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BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Published in: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 1/2013

Open Access 01-01-2013 | Research

Transgenerational programming of maternal behaviour by prenatal stress

Authors: Isaac D Ward, Fabíola CR Zucchi, Jerrah C Robbins, Erin A Falkenberg, David M Olson, Karen Benzies, Gerlinde A Metz

Published in: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth | Special Issue 1/2013

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Abstract

Peripartum events hold the potential to have dramatic effects in the programming of physiology and behaviour of offspring and possibly subsequent generations. Here we have characterized transgenerational changes in rat maternal behaviour as a function of gestational and prenatal stress. Pregnant dams of the parental generation were exposed to stress from days 12-18 (F0-S). Their daughters and grand-daughters were either stressed (F1-SS, F2-SSS) or non-stressed (F1-SN, F2-SNN). Maternal antepartum behaviours were analyzed at a time when pregnant dams usually show a high frequency of tail chasing behaviours. F1-SS, F2-SNN and F2-SSS groups showed a significant reduction in tail chasing behaviours when compared with controls. The effects of multigenerational stress (SSS) slightly exceeded those of transgenerational stress (SNN) and resulted in absence of tail chasing behaviour. These findings suggest that antepartum maternal behaviour in rats is programmed by transgenerational inheritance of stress responses. Thus, altered antepartum maternal behaviour may serve as an indicator of an activated stress response during gestation.
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Metadata
Title
Transgenerational programming of maternal behaviour by prenatal stress
Authors
Isaac D Ward
Fabíola CR Zucchi
Jerrah C Robbins
Erin A Falkenberg
David M Olson
Karen Benzies
Gerlinde A Metz
Publication date
01-01-2013
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth / Issue Special Issue 1/2013
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2393
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-13-S1-S9

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