Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK.
Physiol Behav. 2012 Jul 16;106(5):736-40. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.02.011. Epub 2012 Feb 14.
There is strong evidence from animal studies that prenatal stress has different effects on male and female offspring. In general, although not always, prenatal stress increases anxiety, depression and stress responses, both hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and cardiovascular, in female offspring rather than in male. Males are more likely to show learning and memory deficits. There have been few studies so far in humans which differentiate effects of prenatal stress on male and female psychopathology. Some studies support the animal models, but the evidence is inconsistent. The mediating mechanisms for any sex specific effects are little understood, but there is evidence that placental function can differ depending on the sex of the fetus. We suggest that there may be an evolutionary reason for any sex differences in the long term effects of prenatal stress. In a stressful environment it may be adaptive for females, who are more likely to stay in one place and look after children, to be more vigilant, alert to danger and thus show more stress responsiveness. This can give rise to a more anxious or depressed phenotype. With males it may be more adaptive to go out and explore new environments, compete with other males, and be more aggressive. For this it may help to be less responsive to external stressors. More research is needed into sex differences in the effects of prenatal stress in humans, to test these ideas.
有强有力的动物研究证据表明，产前应激对雄性和雌性后代有不同的影响。一般来说，尽管并非总是如此，但产前应激会增加雌性后代的焦虑、抑郁和应激反应，包括下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺和心血管系统，而不是雄性。雄性更有可能表现出学习和记忆缺陷。迄今为止，在人类中，很少有研究能够区分产前应激对男性和女性精神病理学的影响。一些研究支持动物模型，但证据并不一致。任何性别特异性影响的中介机制了解甚少，但有证据表明，胎盘功能可能因胎儿的性别而异。我们认为，产前应激的长期影响在性别上存在差异可能有进化上的原因。在充满压力的环境中，对于那些更有可能留在一个地方照顾孩子的女性来说，保持警惕、对危险保持警觉并因此表现出更多的应激反应可能是适应性的。这可能导致更焦虑或抑郁的表型。对于男性来说，外出探索新环境、与其他男性竞争和更具攻击性可能更具适应性。为此，对外界应激源的反应不那么敏感可能会有所帮助。需要对人类中产前应激对性别差异的影响进行更多的研究，以验证这些观点。
