Acute Stress Disrupts Short- and Long-Term Patterns of Synaptic Plasticity in Dorsal Hippocampus and Subiculum: Implications for Hippocampal Output and Behaviour

A period of acute stress has complex effects on hippocampal-dependent cognition in the minutes and hours following its occurrence. The neural mechanisms mediating these effects have been the focus of intense investigation for the past several decades. Much of this research has examined the role of acute stress-induced changes in long-term synaptic plasticity in the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus. However, numerous experiments demonstrate that acute stress also impairs short-term plasticity in the hippocampus. In addition, the effects of acute stress on short- and long-term plasticity in the dorsal subiculum, the main output area of the hippocampus, has recently been explored. The goals of this chapter are to thoroughly review these data and integrate them with theories regarding the mechanisms underlying the effects of acute stress on hippocampal-dependent cognition. We conclude that acute stress-induced alterations in synaptic plasticity at both CA1 and subiculum synapses likely contribute to the effects of acute stress on declarative-like learning and memory.