Animals cope with changing environments through changes in behavior. Such plasticity is, however, marked by substantial inter-individual variability. Neuroendocrine reactivity to challenging environments can be an important predictor of resilience. Both basolateral amygdala (BLA) neurons and adrenal glucocorticoid signaling are integral parts of the stress neuroendocrine response. In this report, we test if individual variation in hormonal response to stress is associated with individual variation in the dendritic complexity of BLA neurons. We report a positive correlation between inter-individual variability in glucocorticoid response and neuronal plasticity in the BLA subsequent to a stressor. This suggests that stressful experiences in the past act as significant sculptors of BLA neuronal plasticity and congruent neuroendocrine response.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.