Date of Defense

12-5-2014

Date of Graduation

5-2015

Department

Biological Sciences

First Advisor

Nicholas Andreadis

Second Advisor

Mark Sloane

Third Advisor

David Paul

Abstract

Stress in early life is well documented as detrimental for the brain’s developmental trajectory, while prenatal stress is minimally explored. In the prenatal period, the placenta prevents much of the mother’s cortisol from reaching the fetus, but the fetus is still exposed to some maternal cortisol, and exposure increases with increasing stress. One neural structure particularly susceptible to stress is the hippocampus. The goal of this review is to address the role prenatal stress may play in damaging the hippocampus, a structure integral to learning and memory functions. Correlations between prenatal stress and a reduction in volume and function of the hippocampus are evidenced in rodent and non-human primate studies, but less conclusive in humans. In addition to macroscopic changes, microscopic hippocampal changes in glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptor numbers are addressed to show how prenatal stress can reduce feedback inhibition of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, thus potentially increasing infants’ stress reactivity in the postnatal period. Awareness of the role of stress in pregnancy could change the way prenatal visits are structured, and high-risk women could be connected with necessary resources to reduce exposure to ongoing stressors in the perinatal period.

Comments

Christopher Pearl, fourth advisor

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Open Access

Additional Files
Thesis 2014_Alyssa Murray.pdf (1552 kB)
Defense Presentation
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