Stressed out decision making

摘要

Stressful events can disrupt the cognitive mechanisms underlying goal-directed behaviour. Although the role of the prefrontal cortex in goal-directed behaviour in the face of stress has been well studied, the part played by subcortical structures such as the lateral habenula (LHb) is less well understood. Now, Nuno-Perez et al. show that stressful experience reduces synaptic strength at LHb excitatory synapses.