Recent studies show that changes in Glutamate/GABA synapses and related pathways may determine whether the synaptic plasticity that occurs as a response to stress is adaptive or maladaptive. Findings have shed new light on the mechanisms that determine the effects of stress on cognitive and affective function. Researchers have brought a wide range of techniques to bear on the study of this problem, including cutting-edge live imaging techniques, electrophysiology, glutamate release from isolated live synaptic terminals, development of transgenic and animal models and new behavioral methods....

Recent studies show that changes in Glutamate/GABA synapses and related pathways may determine whether the synaptic plasticity that occurs as a response to stress is adaptive or maladaptive.