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Prenatal Stress and Neurodevelopmental Plasticity: Relevance to Psychopathology

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The Plastic Brain

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1015))

Abstract

Prenatal development constitutes a critical time for shaping adult behaviour and may set the stage for vulnerability to disease later in life. A wealth of information from humans as well as from animal research has revealed that exposure to hostile conditions during gestation may result in a series of coordinated biological responses aimed at enhancing the probability of survival, but could also increase the susceptibility to mental illness. Prenatal stress has been linked to abnormal cognitive, behavioural and psychosocial outcomes both in animals and in humans, but the underlying molecular and physiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this chapter, we shall review experimental data from studies reported for rats, since more information is available for them than for other species. The major focus of the present chapter is to update and discuss data on behavioural, functional and morphological effects of prenatal stress in rats that may have counterparts in prospective and/or retrospective studies of gestational stress in humans. This work contributes to understanding the role of neuronal plasticity in the long-term effects of developmental adversity on brain function and its implications for vulnerability to disease.

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Abbreviations

11-beta-HSD2:

11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type II enzyme

BDNF:

Brain derived neurotrophic factor

FGF-2:

Fibroblast grow factor type II

GCs:

Glucocorticoids

GR:

Glucocorticoid receptor type II

HPA:

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia “Prof. Eduardo De Robertis”, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María Eugenia Pallarés & Marta C. Antonelli

Authors
  1. María Eugenia Pallarés
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  2. Marta C. Antonelli
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Correspondence to Marta C. Antonelli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Rommy von Bernhardi

  2. Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Jaime Eugenín

  3. University of Miami, Miami, USA

    Kenneth J Muller

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Pallarés, M.E., Antonelli, M.C. (2017). Prenatal Stress and Neurodevelopmental Plasticity: Relevance to Psychopathology. In: von Bernhardi, R., Eugenín, J., Muller, K. (eds) The Plastic Brain. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1015. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62817-2_7

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