Schneider M L, Roughton E C, Koehler A J, Lubach G R
Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706-1532, USA. schneider@soemadison
Child Dev. 1999 Mar-Apr;70(2):263-74. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00020.
Previous studies have found that stressful events during pregnancy can influence the developing fetus, resulting in attentional and neuromotor problems. This prospective study examined whether periods of vulnerability exist for neurobehavioral impairments associated with prenatal stress, using a nonhuman primate model. Twenty-eight rhesus monkey infants were born to mothers in 3 groups: (1) early gestation stress involving mild psychological stress from gestational days 45-90, (2) mid-late gestation stress from days 90-145, and (3) undisturbed controls. Infants were separated from their mothers on days 4, 9, 15, and 22 (+/- 1) postpartum for growth and neurobehavioral assessments. Results indicated that infants from the early gestation stress condition weighed less than infants from mothers stressed during mid-late gestation. Moreover, whereas both groups scored lower than controls on measures of attention and neuromotor maturity, early gestation stress was associated with more pronounced and more pervasive motor impairments than mid-late gestation stress. These results suggest sensitivity to prenatal stress effects peaks during early gestation, tapering off during mid-late gestation. Clarifying the period of greatest vulnerability to prenatal stress moves toward elucidating the underlying mechanism for prenatal stress effects and may lead to more successful intervention and/or prevention.
先前的研究发现，孕期的应激事件会影响发育中的胎儿，导致注意力和神经运动方面的问题。这项前瞻性研究使用非人类灵长类动物模型，检验了与产前应激相关的神经行为损伤是否存在脆弱期。28只恒河猴幼崽出生于三组母亲：（1）孕早期应激组，从妊娠第45天至90天经历轻度心理应激；（2）孕中晚期应激组，从第90天至145天经历应激；（3）未受干扰的对照组。产后第4天、第9天、第15天和第22天（±1天）将幼崽与母亲分开，进行生长和神经行为评估。结果表明，孕早期应激组的幼崽体重低于孕中晚期应激组母亲所生的幼崽。此外，虽然两组在注意力和神经运动成熟度测量上的得分均低于对照组，但孕早期应激组比孕中晚期应激组存在更明显、更普遍的运动损伤。这些结果表明，对产前应激影响的敏感性在孕早期达到峰值，在孕中晚期逐渐减弱。明确对产前应激最脆弱的时期有助于阐明产前应激影响的潜在机制，并可能带来更成功的干预和/或预防措施。
