Boksa P, Wilson D, Rochford J
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, and Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Biol Neonate. 1998;74(1):48-59. doi: 10.1159/000014010.
The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that alterations in birth conditions, specifically vaginal birth vs. birth by Cesarean section (C-section) vs. birth by C-section with an added period of acute global anoxia, produces long-term differences in behavioral responses to stress or novelty in the rat at adulthood. In comparison to animals born by rapid C-section alone, animals born by C-section with 10 or 15 min of added anoxia were significantly more immobile during forced swim stress administered for 6 trials over several weeks. In a step-down passive avoidance task, there were no group differences in acquisition or retention of the avoidance response. However, when initially placed in the passive avoidance apparatus before delivery of shock, animals born by C-section with 15 min of anoxia required significantly more pretrials to step down from the wooden platform, than did vaginally born or C-sectioned animals. No group differences were observed on measures of exploratory behavior in an elevated plus-maze or of approach behavior either to food or to a novel object in an open field. These findings suggest that birth conditions which include a degree of perinatal hypoxia can contribute to variability in selective responses to stress and novelty in the adult rat.
出生条件的改变，特别是顺产与剖宫产以及剖宫产加一段急性全身性缺氧期，会在成年大鼠对压力或新奇事物的行为反应上产生长期差异。与仅通过快速剖宫产出生的动物相比，剖宫产加10或15分钟缺氧出生的动物，在数周内进行6次试验的强迫游泳应激期间明显更不活动。在逐步下降被动回避任务中，回避反应的习得或保持方面没有组间差异。然而，在给予电击前最初置于被动回避装置中时，剖宫产加15分钟缺氧出生的动物比顺产或剖宫产出生的动物需要显著更多的预试验次数才能从木台上下来。在高架十字迷宫中的探索行为测量或在旷场中对食物或新物体的接近行为测量中未观察到组间差异。这些发现表明，包括一定程度围产期缺氧的出生条件可能导致成年大鼠对压力和新奇事物的选择性反应存在差异。
