Figure 2.

Endogenous and exogenous glucocorticoids directly and indirectly impact brain function in critical illness survivors. Patient factors and characteristics of the specific glucocorticoid will influence this outcome. Prolonged elevations in glucocorticoids may contribute to depression and cognitive impairment via effects on hippocampal and prefrontal cortical synaptic plasticity, dendritic architecture, and function. Glucocorticoids may prevent the development of PTSD perhaps via blockade of stress-induced dendritic growth in the amygdala. Brain images are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan and reproduced without alteration.