PFC function during stress. Patients with PTSD have signs of PFC dysfunction. Clinical studies have found that blocking alpha-1 receptors with prazosin, or stimulating alpha-2A receptors with guanfacine or clonidine can be useful in reducing the symptoms of PTSD. Placebo-controlled trials have shown that prazosin is helpful in veterans, active duty soldiers and civilians with PTSD, including improvement of PFC symptoms such as impaired concentration and impulse control. Open label studies suggest that guanfacine may be especially helpful in treating children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. Thus, understanding the neurobiology of the stress response has begun to help patients with stress disorders.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.