Effect of prolonged emotional and pain stress on the content of methylcytosine-binding protein MeCP2 in nuclei of hippocampal neurons in rats with different excitability of the nervous system.

In rats with low excitability threshold of the nervous system demonstrating significant and persistent behavioral disorders under stress conditions, the content of methylcytosine-binding protein MeCP2 in neuronal nuclei of hippocampal field CA3 decreased over 2 weeks after long-term emotional and pain stress. It was hypothesized that protein MeCP2 triggers epigenetic changes in DNA that underlie "stress memory".