Endangerment of the brain by glucocorticoids: Experimental and clinical evidence

In this paper, we review studies suggesting that elevated glucocorticoids increase the susceptibility of the brain to adverse events. The events themselves can be varied, and their effects on the brain can also differ. The common feature is that glucocorticoids may modulate the likelihood (risk) of damage or malfunction following adversity. In the first part of our paper, we describe experimental studies on the brain's cellular response to neurotoxins that support this thesis; in the second, we survey clinical evidence that indicate that glucocorticoids may endanger the brain's response to adverse social events. We suggest that there may be common features in the experimental and clinical findings. To begin, however, we draw attention to some of the properties of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis that seem relevant to our discussion.