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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Restraint to Induce Stress in Mice and Rats
Published on: December 6, 2024
Chronic prenatal restraint stress induced memory impairment in passive avoidance task in post weaned male and female
Saju Binu Cherian1, K L Bairy, Muddanna S Rao
1Department of Anatomy, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Campus, ICHS, Manipal, Karnataka 576 104, India. sajubinu@rediffmail.com
Insights
Prenatal maternal stress negatively impacts young rats' memory retention. This cognitive deficit, observed in both sexes, suggests long-lasting effects on brain development, with females showing slightly less impairment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Biology
Background:
- Chronic maternal stress during pregnancy is a significant concern.
- Understanding its impact on offspring cognitive development is crucial.
- The developing brain is particularly vulnerable to environmental influences like stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of prenatal maternal stress on young offspring's cognitive function.
- To determine if these effects differ between male and female offspring.
- To explore the potential neural mechanisms underlying stress-induced cognitive deficits.
Main Methods:
- Pregnant Wistar rats were exposed to restraint stress from embryonic day 11 until delivery.
- Offspring (male and female) were assessed using the passive avoidance test on postnatal days 30 and 31.
- Cognitive performance was compared between offspring of stressed mothers and control mothers.
Main Results:
- Prenatal maternal restraint stress significantly impaired memory retention in young offspring of both sexes.
- Memory deficits were evidenced by reduced latency to enter the dark compartment in the passive avoidance test.
- While both sexes were affected, females exhibited a less pronounced deficit compared to males, possibly due to oestrogenic effects.
Conclusions:
- Prolonged prenatal stress induces lasting cognitive impairments in young rats, affecting behavioral development.
- The hippocampus, critical for learning and memory, may be a key target of prenatal stress-induced insults.
- Prenatal stress impacts cognitive development in a sex-specific manner, highlighting the role of hormonal factors.
Abstract:
With a view to examine the effect of chronic maternal stress on cognitive function in the offspring during young age, pregnant Wistar rats were subjected to restraint stress from embryonic day 11 till delivery. Male and female pups born to these stressed rats were subjected to passive avoidance test on postnatal day 30 and 31. Results were compared with rats of the same age and sex born to control mothers, which were not stressed. The results showed that prenatal maternal restraint stress impairs the memory retention during young age in both sexes. The memory retention deficit induced by maternal restraint stress was evident in the decreased latency to enter the dark compartment of passive avoidance apparatus by the rats born to stressed mothers. The observed behavioral deficit may be due to the insult of stress on the developing hippocampus, a structure of the brain concerned with learning and memory. The results suggest that prolonged prenatal stress leads to long lasting malfunction in the behavioral development during young age in both male and female young rats. However when compared to their respective stress naïve controls, it seems evident that prenatal restraint stress has a less effect on females which could be due to their oesterogenic effects. These data reinforce the view that prenatal stress affects cognitive development in a sex-specific manner.
