Prenatal exposure to prednisone permanently alters fighting behavior of female mice.

Female mice born of mothers administered 100 microgram prednisone on Days 13-18 of gestation attacked a stimulus male significantly sooner following the commencement of testosterone treatment in adult life than did mice born of control mothers. In a second ed postpartum aggression as compared to controls. In both experiments females of the 100 microgram prednisone group showed a reduction in birth weight relative to controls. The effect on body weight did not persist since no differences were observed on Day 21 of life. The data show that prenatal exposure to prednisone permanently modifies the later intraspecific fighting behavior of female mice.