Corticosterone Mediates Some but Not Other Behavioural Changes Induced by Prenatal Stress in Rats

The effect of daily varied stress from days 13–21 of gestation in Wistar rats was investigated by tests of learning and memory and anxiogenic behaviour in the 60‐day‐old offspring of both sexes. Prenatal stress decreased the anogenital distance in males at 1 day of age. Anxiogenic behaviour in the elevated plus maze was seen in prenatally‐stressed rats of both genders. There was no significant gender difference in the rate of spatial learning in the Morris water maze but prenatal stress only slowed that of males. In the object recognition test with an inter‐trial interval of 40 min, females but not males, discriminated between a familiar and novel object. Prenatal stress did not affect object discrimination in females but feminised that in males. Maternal adrenalectomy with replacement of basal corticosterone levels in the drinking fluid prevented all of the above effects of prenatal stress in the offspring. To mimic the peak corticosterone levels and time course of elevation in response to stress, corticosterone (3 mg/kg) was injected twice (0 and 30 min) on days 13–16 and once on days 17–20 of gestation to adrenalectomised mothers. This treatment re‐instated anxiogenic behaviour similar to that induced by prenatal stress, indicating that it is mediated by exposure of the foetal brain to raised levels of corticosterone. However, steroid administration to adrenalectomised dams did not decrease anogenital distance, feminise object recognition memory or slow spatial learning in their male offspring. The findings indicate that other adrenal hormones are necessary to induce these effects of prenatal stress.