Abstract

Chronic stress has detrimental effects on brain structures and functions. Previous studies mainly focused on prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, given their well-described roles in cognition and emotive processing. Chronic stress also leads to changes in other neural circuits, such as the olfactory system. Olfactory deficits were reported in both animal models and patients with depression. The present review summarizes the evidence linking chronic stress to neuropathology in the olfactory system, and analyzes the potential mechanistic insights underlying these changes. We propose also that olfactory system-targeting therapies could be beneficial to certain symptoms of patients suffering from stress-related neurological diseases.

Keywords: Chronic stress, limbic system, neurogenesis, olfaction.