There are many studies that emphasize the harmful effects of chronic stress on health. New scientific research provides more data that corroborates this knowledge, focusing on the hippocampus, a very relevant brain structure for the correct functioning of our memory .
The study, recently published in PLoS ONE (2016), is part of an investigation conducted between 2011 and 2014 with people older than 70 years from the borough of Bronx in New York. The aim of the authors was to analyze the relationship between psychological stress and hippocampal health . For this they had the collaboration of a total of 116 people in whom the presence of dementia was ruled out. All of them underwent MRI scans and were asked to complete a Perceived Stress Scale and a Depression Scale.
The results showed that the higher levels of stress were related to a lower general volume of the hippocampus, and especially to some of its regions , such as the CA2 / CA3 area (Horn of Ammon) and the CA4 / Dentate gyrus area. Furthermore, these results would remain significant despite eliminating those participants with clinical symptoms of depression.
Molly E. Zimmerman, from Fordham University, and her colleagues from the Einstein Aging Study conclude that this work is a sample of the relationship that has been raised between stress and hippocampal volume in healthy humans, something that had already been described in rodents Given the role of this structure in memory, it seems advisable to learn to properly manage stress in order to have the healthiest possible brain.
Marisa Fernández Sánchez, Senior Neuropsychologist, Unobra in
