Effects of Pregestational Chronic Restraint Stress on the Generation of Psychological and Neurobehavioural Disorders in Female Wistar Rats and their Offspring

The present study aims to put some tracks values especially with regard to the likely transmission over generations of cognitive and behavioural damages. This by investigating the effects of chronic restraint stress (1hour /day, 4 days / week for 5 weeks) applied before gestation in mothers on the generation of anxiety and depression-like behaviours and their effects on the hypothalomo-pitutary-gonadotroph HPG axis by measuring the concentration of progesterone in rats after stress. After birth, the development of the offspring was studied. Our results show that chronic restraint stress involved a development of anxiety in the Elevated Plus maze test (EPM) (anxiety like behaviour), increased immobility during Forced swimming test (FST) (depression like behaviour). Disturbances of the HPG axis were revealed by the highly significant elevation of plasma progesterone concentration. The offspring male and female chowed hyperactivity disorder in the Open Field test (OF) at the age of adolescence.