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Sexually Dimorphic Effects Of Prenatal Stress On Cognition, Hormonal Responses, And Central Neurotransmitters, Rachel E. Bowman, Neil J. Maclusky, Yessenia Sarmiento, Maya Frankfurt, Marisa Gordon, Victoria N. Luine

Psychology Faculty Publications

Exposure to stress during gestation results in physiological and behavioral alterations that persist into adulthood. This study examined the effects of prenatal stress on the postnatal expression of sexually differentiated cognitive, hormonal, and neurochemical profiles in male and female rats. Pregnant dams were subjected to restraint stress three times daily for 45 min during d 14-21 of pregnancy. The offspring of control and prenatally stressed dams were tested for anxiety-related and cognitive behaviors, stress and gonadal steroid hormone levels, as well as monoamines and metabolite levels in selected brain regions. Postnatal testosterone levels (measured at 1 and 5 d) did …