Figure 4.

Coordinate actions of CORT and CRH on synaptic physiology recapitulate the effects of multiple concurrent acute stresses. CRH infusion (100 nm) into hippocampal slices depressed the size (slope) of EPSPs but only after a delay of 1 h (green). CORT (100 nm) had no detectable effect on synaptic responses (blue). Infusion of CORT+CRH resulted in rapid, profound depression of synaptic responses (orange). The difference between the three groups at 50–55 min of the infusion was highly significant (p < 0.01, one-way ANOVA), with the combination treatment distinct from either of the CORT or CRH alone groups. The response size versus time of infusion interaction for the three groups from minutes 10 through 40 was significantly different (p < 0.01, two-way ANOVA; n = 4 animals per group, 2–3 slices per animal).