4.7 Article

Neurobehavioral abnormalities following prenatal psychosocial stress are differentially modulated by maternal environment

Journal

TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
Volume 12, Issue 1, Pages -

Publisher

SPRINGERNATURE
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01785-5

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Funding

  1. National Institute of General Medical Sciences [T32 GM063483-14]
  2. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Research Foundation
  3. University of Cincinnati Office of the Vice President for Research - URC Graduate Student Stipend and Research Cost Program

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Prenatal stress in mice leads to anxiety-like behavior and increased activity of the HPA axis. Evidence of fetal amygdala programming precedes these abnormalities. In adult offspring, there are sex-specific amygdalar transcriptional changes and dysfunction in neurotransmitter systems. These abnormalities are primarily driven by in-utero stress exposure, but postnatal maternal care changes can reverse anxiety-related behaviors and partially rescue gene alterations associated with neurotransmission.
Prenatal stress (PS) is associated with increased vulnerability to affective disorders. Transplacental glucocorticoid passage and stress-induced maternal environment alterations are recognized as potential routes of transmission that can fundamentally alter neurodevelopment. However, molecular mechanisms underlying aberrant emotional outcomes or the individual contributions intrauterine stress versus maternal environment play in shaping these mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we report anxiogenic behaviors, anhedonia, and female hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity as a consequence of psychosocial PS in mice. Evidence of fetal amygdala programming precedes these abnormalities. In adult offspring, we observe amygdalar transcriptional changes demonstrating sex-specific dysfunction in synaptic transmission and neurotransmitter systems. We find these abnormalities are primarily driven by in-utero stress exposure. Importantly, maternal care changes postnatally reverse anxiety-related behaviors and partially rescue gene alterations associated with neurotransmission. Our data demonstrate the influence maternal environment exerts in shaping offspring emotional development despite deleterious effects of intrauterine stress.

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