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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Prenatal and adult stress interplay--behavioral implications
S L Kjaer1, G Wegener, R Rosenberg
1Centre for Psychiatric Research, Aarhus University Hospital Risskov, Skovagervej 2, 8240 Risskov, Denmark.
Early life stress can alter adult behavior and psychiatric disorder risk. This study shows prenatal stress combined with postnatal stress impacts the acoustic startle response (ASR) in rats, affecting their stress reactivity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Adult behavior and psychiatric disorders are influenced by gene-environment interactions.
- The acoustic startle response (ASR) is altered in psychiatric patients, potentially due to chronic stress.
- Early life experiences and genetics contribute to individual stress susceptibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if prenatal stress (PS) vulnerability combined with a postnatal stressor affects the HPA-axis and ASR in rats.
- To explore the long-term impact of combined prenatal and postnatal stress on behavioral responses.
Main Methods:
- Prenatal stress induced via maternal Chronic Mild Stress (CMS).
- Offspring exposed to a stressful blood sampling procedure at 3 months.
- Acoustic startle response (ASR) and prepulse inhibition (PPI) were measured.
Main Results:
- Prenatal CMS significantly reduced prepulse inhibition (PPI).
- Postnatal blood sampling under restraint increased PPI.
- Complex interplay observed between prenatal and postnatal stress on PPI and basal startle.
Conclusions:
- Early life stress, including prenatal and postnatal events, has lasting implications for adult behavior.
- A threshold model for stress response in ASR testing may explain differential effects on PPI and basal startle.
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