Preliminary Study of Behavioral and Teratogenic Effects of Two “Stress” Procedures Administered during Different Periods of Gestation in the Rat

Abstract

This study investigated the teratogenicity of prenatal maternal stress in the rat as well as the emotional effects produced in the offspring. To derermine whether the magnitude of these effects or the direction of emotional change in the offspring depends on differences in the severity of the maternal treatments or the period in gestation when they are administered, animals were either “handled” or exposed to shock-escape during the 2nd or 3rd week only of gestation. Both treatments were equally effective in lowering the emotionality of the offspring irrespective of the period in gestation when treatments were administered. No appreciable teratogenic effects were produced by either treatment.