Journal
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 12, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00129
Keywords
prenatal stress; anxiety; depression; BNST; hippocampus
Categories
Funding
- Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) [SFRH/BD/51992/2012, SFRH/BD/98675/2013, SFRH/BD/89936/2012]
- Programa de Atividades Conjuntas (PAC), through MEDPERSYST project (Portugal 2020 Programme) [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016428]
- FCT [SFRH/BD/98675/2013, SFRH/BD/89936/2012, PD/BDE/135567/2018]
- Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) [NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013]
- BIAL [30/2016]
- FEDER funds, through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE)
- Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007038]
- FEDER funds, through Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE 2020)
- Lisbon Regional Operational Programme
- FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016428]
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BD/89936/2012, SFRH/BD/51992/2012, PD/BDE/135567/2018, SFRH/BD/98675/2013] Funding Source: FCT
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Stress or high levels of glucocorticoids (GCs) during developmental periods is known to induce persistent effects in the neuroendocrine circuits that control stress response, which may underlie individuals' increased risk for developing neuropsychiatric conditions later in life, such as anxiety or depression. We developed a rat model (Wistar han) of mild exposure to unpredictable prenatal stress (PS), which consists in a 4-h stressor administered three times per week on a random basis; stressors include strobe lights, noise and restrain. Pregnant dams subjected to this protocol present disrupted circadian corticosterone secretion and increased corticosterone secretion upon acute stress exposure. Regarding progeny, both young adult (2 months old) male and female rats present increased levels of circulating corticosterone and hyperactivity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis to acute stress exposure. Both sexes present anxious-and depressive-like behaviors, shown by the decreased time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze (EPM) and in the light side of the light-dark box (LDB), and by increased immobility time in the forced swim test, respectively. Interestingly, these results were accompanied by structural modifications of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) and hippocampus, as well as decreased norepinephrine and dopamine levels in the BNST, and serotonin levels in the hippocampus. In summary, we characterize a new model of mild PS, and show that stressful events during pregnancy can lead to long-lasting structural and neurochemical effects in the offspring, which affect behavior in adulthood.
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