Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2025
Evaluation of Auditory Brainstem Response in Chicken Hatchlings
Published on: April 1, 2022
Prenatal auditory stimulation induces physiological stress responses in developing embryos and newly hatched chicks
S A Hanafi1, I Zulkifli2, S K Ramiah3
1School of Animal Science, Faculty of Bioresources and Food Industry, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Besut 22200, Terengganu, Malaysia; Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.
Insights
Prenatal auditory stimulation, including noise and music, significantly altered key stress-related proteins like ceruloplasmin (CPN), alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), corticosterone (CORT), and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) in developing chicken embryos and chicks.
Area of Science:
- Animal Physiology
- Developmental Biology
- Stress Physiology
Background:
- Prenatal stress can negatively impact poultry embryo and neonate development.
- Auditory stimuli represent a significant environmental factor during embryonic development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of prenatal auditory stimulation (noise and music) on specific serum analytes in chicken embryos and newly hatched chicks.
- To assess the regulation of ceruloplasmin (CPN), alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), corticosterone (CORT), and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) under different auditory conditions.
Main Methods:
- Chicken eggs were exposed to either control conditions, traffic noise (90 dB), or Mozart music (90 dB) from embryonic day 12 to hatching.
- Serum levels of CPN, AGP, CORT, and Hsp70 were measured at embryonic day 15, embryonic day 18, and post-hatch day 1.
Main Results:
- Both noise and music exposure significantly increased CPN, AGP, and CORT levels at embryonic day 15 and post-hatch day 1 compared to controls.
- Music exposure led to a significantly higher expression of Hsp70 at embryonic day 18 and post-hatch day 1 compared to both control and noise groups.
- Auditory stimulation altered the levels of these key proteins, suggesting a stress response in developing poultry.
Conclusions:
- Developing chicken embryos and newly hatched chicks exhibit physiological responses to prenatal auditory stimulation.
- The observed alterations in CPN, AGP, CORT, and Hsp70 indicate a role in coping with auditory-induced stress during development.
- Auditory environments during incubation can influence the physiological stress markers in poultry.
Abstract:
Prenatal stress may evoke considerable physiological consequences on the developing poultry embryos and neonates. The present study aimed to determine prenatal auditory stimulation effects on serum levels of ceruloplasmin (CPN), alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), corticosterone (CORT), and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) regulations in developing chicken embryos and newly hatched chicks. Hatching eggs were subjected to the following auditory treatments; 1) control (no additional sound treatment other than the background sound of the incubator's compressors at 40 dB), 2) noise exposure (eggs were exposed to pre-recorded traffic noise at 90 dB) (NOISE), and 3) music exposure (eggs were exposed to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K 488 at 90 dB) (MUSIC). The NOISE and MUSIC treatments were for 20 min/h for 24 h (a total of 8 h/d), starting from embryonic days (ED) 12 to hatching. The MUSIC (1.37 ± 0.1 ng/mL) and NOISE (1.49 ± 0.2 ng/mL) treatments significantly elevated CPN at ED 15 compared to the Control (0.82 ± 0.04 ng/mL) group and post-hatch day 1 (Control, 1.86 ± 0.2 ng/mL; MUSIC, 2.84 ± 0.4 ng/mL; NOISE, 3.04 ± 0.3 ng/mL), AGP at ED 15 (Control, 39.1 ± 7.1 mg/mL; MUSIC, 85.5 ± 12.9 mg/mL; NOISE, 85.4 ± 15.1 mg/mL) and post-hatch day 1 (Control, 20.4 ± 2.2 mg/mL; MUSIC, 30.5 ± 4.7 mg/mL; NOISE, 30.3 ± 1.4 mg/mL). CORT significantly increased at ED 15 in both MUSIC (9.024 ± 1.4 ng/mL) and NOISE (12.15 ± 1.6 ng/mL) compared to the Control (4.39 ± 0.7 ng/mL) group. On the other hand, MUSIC exposed embryos had significantly higher Hsp70 expression than their Control and NOISE counterparts at ED 18 (Control, 12.9 ± 1.2 ng/mL; MUSIC, 129.6 ± 26.4 ng/mL; NOISE, 13.3 ± 2.3 ng/mL) and post-hatch day 1 (Control, 15.2 ± 1.7 ng/mL; MUSIC, 195.5 ± 68.5 ng/mL; NOISE, 13.2 ± 2.7 ng/mL). In conclusion, developing chicken embryos respond to auditory stimulation by altering CPN, AGP, CORT, and Hsp70. The alterations of these analytes could be important in developing embryos and newly hatched chicks to cope with stress attributed to auditory stimulation.
