Table 3. Structural, Functional and Gene Expression Changes Provoked by CES Induced by a Limited Bedding/Nesting Environment.
| CES period | Sex | Species/strain | Acute/long term | Outcomes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stress system perturbations | |||||
| P 2–9 | Both males | Rats: Sprague-Dawley mice: C57BL/6 J | P 9 only P 9; adult | Elevated basal corticosterone levels, higher adrenal weights. | Gilles et al, 1996; Avishai-Eliner et al, 2001a; Brunson et al, 2005; Rice et al, 2008 |
| P 3–8 | Both | Rats: Long-Evans | P 8 | Elevated basal corticosterone levels. | Raineki et al, 2010 |
| Structural and functional brain changes | |||||
| P 1–7 | Both | Rats: Long-Evans | P 7 | Amygdala-locus ceruleus-olfactory bulb network perturbations. | Moriceau et al, 2009 |
| P 2–9 | Both | Mice: C57BL/6 J x 129 Sv-SvJ | P 18–26 | Enhanced glutamatergic drive onto CRH neurons of the hypothalamus. Astrocytic glutamate reuptake impairments. | Gunn et al, 2013 |
| P 2–9 | Male | Rats: Sprague-Dawley | 10–12 months | Dendritic atrophy of CA1, CA3 pyramidal cells; mossy fiber sprouting. Synaptic plasticity defects in CA1, CA3. | Brunson et al, 2005 Ivy et al, 2010 |
| P 2–9 | Both | Rats: Sprague-Dawley | 14–40 days | Hyper-excitability during chronic EEG recording, age specific-seizures (infantile spasm-like) in most; spontaneous seizures (epilepsy) in a minority. | Dube et al, 2015 |
| P 3–8 | Both | Rats: Long-Evans | P 8 | Enhanced amygdala neural activity. | Raineki et al, 2010 |
| P 8–12 | Both | Rats: Long-Evans | P 45 | Enhanced amygdala neural activity. | Raineki et al, 2012 |
| Gene-expression changes | |||||
| P 2–9 | Both | Rats: Sprague-Dawley | P 9 | Transiently reduced CRH mRNA in PVN and CRF1 mRNA in hippocampal CA1, DG. Reduced CRH receptor binding in pituitary. Reduced GR mRNA expression in PVN and frontal cortex. | Avishai-Eliner et al, 2001 |
| P 2–9 | Male | Mice: C57BL/6 J | 4–8 months | Reduced CRH mRNA expression in the PVN. | Rice et al, 2008 |
| P 2–9 | Male | Rats: Sprague-Dawley | 10–12 months | Augmented CRH expression in the hippocampus. | Ivy et al, 2010 |
| P 1–7 | male | Rats: Long-Evans | Adult | Reduced BDNF expression in prefrontal cortex | Roth et al, 2009 |
| P 2–9 | Male | Mice: 129S2/Sv x C57BL/6 J | 3 months | No change in CRH, arginine vasopressin in PVN, MR, GR in the hippocampus and CRH in central amygdala. | Wang et al, 2012 |
| P 2–9 | Both | Mice: C57BL/6 J x 129 Sv-SvJ | Adult | Upregulated CRH expression in the PVN. | Gunn et al, 2013 |
| Structural and functional changes | |||||
| P 2–9 | Male | Mice | Adult | Altered neurogenesis and survival of newborn cells. | Naninck et al, 2015 |
| P 2–12 | Male | Mice | P 26, P33, P68 | Enhanced and aberrant amygdala activity. | Malter Cohen et al, 2013 |
Abbreviations: BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; CA1 and CA3, cornum Ammonis regions of the hippocampus 1 and 3; CES, chronic early-life stress; CRH, corticotropin releasing hormone; CRH1, CRH receptor 1; DG, dentate gyrus; EEG, electroencephalography; GR, glucocorticoid receptor; MR, mineralocorticoid receptor; P, postnatal day; PVN, paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus.