Prenatal stress: effect on development of rat brain adrenergic receptors.

Female rats were subjected to stress treatments during pregnancy and the offspring were studied at several different ages. The ligands [3H]WB-4101, [3H]clonidine and [3H]dihydroalprenolol were used to measure alpha 1, alpha 2 and beta receptor binding in several brain regions. At 16 but not at 23, 40 or 60 days of age the offspring showed reduced alpha 1 and beta receptor binding in cerebral cortex whereas a previous study had shown a similarly transient elevation of norepinephrine (NE) level at 16 days of age. The 60 day-old offspring showed only a reduced alpha 2 binding which appeared to have no regional specificity. Consistent with our previous finding that in 60 day-old offspring NE levels were not significantly affected by maternal stress exposure in almost all brain regions studied, we find no effect on the ability of nerve endings to synthesise catecholamines. These data provide additional support for the proposal that prenatal stress results in permanent neurochemical changes and suggest that there may be a delayed or impaired development of the postsynaptic elements of noradrenergic neurons.