It is now well documented that both increased and decreased stress responses can profoundly affect cognition and behavior. This mini review presents possible neural mechanisms subserving stress effects on memory and aggression, particularly focusing on glucocorticoid (GC) hyper- and hypofunction. First, uncontrollable stress impedes hippocampal memory and long-term potentiation (LTP). Because the hippocampus is important for the stability of long-term memory and because LTP has qualities desirable of an information storage mechanism, it has been hypothesized that stress-induced alterations in LTP contribute to memory impairments. Recent evidence suggests a neural-endocrine network comprising amygdala, prefrontal cortex (PFC), and glucocorticoids may be involved in regulating stress effects on hippocampal mnemonic functioning. Second, antisocial aggressiveness correlates with chronically decreased glucocorticoid production, and this condition leads in rats to behavioral-autonomic deficits reminiscent of the human disorder. Glucocorticoid deficiency-induced antisocial aggressiveness results from functional changes in the PFC, medial and central amygdala, and altered serotonin and substance P neurotransmissions. Accordingly, a neurobiological understanding of how stress and glucocorticoid deficiency alter brain, cognition, and behavior is an important challenge facing modern neuroscience with broad implications for individual and social well-being.
