Baram, TZ

Bender, RA

Brunson, KL

Chen, Y

Grigoriadi, DE

Pomper, JK

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UC IrvineUC Irvine Previously Published WorksTitleInteractions of genetic and environmental factors shaping adult stress vulnerability: Possible role of brain vasopressin?Permalinkhttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/5bf4320sJournalNEUROPEPTIDES, 40(2)ISSN0143-4179AuthorsBaram, TZChen, YBender, RAet al.Publication Date2006Copyright InformationThis work is made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution License, availalbe at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Peer reviewedeScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital LibraryUniversity of CaliforniaINTERACTIONS OF GENETIC AND ENVI-RONMENTAL FACTORS SHAPING ADULT STRESS VULNERABILITY: POSSIBLE ROLE OF BRAIN VASOPRESSIN?Inga D. Neumann: Group of Behavioural Neuro-endocrinology, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, GermanyRepeated exposure to stress in utero (prenatal stress; PS) or to periodic maternal deprivation (PMD) in the immediate post partum period has been shown to chronically alter emotional and neuroendocrine mea-sures of the offspring. Here we tested the hypothesis that genetic factors may interact with such early life experi-ences comparing Wistar rats selectively bred for high (HAB) and low (LAB) anxiety-related behaviour. For PS, pregnant dams were daily exposed to maternal de-feat as a psychosocial stressor and to restraint between days 5 and 20 of pregnancy. For PMD, litters were daily separated from their mother for 3 h. At the age of 12 weeks, the anxiety-related behaviour on the plus-maze and/or on the modified holeboard, as well as theresponsiveness of the hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal(HPA) axis to a mild stressor were quantified.Exposure of male HAB and LAB rats to PS or PMDresulted in contrasting effects on anxiety-related behav-iour in adulthood with HABs becoming less and LABrats becoming more anxious compared to their un-stressed controls. Thus, early life stress attenuated theextreme behavioural traits in both lines. Further, afterPMD, the hyper-responsiveness of the HPA axis toacute stressors accompanying hyper-anxiety becameattenuated in HAB rats, whereas, in LAB rats, HPA axisresponses tended to increase after PMD. Also, line-dependent differences in the effects of prenatal stress onthe expression of the neuropeptides vasopressin andCRH within the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleuswere found which help to explain the differential effectsof prenatal stress on behavioural parameters.The data implicate differential effects of exposure toearly life stress on adult behavioral and neuroendocrinestress responses which are dependent upon the geneticpredisposition of the animal to either high or low anx-iety-related behaviour. The evolutionary advantage ofthese opposing effects of early life stress may be that thegenetic variability among individuals of a species issustained while allowing flexible and adequate responsesto stressful and potentially dangerous stimuli in adult-hood.Supported by Volkswagen-Stiftung, DFG (Ne 465).Abstracts / Neuropeptides 40 (2006) 137–159 143

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Interactions of genetic and environmental factors shaping adult stress vulnerability: Possible role of brain vasopressin?

https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5bf4320s

Interactions of genetic and environmental factors shaping adult stress vulnerability: Possible role of brain vasopressin?

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