Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/925063

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Title
Long-term effects of prenatal stress: changes in adult cardiovascular regulation and sensitivity to stress
Author/Creator
Mastorci, Francesca;  Vicentini, Massimo;  Viltart, Odile;  Manghi, Massimo;  Graiani, Gallia;  Quaini, Federico;  Meerlo, Peter;  Nalivaiko, Eugene;  Maccari, Stefania;  Sgoifo, Andrea
Institution
The University of Newcastle. Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy
Description
Prenatal environment exerts profound influences on the development of an organism and stressful events during pregnancy can bring about long-term physiological/behavioral alterations in the offspring. Epidemiological evidence points to a relationship between intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), body weight at birth, and adult cardiovascular disease. Experimental research employed different models of IUGR, including altered maternal nutrition, exposure to elevated glucocorticoids, and reduced placental perfusion, all of which can program, when acting during sensitive temporal windows of foetal life, alterations in cardiovascular regulation and stress sensitivity. Original data are presented indicating that prenatal psychological stress (intermittent restraint) does not induce in the rat adult offspring changes of plasma corticosterone levels, cardiac autonomic modulation, and circadian rhythmicity of heart rate (HR), body temperature (T) and physical activity (Act) at rest. However, prenatally stressed rats – when further stimulated in adulthood – exhibit prolonged adrenocortical stress responsivity, disturbed circadian rhythmicity of HR, T, and Act, and increased adrenal weight. This evidence supports the idea that prenatal stress per se does not change dramatically a given structure or function, but it affects resilience and renders the animal more susceptible to pathophysiological outcomes when further insults occur during adulthood.
Relation
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Vol. 33, Issue 2, p. 191-203
Publisher Link
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.08.001
Date
2009
Publisher
Elsevier
Keyword(s)
prenatal stress;  intrauterine growth restriction;  blood pressure;  circadian rhythms;  adrenals;  hypertension;  myocardial fibrosis;  restraint;  radiotelemetry;  sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system;  hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis;  glucocorticoids;  renin–angiotensin system;  heart rate;  heart rate variability
Resource Type
journal article
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/925063
Identifier
ISSN:0149-7634
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Subject
"Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews"
 
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