Prenatal stress programs neuroendocrine stress responses and affective behaviors in second generation rats in a sex-dependent manner.

ABSTRACT: An adverse environment in early life is often associated with dysregulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and higher rates of mood disorders in adulthood. In rats, exposure to social stress during pregnancy results in hyperactive HPA axis responses to stress in the adult offspring and heightened anxiety behavior in the males, but not the females. Here we tested whether, without further intervention, the effects of prenatal stress (PNS) in the first filial generation (F1) are transmitted to the F2 generation via the maternal line. F1 control and PNS female rats were mated with control males and housed under non-stress conditions throughout pregnancy. HPA axis responses to acute stress, anxiety- and depressive-like behavior were assessed in the adult F2 offspring. ACTH and

SUBMITTER: Grundwald NJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4642655 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature