Table 1.
Summary of the main molecular, cellular and behavioral alterations reported after prenatal stress exposure in rodents.
| Stressor | Stress Protocol | Molecular/Cellular | Behavior | References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment | Age | Assessment | Age | |||
| Restraint or immobilization | From G14 to G21 (45 min; 3 times/day) | ↑ increased dendritic length of pyramidal and stellate neurons (BLA and LA) | P52 | [44] | ||
| From G10 to G16 (2 h/day) | ↓ serotonergic metabolism, ↑ CORT response to social interaction |
P70 | ↓ social interaction | P60 to P70 | [45] | |
| 3 days (2 h/day) + tail-shocks | ↓ CB1-R in the amygdala | P60 | [46] | |||
| Continuous light exposure | From G12 to G21 | ↑ RORA in the amygdala | P72 | ↓ mobility and exploration | P60 to P72 | [47] |
| Unpredictable stress | Constant light exposure, fox-odor, restraint, cage changing, noise, wet bedding (from G6 to G21 in 5-HTT heterozygous mice) | ↓ social interaction,↓ social interest | P60 to P62 | [48] | ||
| Restraint, social defeat, cold exposure, forced swim, open field, lights-on overnight (from G14 to G21) | ↓ Bdnf expression, ↑ DNA methylation Bdnf exon IV, ↑ DNA methyltransferases in the amygdala |
P21, P80 | [49] | |||
| Foot shocks (from G17 to G20) | ↓ excitability of BLA pyramidal neurons | P10, P14, P17, P21, P28, P60 | ↓ sociability, ↓ anxiety |
P7, P17, P60 | [50] | |
| cage change and saline s.c. injection (from G14 to G21) | ↓ number of neurons and glia in BLA and CeA | P7, P45 P60 | [51] | |||
| Restraint, social defeat, cold exposure, forced swim, open field, lights-on overnight (from G14 to G21) | ↑ oxytocin receptor (OXTR) binding in the CeA | ↓ social interaction, = anxiety |
P56 to P64 | [52] | ||
| Glucocorticoid administration | dexamethasone injections (0.4 mg/kg from G14 to G17 or 1 mg/kg from G18 to G19) | ↓ number of CR+ interneurons in the LA | P60 | depressive-like behavior, ↓ social interaction |
P39, P50, P90, P120 | [53,54,55] |
Symbols and abbreviations: ↑ (increase), ↓ (decrease), = (no change), G (gestational day), P (postnatal day), BLA (basolateral nuclei of the amygdala), LA (lateral nuclei of the amygdala), CORT (corticosterone), CB1-R (cannabinoid receptor 1), RORA (circadian rhythm-related gene: RAR related orphan receptor A), 5-HTT (serotonin transporter), Bdnf (brain derived neurotrophic factor, gene), BLA (basolateral nucleus of the amygdala), CeA (central nucleus of the amygdala), s.c. (subcutaneous injection).