Weinstock M
Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical Centre, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1997 Jan;21(1):1-10. doi: 10.1016/s0149-7634(96)00014-0.
Prenatally stressed (PS) human infants and experimental animals show attentional deficits, hyperanxiety and disturbed social behavior. Impaired coping in stressful situations in adult PS monkeys and rodents is associated with dysregulation of the HPA axis, characterized by decreased feedback inhibition of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and prolonged elevation of plasma glucocorticoids in response to stress. PS rats have higher levels of CRH in the amygdala, fewer hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors and less endogenous opioid and GABA/BDZ (benzodiazepine) inhibitory activity. The mechanisms by which maternal stress induce these long-lasting changes in the developing fetal neuroaxis remain to be elucidated. It is suggested that impaired coping in stressful situations and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, result from the action of maternal hormones released during stress on the developing fetus. The similarities in coping behavior and dysregulation of the HPA axis in PS animals to those in humans with depression, suggest that gestational stress, at a critical time during fetal development, may increase the propensity to develop this condition.
产前应激（PS）的人类婴儿和实验动物表现出注意力缺陷、高度焦虑和社交行为紊乱。成年PS猴子和啮齿动物在应激情况下应对能力受损与下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴功能失调有关，其特征是促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（CRH）的反馈抑制降低，以及应激时血浆糖皮质激素持续升高。PS大鼠杏仁核中的CRH水平较高，海马糖皮质激素受体较少，内源性阿片类物质和GABA/BDZ（苯二氮卓）抑制活性较低。母体应激在发育中的胎儿神经轴上诱导这些长期变化的机制仍有待阐明。有人认为，应激情况下应对能力受损和下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴功能失调是由于应激期间释放的母体激素对发育中的胎儿起作用所致。PS动物在应对行为和HPA轴功能失调方面与抑郁症患者相似，这表明在胎儿发育的关键时期，孕期应激可能会增加患这种疾病的倾向。
