Research In The Effects Of Prenatal Stress On Auditory System Of The Offspring

Background and objective:Substantive data of human epidemiology and animal experiments indicated that long-term repeated exposure to acute stress or chronic stress would cause changes in the inner environment of the body. Studies showed that prenatal stress could change filial generation's behavior and brain morphology. However, these studies always focus on the impacts on offspring's behavior and learning ability. And there was short of systematic research of the impact on auditory system. In this experiment, a restrain stress model was established and the contents of ACTH and CORT in plasma were examined and auditory brainstem evoked response (ABR) of the newborn rat was tested. Meanwhile, by using immunohistochemical techniques, the expression of Fas/FasL protein was detected. This experiment provided proofs of the effects that prenatal stress did to hearing system. So, we could adopt some method to lower the incidence of neonatal deafness. It could provide theoretical evidence for protection the mother and fetus during pregnancy.Materials and Methods:1. Thirty SD adult female rats weighing from 210 to 250 grams were divided into three groups randomly (ten rats each group). Group I (M1) was treated with 10 days restrain stress during pregnant from eleventh to twenty-first. Group II (M2) was treated restraint stress through all the pregnant period. Group III(C) was control group. The restraint stress model was constructed in a plastic and transparent cylinder shape bottle. Restraint stress was carried three times a day and each restraint stress...