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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Tom SmuldersORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is one of the major output systems of the vertebrate stressresponse. It controls the release of cortisol or corticosterone from the adrenal gland. These hormones regulate arange of processes throughout the brain and body, with the main function of mobilizing energy reserves toimprove coping with a stressful situation. This axis is regulated in response to both physical (e.g., osmotic) andpsychological (e.g., social) stressors. In mammals, the telencephalon plays an important role in the regulation ofthe HPA axis response in particular to psychological stressors, with the amygdala and part of prefrontal cortexstimulating the stress response, and the hippocampus and another part of prefrontal cortex inhibiting theresponse to return it to baseline. Birds also mount HPA axis responses to psychological stressors, but much less isknown about the telencephalic areas that control this response. This review summarizes which telencephalicareas in birds are connected to the HPA axis and are known to respond to stressful situations. The conclusion isthat the telencephalic control of the HPA axis is probably an ancient system that dates from before the splitbetween sauropsid and synapsid reptiles, but more research is needed into the functional relationships betweenthe brain areas reviewed in birds if we want to understand the level of this conservation.
Author(s): Smulders TV
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Neurobiology of Stress
Year: 2021
Volume: 15
Print publication date: 01/11/2021
Online publication date: 10/06/2021
Acceptance date: 03/06/2021
ISSN (electronic): 2352-2895
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100351
DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100351
