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Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
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Prenatal exposure to maternal psychosocial stress and HPA axis regulation in young adults

Sonja Entringer1, Robert Kumsta, Dirk H Hellhammer

  • 1Department of Clinical and Physiological Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany.

Hormones and Behavior
|December 17, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal stress in humans may alter the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation in adulthood. This study found differences in HPA axis response to stress and feedback sensitivity in adults exposed to prenatal stress.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroendocrinology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Human Physiology

Background:

  • Epidemiological studies link birth size/weight to later disease risk.
  • Altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation due to prenatal stress is a proposed mechanism.
  • This study investigates prenatal psychosocial stress and HPA axis regulation in adults.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between prenatal psychosocial stress exposure and HPA axis regulation in adult life.
  • To assess response to challenge and feedback sensitivity of the HPA axis.
  • To provide evidence in humans for the effects of prenatal stress on HPA axis regulation.

Main Methods:

  • Compared healthy young adults exposed to severe prenatal stress (PS group, n=31) with an age-matched comparison group (CG, n=30).
  • Utilized the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) for behavioral challenge.
  • Administered a 1 microg ACTH(1-24) stimulation test for pharmacological challenge.
  • Assessed diurnal cortisol profiles.

Main Results:

  • ACTH concentrations after TSST were marginally higher in the PS group (p=.06).
  • Pre-TSST cortisol levels were lower (p=.007), but cortisol increase during TSST was higher in the PS group (p=.03).
  • Cortisol concentrations after ACTH(1-24) stimulation were significantly lower in the PS group (p=.006).
  • No differences in basal diurnal cortisol levels were observed.

Conclusions:

  • This study provides the first human evidence linking prenatal psychosocial stress exposure to subsequent alterations in HPA axis regulation.
  • Prenatal stress may impact both the reactivity and feedback sensitivity of the HPA axis in adulthood.
  • Findings suggest a potential pathway through which early life stress influences long-term health and disease risk.

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