Grundwald N J, Benítez D P, Brunton P J
Division of Neurobiology, The Roslin Institute and R(D)SVS, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2016 Apr;28(4):n/a. doi: 10.1111/jne.12343.
Prenatal stress (PNS) affects a number of traits in the offspring, including stress axis regulation, emotionality and cognition; however, much less is known about the effects of PNS on social memory and the underlying central mechanisms. In the present study, we investigated social preference, social memory under basal and stress conditions and olfactory memory for social and nonsocial odours in the adult offspring of dams exposed to social stress during late pregnancy. Given the key roles that the central oxytocin and vasopressin systems play in facilitating social memory, we further investigated the effects of PNS on the central expression of mRNA for oxytocin (Oxtr) and vasopressin-1a (Avpr1a) receptors. PNS did not affect social preference in either sex; however, social memory was impaired under basal conditions in PNS females but not PNS males. Accordingly, Avpr1a mRNA expression in the lateral septum and bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) was unaltered in males but was significantly lower in PNS females compared to controls. No differences in Oxtr mRNA expression were detected between control and PNS offspring in either sex in any of the brain regions examined. Social memory deficits in PNS females persisted when social odours were used; however, this does not appear to be a result of impaired olfaction because memory for nonsocial odours was similar in control and PNS females. Under acute stress conditions, deficits in social memory were observed in both male and female control offspring; however, PNS males were unaffected. Moreover, acute stress facilitated social memory in PNS females and this was associated with an up-regulation of Avpr1a mRNA in the lateral septum and BNST. Our data support a role for altered signalling via central Avpr1a in PNS-induced sex-dependent changes in social memory and may have implications for understanding the aetiology of neurodevelopmental disorders characterised by social behaviour deficits in humans.
产前应激（PNS）会影响后代的多种特征，包括应激轴调节、情绪和认知；然而，关于PNS对社会记忆及其潜在中枢机制的影响，我们所知甚少。在本研究中，我们调查了妊娠晚期遭受社会应激的母鼠成年后代的社会偏好、基础和应激条件下的社会记忆以及对社会和非社会气味的嗅觉记忆。鉴于中枢催产素和加压素系统在促进社会记忆中发挥的关键作用，我们进一步研究了PNS对催产素（Oxtr）和加压素-1a（Avpr1a）受体mRNA中枢表达的影响。PNS对两性的社会偏好均无影响；然而，基础条件下PNS雌性的社会记忆受损，而PNS雄性则未受影响。相应地，雄性外侧隔区和终纹床核（BNST）中的Avpr1a mRNA表达未改变，但与对照组相比，PNS雌性显著降低。在所检查的任何脑区中，对照组和PNS后代的两性之间均未检测到Oxtr mRNA表达的差异。当使用社会气味时，PNS雌性的社会记忆缺陷依然存在；然而，这似乎不是嗅觉受损的结果，因为对照组和PNS雌性对非社会气味的记忆相似。在急性应激条件下，雄性和雌性对照后代均出现社会记忆缺陷；然而，PNS雄性未受影响。此外，急性促进社会记忆在PNS雌性中急性应激促进了社会记忆，这与外侧隔区和BNST中Avpr1a mRNA的上调有关。我们的数据支持中枢Avpr1a信号改变在PNS诱导的社会记忆性别依赖性变化中的作用，这可能对理解以人类社会行为缺陷为特征的神经发育障碍的病因学具有重要意义。
