title: Chronic early postnatal scream sound stress induces learning deficits and NMDA receptor changes in the hippocampus of adult mice.
abstract: Chronic scream sounds during adulthood affect spatial learning and memory, both of which are sexually dimorphic. The long-term effects of chronic early postnatal scream sound stress (SSS) during postnatal days 1-21 (P1-P21) on spatial learning and memory in adult mice as well as whether or not these effects are sexually dimorphic are unknown. Therefore, the present study examines the performance of adult male and female mice in the Morris water maze following exposure to chronic early postnatal SSS. Hippocampal NR2A and NR2B levels as well as NR2A/NR2B subunit ratios were tested using immunohistochemistry. In the Morris water maze, stress males showed greater impairment in spatial learning and memory than background males; by contrast, stress and background females performed equally well. NR2B levels in CA1 and CA3 were upregulated, whereas NR2A/NR2B ratios were downregulated in stressed males, but not in females. These data suggest that chronic early postnatal SSS influences spatial learning and memory ability, levels of hippocampal NR2B, and NR2A/NR2B ratios in adult males. Moreover, chronic early stress-induced alterations exert long-lasting effects and appear to affect performance in a sex-specific manner.
authors.affiliation: aBasic Medical College, Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan bDepartment of Genetics and Molecular Biology cKey Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases, Xi'an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Xiaoge
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mi
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tusheng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D051379:Mice; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism*; D013016:Sound / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: C120997:NR2A NMDA receptor; C121001:NR2B NMDA receptor; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate