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Maternal Programming of Individual Differences in Defensive Responses in the Rat
Author(s) -
ZHANG TIEYUAN,
PARENT CARINE,
WEAVER IAN,
MEANEY MICHAEL J.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1314.007
Subject(s) - offspring , epigenetics , phenotype , amygdala , endocrine system , biology , hippocampus , dna methylation , epigenesis , hypothalamus , gene expression , neuroscience , psychology , developmental psychology , gene , endocrinology , genetics , pregnancy , hormone
A bstract : This paper describes the results of a series of studies showing that variations in mother‐pup interactions program the development of individual differences in behavioral and endocrine stress responses in the rat. These effects are associated with altered expression of genes in brain regions, such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus, that regulate the expression of stress responses. Studies from evolutionary biology suggest that such “maternal effects” are common and often associated with variations in the quality of the maternal environment. Together these findings suggest an epigenetic process whereby the experience of the mother alters the nature of the parent‐offspring interactions and thus the phenotype of the offspring.