Functional consequences of stress-related suppression of adult hippocampal neurogenesis - a novel hypothesis on the neurobiology of burnout.

Abstract

Burnout is generally recognized as a work-related stress-induced condition associated with memory problems, fatigue, a sense of inadequacy, and depressed mood. Neurogenesis, the formation of new neurons in the human adult brain, provides a newly discovered dimension of brain plasticity. In a novel theory, we propose that the failure of adult hippocampal neurogenesis may provide the biological and cellular basis for altered brain plasticity in stress-related syndromes like burnout. A number of recent animal studies have shown that the rate of neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus may provide an important neurobiological correlate to the symptoms of stress. As of yet, the normal physiological function of new neurons in the adult hippocampus remains unresolved although a number of studies and reviews indicate the importance of neurogenesis for memory and learning. In line with this hypothesis, we propose burnout to be an exponent of stress-mediated decrease in adult neurogenesis leading to a decreased ability to cope with stress through decreased hippocampal function possibly involving a disturbed hippocampal regulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis).