Prenatal stress affects mother–infant interaction in norway rats

Abstract

Pregnant Long-Evans rats were stressed by crowding, and subsequent mother-infant interactions were described after cross-fostering. Prenatally stressed pups elicited less maternal licking from unstressed foster dams than controls, and previously stressed dams licked unstressed foster pups less than controls. No other differences in mother-infant interactions were detected. Adult offspring reared by foster dams that were stressed during pregnancy were more active in an open field than controls, but prenatally stressed and unstressed animals reared by control dams did not differ. Thus, stress during pregnancy can alter the maternal behavior of stressed dams, and the differential maternal stimulation can affect adult open-field behavior. Because prenatally stressed pups elicit different maternal care, cross-fostering does not eliminate the possibility that maternal stimulation may mediate some prenatal stress effects.

Effects of maternal exposure to social stress during pregnancy: consequences for mother and offspring

“…While we did not find any differences in the subsequent maternal behaviour of rats exposed to social defeat during late pregnancy (N J Grundwald & P J Brunton 2012, unpublished observations), one study has reported reduced mother-pup interactions following social crowding during the last week of pregnancy (Moore & Power 1986). This was reflected by reduced anogenital licking of the pups by the dam and intriguingly occurred regardless of the pups being reared by their biological mother (hence gestationally stressed) or by an unstressed foster mother, indicating that the prenatally stressed pups elicit less maternal licking (Moore & Power 1986).…”

“…This was reflected by reduced anogenital licking of the pups by the dam and intriguingly occurred regardless of the pups being reared by their biological mother (hence gestationally stressed) or by an unstressed foster mother, indicating that the prenatally stressed pups elicit less maternal licking (Moore & Power 1986). These data are of particular interest with regard to the future sexual behaviour of the offspring, considering that male pups generally receive more anogenital licking than females, an effect that is mediated by testosteronedependent cues (Moore 1982), and because both prenatal stress and decreased maternal licking of pups are associated with deficits in male sexual behaviour in later life (Ward 1972, Moore 1984.…”

“…Given that some of the models of prenatal stress alter post partum maternal behaviour (Moore & Power 1986, Smith et al 2004, it is important to take this into consideration in attempting to explain how the effects of stress during pregnancy are transmitted to the offspring. The early postnatal environment plays an important role in influencing HPA axis activity and anxiety-like behaviour in later life (Liu et al 1997, Champagne & Meaney 2001.…”

Role of experimental conditions in determining differences in exploratory behavior of prenatally stressed rats

“…The majority of these studies were performed on the male offspring of rodents and were restricted to a single measure of exploratory behavior, locomotion, in a novel environment. This measure was found by different investigators to be similar, (Chapman & Stern, 1979;Moore & Power, 1986), higher (Deminiere et al, 1992;Szuran, Zimmerman, Pliska, Pfister, & Welzl, 1991) or lower (Thompson,strain of rat, the age of testing, and/or the nature and timing of the prenatal stress (Weinstock, Fride, & Hertzberg, 1988). It may depend on the situation in which locomotion is assessed and its method of evaluation.…”

Effects of REM sleep restriction during pregnancy on rodent maternal behavior

“…5 In general, perinatal stress impairs the behavior of the mother during the postpartum period, although the magnitude of the effects depends on the intensity and source of stress. 3,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] One important source of stress during pregnancy is sleep deprivation.…”