Fig. 3.

Acute stress increases intrahippocampal corticosterone (CORT) levels and impairs spatial memory retrieval in young wild-type (WT) but not 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1^−/−) mice. (A) Plasma CORT levels after tail-nick stress and its effect on intrahippocampal CORT dynamics (in consecutive 10-minute dialysate samples, * p < 0.05 vs. equivalent time point in 11β-HSD1^−/− mice) during Y-maze performance (B) and resulting spatial memory retention after a 2-hour intertrial interval (ITI) (# p < 0.05 vs. start and other arms) (C) in young 6-month-old WT (n = 8) and 11β-HSD1^−/− mice (n = 7).