Zaĭchenko I N, Proŏmina F I, Ordian N E
Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St.-Petersburg.
Zh Vyssh Nerv Deiat Im I P Pavlova. 1999 Jan-Feb;49(1):106-12.
We studied the effects of a restraint of female rats in the last third of pregnancy (14-17 days) on the level of sex steroids and anxiety both in mothers and pups. The restraint significantly changed the open-field behavior and testosterone and estradiol blood levels in pregnant dams. In the offsprings, it eliminated sex differences in anxiety, locomotor activity, and "freezing" duration as well as in blood content of sex steroids. Involvement of sex hormones in the early ontogenetic (prenatal) development of behavior is discussed.
