Van den Hove D L A, Blanco C E, Aendekerk B, Desbonnet L, Bruschettini M, Steinbusch H P, Prickaerts J, Steinbusch H W M
Department of Pediatric, Research Institute Growth and Development, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Dev Neurosci. 2005;27(5):313-20. doi: 10.1159/000086711.
Chronic or repeated stress during critical periods of human fetal brain development has been associated with various learning, behavioral and/or mood disorders in later life. In this investigation, pregnant Fischer 344 rats was individually restrained three times a day for 45 min during the last week of gestation in transparent plastic cylinders while at the same time being exposed to bright light. Control pregnant females were left undisturbed in their home cages. Anxiety and depressive-like behavior was measured in the offspring at an age of 6 months using the open field test, the home cage emergence test and the forced swim test. Prenatally stressed rats spent more time in the corners and less time along the walls of an open field, while no difference in total distance moved was observed. In addition, prenatally stressed rats took more time to leave their home cage in the home cage emergence test. On the other hand, no differences in immobility were observed in the forced swim test. Moreover, prenatally stressed rats showed lower stress-induced plasma corticosterone levels compared with control rats. Prenatal stress (PS) had no effect on the number of 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine-positive cells - used as a measure for cell proliferation - in the dentate gyrus of these rats. These data further support the idea that PS may perturb normal anxiety-related development. However, the present data also suggest that an adaptive or protective effect of PS should not be ignored. Genetic factors are likely to play a role in this respect.
在人类胎儿大脑发育的关键时期，慢性或反复的应激与日后生活中的各种学习、行为和/或情绪障碍有关。在本研究中，妊娠最后一周的Fischer 344孕鼠每天被单独限制在透明塑料圆筒中3次，每次45分钟，同时暴露于强光下。对照孕鼠则在其笼舍中不受干扰。在子代6个月大时，使用旷场试验、笼舍出洞试验和强迫游泳试验测量焦虑和抑郁样行为。产前应激的大鼠在旷场的角落花费更多时间，沿旷场边缘花费更少时间，而在总移动距离上未观察到差异。此外，在笼舍出洞试验中，产前应激的大鼠离开其笼舍花费更多时间。另一方面，在强迫游泳试验中未观察到不动时间的差异。此外，与对照大鼠相比，产前应激的大鼠应激诱导的血浆皮质酮水平较低。产前应激（PS）对这些大鼠齿状回中用作细胞增殖指标的5-溴-2-脱氧尿苷阳性细胞数量没有影响。这些数据进一步支持了PS可能扰乱正常焦虑相关发育的观点。然而，目前的数据也表明，PS的适应性或保护作用不应被忽视。遗传因素在这方面可能起作用。
