The Effect of Maternal Prenatal Stress on Frontal Lobe Evolution and Evaluation of Seizure Threshold in NMRI Mice Offsprings

Maternal prenatal stress while increasing the glucocorticoid level in the embryo, has detrimenal effects on the neural structure. This study examined the effect of maternal stress on the change of the frontal lobe in mice during pregnancy and also the seizure threshold in their offsprings.
In this experimental study, 30 pregnant female mice were divided into two equal groups: the non-stress group and stress group. The stress group experienced one hour immobilization stress for 14 days. After child birth, offsprings were divided into three groups (n=4): The control group, mothers received no immobilization stress and their offsprings also received no PTZ;the Sham group, mothers received no immobilization stress but their offsprings received PTZ; and the experimental group, mothers received immobilization stress and their offsprings also received PTZ. To study the frontal lobe of mouse embryo, the brain of mice offisprings were removed and fixed.The sections (5 micron) were prepared and stained byH&E technique. Histological studies were performed using the Histolab and Motic softwares.
The results showed a significant increase in seizure threshold in the offsprings whose mothers were under immobilization stress compared with the offsprings whose mothers received no stress (p Imobilization stress during pregnancy can cause an increase in the seizure threshold in mice offisprings and a disorder in the development and structure of their frontal lobe.