Prenatal stress may increase vulnerability to life events: comparison with the effects of prenatal dexamethasone
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Prenatal stress may increase vulnerability to life events : comparison with the effects of prenatal dexamethasone. / Hougaard, Karin S; Andersen, Maibritt B; Kjaer, Sanna L; Hansen, Åse Marie; Werge, Thomas; Lund, Søren P.
In: Brain Research, Vol. 159, No. 1, 08.09.2005, p. 55-63.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Prenatal stress may increase vulnerability to life events
T2 - comparison with the effects of prenatal dexamethasone
AU - Hougaard, Karin S
AU - Andersen, Maibritt B
AU - Kjaer, Sanna L
AU - Hansen, Åse Marie
AU - Werge, Thomas
AU - Lund, Søren P
PY - 2005/9/8
Y1 - 2005/9/8
N2 - Prenatal stress has been associated with a variety of alterations in the offspring. The presented observations suggest that rather than causing changes in the offspring per se, prenatal stress may increase the organism's vulnerability to aversive life events. Offspring of rat dams stressed gestationally by chronic mild stress (CMS, a variable schedule of different stressors) or dexamethasone (DEX, a synthetic glucocorticoid, i.e., a pharmacological stressor) was tested for reactivity by testing their acoustic startle response (ASR). Two subsets of offspring were tested. One was experimentally naïve at the time of ASR testing, whereas the other had been through blood sampling for assessment of the hormonal stress response to restraint, 3 months previously. Both prenatal CMS and dexamethasone increased ASR in the offspring compared to controls, but only in prenatally stressed offspring that had been blood sampled 3 months previously. In conclusion, similarity of the effects of maternal gestational exposure to a regular stress schedule and of exposure to a synthetic glucocorticoid suggests that maternal glucocorticoids may be a determining factor for changes in the regulatory mechanisms of the acoustic startle response. Further, a single aversive life event showed capable of changing the reactivity of prenatally stressed offspring, whereas offspring of dams going through a less stressful gestation was largely unaffected by this event. This suggests that circumstances dating back to the very beginning of life affect the individual's sensitivity towards experiences in life after birth. The prenatal environment may thus form part of the explanation of the considerable individual variation in the development of psychopathology.
AB - Prenatal stress has been associated with a variety of alterations in the offspring. The presented observations suggest that rather than causing changes in the offspring per se, prenatal stress may increase the organism's vulnerability to aversive life events. Offspring of rat dams stressed gestationally by chronic mild stress (CMS, a variable schedule of different stressors) or dexamethasone (DEX, a synthetic glucocorticoid, i.e., a pharmacological stressor) was tested for reactivity by testing their acoustic startle response (ASR). Two subsets of offspring were tested. One was experimentally naïve at the time of ASR testing, whereas the other had been through blood sampling for assessment of the hormonal stress response to restraint, 3 months previously. Both prenatal CMS and dexamethasone increased ASR in the offspring compared to controls, but only in prenatally stressed offspring that had been blood sampled 3 months previously. In conclusion, similarity of the effects of maternal gestational exposure to a regular stress schedule and of exposure to a synthetic glucocorticoid suggests that maternal glucocorticoids may be a determining factor for changes in the regulatory mechanisms of the acoustic startle response. Further, a single aversive life event showed capable of changing the reactivity of prenatally stressed offspring, whereas offspring of dams going through a less stressful gestation was largely unaffected by this event. This suggests that circumstances dating back to the very beginning of life affect the individual's sensitivity towards experiences in life after birth. The prenatal environment may thus form part of the explanation of the considerable individual variation in the development of psychopathology.
KW - Acoustic Stimulation
KW - Animals
KW - Animals, Newborn
KW - Anxiety Disorders
KW - Brain
KW - Dexamethasone
KW - Fear
KW - Female
KW - Glucocorticoids
KW - Hormones
KW - Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
KW - Life Change Events
KW - Mental Disorders
KW - Pituitary-Adrenal System
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
KW - Rats
KW - Rats, Wistar
KW - Reflex, Startle
KW - Stress, Psychological
KW - Comparative Study
KW - Journal Article
U2 - 10.1016/j.devbrainres.2005.06.014
DO - 10.1016/j.devbrainres.2005.06.014
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 16085319
VL - 159
SP - 55
EP - 63
JO - Brain Research
JF - Brain Research
SN - 0006-8993
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 173709700