1. Early adverse experience alters dendritic spine density and gene expression in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in lambs
- Author
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Cara L. Wellman, Adroaldo J. Zanella, Andrew M. Janczak, Marjorie Coulon, Inderjit S. Marjara, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Dept Prod Anim Clin Sci, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Indiana University, Indiana University System, Scottish Agricultural College, Norwegian Research Council [185163], Fyssen foundation, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement
- Subjects
Male ,Dendritic spine ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,Hippocampus ,Prefrontal cortex ,[SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Endocrinology ,Gene expression ,PLASTICITY ,0303 health sciences ,Pyramidal Cells ,Lambs ,PYRAMIDAL NEURONS ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,PREGNANCY ,Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ,Female ,Psychology ,BRAIN-DEVELOPMENT ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Spine density and morphology ,Offspring ,Dendritic Spines ,Morphogenesis ,RHO-GTPASES ,03 medical and health sciences ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Animals ,[INFO]Computer Science [cs] ,Glucocorticoids ,Biological Psychiatry ,030304 developmental biology ,Sheep ,COMPLEXITY ,Endocrine and Autonomic Systems ,Prenatal stress ,Spine (zoology) ,Animals, Newborn ,nervous system ,MATERNAL-CARE ,CARBOXYPEPTIDASE-E ,MORPHOLOGY ,Neuroscience ,Stress, Psychological ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
International audience; In the laboratory, prenatal stress produces alterations in the structure and function of corticolimbic neurons. Here we report changes in gene expression and corticolimbic dendritic spine morphology in the offspring of pregnant ewes subjected to aversive interactions with human handlers during the last five weeks of pregnancy (AVS) compared to control dams that received gentle handling (GEN). AVS Lambs had higher spine density on pyramidal neurons in area CA1 of the hippocampus and in medial prefrontal cortex compared to GEN lambs, as well as a lower ratio of mushroom spines to stubby and thin spines in area CA1. Expression of genes involved in brain development and spine morphogenesis was decreased in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in AVS compared to GEN lambs. This study is the first demonstration that an ecologically relevant aversive experience in a field setting alters neuronal structure similarly to previous reports from laboratory settings and that even for animals domesticated over 12,000 years ago, an apparently mild stressor, resulting from human-animal interactions, can have similarly profound impacts on corticolimbic morphology. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Published
- 2013
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