The influences of psychological stress in early life on sexual maturation and sexual behavior in male and female rats

Purpose: We studied the influence of psychological stress during the early neonatal period on sexual maturation and sexual behavior in rats.
Methods: Neonatal male and female rats were divided into control (C) and maternal separation (MS) groups (n = 20‐24 per group). The pups in the MS groups were placed in isolation cages for 240 minutes/d from postnatal days 2‐11. Vaginal opening (VO) in females and preputial separation (PS) in males (indicators of sexual maturation) were monitored, as was the estrous cycle in females. Thereafter, sexual behavior was monitored twice at 13 and 15 weeks of age.
Results: As for sexual maturation, the onset of PS occurred significantly earlier in the MS group than in the C group, whereas the onset of VO did not differ between the groups. The length of the estrous cycle did not differ between the groups. The frequencies of sexual behaviors did not differ between the groups in either sex.
Conclusions: In conclusion, early‐life psychological stress induced by MS advanced sexual maturation in male rats, whereas it did not affect sexual maturation in female rats. On the other hand, early‐life psychological stress might not affect sexual behavior in adulthood in either sex.

内容要旨・審査要旨・論文本文の公開
本論文は, 著者Kiyohito Yanoの学位論文として提出され, 学位審査・授与の対象となっている。

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© 2019 The Authors. Reproductive Medicine and Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine.