Effects of anterior hypothalamic lesions on the sexual behavior of prenatally-stressed male rats.

Sprague-Dawley females were exposed to the stress of heat, restraint and bright lights during the third trimester of gestation. Virtually all male offspring tested for masculine sexual behavior as adults ejaculated and copulated with lure females. Also prenatally-stressed males exhibited two to three times as many lordotic responses as did males from nonstressed mothers. Because animals were crossfostered, an in utero action of prenatal stress is supported. Anterior hypothalamic (AHA) lesions significantly reduced the number of lordotic responses observed in prenatally-stressed male rats compared to those observed in prenatally-stressed males bearing sham lesions of the AHA. The possibility is presented that prenatal stress may influence the developing male brain.