Adrenal Steroids: Biphasic Effects on Neurons

Corticosteroid hormones are released from the adrenal gland after stress. They enter the brain and bind to high-affinity mineralocorticoid and lower affinity glucocorticoid receptors. Through these nuclear receptors, corticosteroids exert long-lasting effects on essential properties of neurons, such as voltage or ligand gated ion channels and G-protein-coupled receptors. In some neurons, responses to monoamines and network properties such as long-term potentiation are sensitive to corticosteroid modulation. In the CA1 hippocampal area, conditions of predominant mineralocorticoid receptor activation, occurring under rest, often result in effects opposite to those seen after stress, when both types of receptors are activated.