Review Article

Brain Physiology and Pathophysiology in Mental Stress

Figure 1

Chronic mental stress supplies the repetitive stimulation required for induction of ganglionic long-term potentiation (gLTP), which enhances impulses to blood vessels leading to vasoconstriction and hypertension. Treatment with 5-HT3 receptor antagonists normalizes blood pressure in chronically stressed animals. It is noteworthy to mention that such mechanism may be only one of several other contributing mechanisms in the development of hypertension.
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