title: Effects of excessive glucocorticoid receptor stimulation during early gestation on psychomotor and social behavior in the rat.
abstract: Severe psychological stress in the first trimester of pregnancy increases the risk of schizophrenia in the offspring. To begin to investigate the role of glucocorticoid receptors in this association, we determined the effects of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone (2 mg/kg), administered to pregnant rats on gestation days 6-8, on maternal behaviors and schizophrenia-relevant behaviors in the offspring. Dams receiving dexamethasone exhibited increased milk ejection bouts during nursing. Offspring of dexamethasone-treated dams (DEX) showed decreased juvenile social play and a blunted acoustic startle reflex in adolescence and adulthood, effects that were predicted by frequency of milk ejections in the dams. DEX offspring also showed increased prepulse inhibition of startle and reduced amphetamine-induced motor activity, effects not correlated with maternal behavior. It is postulated that over-stimulation of receptors targeted by glucocorticoids in the placenta or other maternal tissues during early gestation can lead to psychomotor and social behavioral deficits in the offspring. Moreover, some of these deficits may be mediated by alterations in postnatal maternal behavior and physiology produced by early gestational exposure to excess glucocorticoids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kleinhaus
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steinfeld
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Balaban
authors.forename: Leora
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: Tara S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Craft
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Malaspina
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D000661:Amphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D010988:Play and Playthings; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000502:physiology*; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000187:drug effects; D055139:Sensory Gating / Q000187:drug effects; D012919:Social Behavior; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D003907:Dexamethasone; D000661:Amphetamine