Table 1.

Animal models providing evidence for preconception stress effects on offspring neurodevelopment.

Reference	Model/design	Dependent Measure	Results
Bock et al (2016)	Compared offspring of female rats assigned to an unstressed control group (n = 11) to two experimental groups that were stressed one week before mating (n= 15) or 2 weeks before mating (n= 9).	Spine number/density and dendritic length/complexity in offspring at postnatal day 65.	There was a significant increase in spine number in the left hemisphere of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of male and female offspring of dams who were stressed 2 weeks before mating versus the control group (p = 0.011). Male offspring of dams who were stressed 2 weeks before mating also had longer dendrites (p = 0.02) compared to the control group. There were no other significant group differences.
Shachar et al. (2009)	Compared adult offspring (n = 146) of dams assigned to an unstressed control group (n = 86) to two experimental groups: one that mated immediately following 7 days of stress exposure (n = 83) and one that mated 2 weeks after the stress exposure (n = 25).	Activity (lines crossed on runway), tone and shock response (avoidance, escape or escape failure), startle response, prosocial behavior, asocial behavior.	Offspring of preconception stress dams were more active, in terms of lines crossed in the elevated maze plus, versus those in the control group (p < .001). There were also group effects in prosocial behavior (p < 0.05), and asocial behavior (p < 0.001). There were no other group differences.
Huang et al (2010)	Compared 2-month old offspring of adult female rats assigned to an unstressed control group(n = 8) versus a chronic, unpredictably stressed (CUS) group (n = 12).	Escape latency in the Morris water maze task, serum corticosterone (COR) levels, expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) 2A (NR2A) and 2B (NR2B) receptors in the hippocampus.	Escape latency of the offspring of dams who were stressed preconception was significantly longer than that of the control group (p < 0.01). There was a significant increase in the COR levels of the offspring of preconception stress dams versus the control group (p < 0.01). Decreased expression of BDNF and NR2B in the hippocampus in offspring of preconception stress dams versus offspring of the control group (p < 0.05).
Li et al., (2010	Compared adult offspring of female rats assigned to an unstressed control group (n = 8) versus a 21-day chronic, unpredictable stress (CUS) group (n=8)	Dam behavior pre- and post-administration of CUS; offspring behavior in the Morris Water Maze test; 5-HT in the hypothalamus, NE levels in the hippocampus, P-CREB in the hippocampus	Exposed offspring had decreased spatial memory, lower sucrose consumption, higher levels of norepinephrine (NE) in the hippocampus, lower levels of serotonin (5-HT) in the hypothalamus, and less protein expression of phosphorylated Cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein (P-CREB).
Zaidan et al (2013; 2015)	Compared brains of male (n= 6) and female (n=5) F1 offspring of rats exposed to 1 week of chronic, unpredictable stress two weeks prior to conception to male (n=5) and female (n= 7) controls; and corticosterone in F2 (7 males and 5 females) and controls (7 males and 7 females)	expression of CRF1 receptors in the brain in first generation (F1), and corticosterone levels in F1 and second generation (F2) offspring compared to offspring of controls	Expression of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) 1 and 2 receptors were increased in neonatal and adult brains, comparedto brains of control offspring. Corticosterone levels were increased in the F1 females, and F2 males anddecreased in F2 females compare to offspring of controls